Discussion
chronic diseases and premature death, musculoskeletal limitations, musculoskeletal pain, pain, musculoskeletal disorders, musculoskeletal problems, reduced pain
COMPLICATIONS, MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS
This study aimed to determine the effect of corrective exercise on MSDs among older adults residing in nursing homes. The results showed that the prevalence of MSDs after the intervention decreased by 11.89% in the intervention group, which was statistically significant in some areas (neck, pelvis, and left knee). However, the prevalence of MSDs in the control group was not significant. The results of a study by Nawrocka et al. (2019) conducted to assess the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and perceived work ability and musculoskeletal disorders among adult, middle-aged, and older women, and reported significant relations between the frequency of occurrence of musculoskeletal problems and meeting physical activity recommendations in women aged 50–64 years. In this study, both the prevalence of musculoskeletal problems reported in the past year and the intensity of musculoskeletal pain during last the week were significantly lower in women who met physical activity recommendations [In the present study, results also showed that moderate musculoskeletal pain in the intervention group turned into mild pain after the intervention in 51.8% of cases, which was statistically significant. In other words, the corrective exercise program reduced pain levels in the participants. This result is identical to that reported in a previous study, which investigated the effect of isometric exercise on back pain in older persons and reported a significant decrease in back pain after the exercise program [In general, exercise effectively maintains physical fitness and helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint mobility, improves physiological health, reduces the risk of surgery, and strengthens the immune system. Exercise causes more blood to flow to the musculoskeletal system [Physical activity is essential for healthy aging and offers many health benefits, including a reduced risk of chronic diseases and premature death [Our study has several limitations. One of the limitations of this study was the impossibility of precise control of biological factors such as diet and sleep. For example, even though the daily diet of the nursing home was the same, the possibility of standardizing the nutritional status was out of the researcher’s control due to the different tastes and appetites of the subjects. Another limitation of this research is that it was done without blinding. Because blinding was not possible due to the nature of the intervention. However, the risk of bias due to lack of blinding was carefully considered. The participants in the study were informed about the objectives of the study and possible risks. On the other hand, participation in the study was voluntary and the samples were informed about the allocation to the studied groups. In addition, participants in the control group were assured that after the completion of the current research, the exercises will be taught and performed for them if they wish. Moreover, small sample size, a single-center study, short-term follow-up, lack of control over muscle strength, type, severity, and the number of musculoskeletal limitations and mental status of subjects such as level of physical fitness, level of motivation, personality type, psychological complications caused by family and economic problems that could affect the generalizability of the results was the other limitations of the present study.