Does Surgical Mask Use Affect the Balance and Mobility in Elementary School Children?

Öz

Health experts and institutions recommend face coverings for kids above the age of 2 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this research is to examine the impact of wearing surgical masks on functional movement and stability in primary school-aged children. A sample of sixty healthy elementary school children aged between 9-12 were recruited. The variables of the study were six minutes walking test (6 MWT), 30-second sit to stand test, single leg stance test (SLST) and a dyspnea assessment. All assessments were contrasted between the two testing scenarios [wearing a surgical mask (SM) and not wearing a mask (NM)]. A statistically significant difference was observed when comparing the 6 MWT (p=0.00) and the 30-second sitto- stand test (p=0.00) outcomes for both NM and SM situations. There was no significant difference in SLST between testing conditions (p>0.05). Also, the rating of perceived dyspnea values with the mask was significantly greater than the test condition without a mask (p<0.05). The use of a mask can cause differences in performance.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• 30-Seconds Sit to Stand Test
• Six Minutes Walking Test
• Single Leg Stance Test
• Surgical Mask

İlkokul Çocuklarında Cerrahi Maske Kullanımı Denge ve Mobiliteyi Etkiler Mi?

Öz

Halk sağlığı uzmanları ve kuruluşları, COVID-19 sırasında 2 yaşından büyük çocuklar için evrensel maske kullanımını önermektedir. Bu çalışma, ilkokul çocuklarında cerrahi maske kullanımının fonksiyonel hareket ve denge üzerine etkilerini belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Yaşları 9-12 arasında değişen altmış sağlıklı ilkokul çocuğu çalışmaya dahil edildi. Çalışmada fonksiyonellik için altı dakika yürüme testi ve 30 saniye otur kalk testi, denge değerlendirmesi için tek ayak üstünde durma testi (SLST) ve nefes darlığı için Vizüel Analog Skalası (VAS) kullanıldı. Tüm değerlendirmeler cerrahi maskeli ve maskesiz olarak karşılaştırıldı. Altı dakika yürüme testi (p=0.00) ve 30 saniye otur kalk testi (p=0.00) sonuçları incelendiğinde, maskeli ve maskesiz durumları arasında istatistiksel olarak fark vardı. SLST test koşulları arasındaki değerler birbirine benzerdi (p>0.05). Ayrıca, maske ile algılanan dispne değerlerinin derecesi, maskesiz test koşulundan daha yüksekti (p<0.05). Maske kullanımı performans parametrelerinde değişikliklere neden olabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• 30 Saniye Otur Kalk Testi
• Altı Dakika Yürüme Testi
• Cerrahi Maske
• Tek Ayak Üstünde Durma Testi

Kaynakça

1. Alsharif, W., & Qurashi, A. (2021). Effectiveness of COVID-19 diagnosis and management tools: A review. Radiography (London, England: 1995), 27(2), 682–687. doi: 10.1016/j.radi.2020.09.010
2. Amann, M., Proctor, L. T., Sebranek, J. J., Pegelow, D. F., & Dempsey, J. A. (2009). Opioid-mediated muscle afferents inhibit central motor drive and limit peripheral muscle fatigue development in humans. The Journal of physiology, 587(1), 271–283. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2008.163303
3. Aylar, M. F. (2017). Control of Lower Extremity Joint Moments During Sit-to-Stand Among Blind Children. Journal of Clinical Engineering, 42(4), 189-193.
4. Chan, J. F., Yuan, S., Kok, K. H., To, K. K., Chu, H., Yang, J., Xing, F., Liu, J., Yip, C. C., Poon, R. W., Tsoi, H. W., Lo, S. K., Chan, K. H., Poon, V. K., Chan, W. M., Ip, J. D., Cai, J. P., Cheng, V. C., Chen, H., Hui, C. K., Yuen, K. Y. (2020). A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: a study of a family cluster. Lancet (London, England), 395(10223), 514–523. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30154-9
5. Chandrasekaran, B., & Fernandes, S. (2020). “Exercise with facemask; Are we handling a devil’s sword?” - A physiological hypothesis. Medical hypotheses, 144, 110002. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110002
6. Driver, S., Reynolds, M., Brown, K., Vingren, J. L., Hill, D. W., Bennett, M., Gilliland, T., McShan, E., Callender, L., Reynolds, E., Borunda, N., Mosolf, J., Cates, C., & Jones, A. (2022). Effects of wearing a cloth face mask on performance, physiological and perceptual responses during a graded treadmill running exercise test. British journal of sports medicine, 56(2), 107–113. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-103758
7. Eberhart, M., Orthaber, S., & Kerbl, R. (2021). The impact of face masks on children-A mini review. Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway: 1992), 110(6), 1778–1783. doi: 10.1111/apa.15784
8. Epstein, D., Korytny, A., Isenberg, Y., Marcusohn, E., Zukermann, R., Bishop, B., Minha, S., Raz, A., & Miller, A. (2021). Return to training in the COVID-19 era: The physiological effects of face masks during exercise. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 31(1), 70–75. doi: 10.1111/sms.13832

9. Fikenzer, S., Uhe, T., Lavall, D., Rudolph, U., Falz, R., Busse, M., Hepp, P., & Laufs, U. (2020). Effects of surgical and FFP2/N95 face masks on cardiopulmonary exercise capacity. Clinical research in cardiology: official journal of the German Cardiac Society, 109(12), 1522–1530. doi: 10.1007/s00392-020-01704-y
10. Goh, D. Y. T., Mun, M. W., Lee, W. L. J., Teoh, O. H., & Rajgor, D. D. (2019). A randomised clinical trial to evaluate the safety, fit, comfort of a novel N95 mask in children. Scientific reports, 9(1), 18952. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55451-w
11. Hopkins, S. R., Dominelli, P. B., Davis, C. K., Guenette, J. A., Luks, A. M., Molgat-Seon, Y., Sá, R. C., Sheel, A. W., Swenson, E. R., & Stickland, M. K. (2021). Face Masks and the Cardiorespiratory Response to Physical Activity in Health and Disease. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 18(3), 399–407. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202008-990CME
12. Kao, T. W., Huang, K. C., Huang, Y. L., Tsai, T. J., Hsieh, B. S., & Wu, M. S. (2004). The physiological impact of wearing an N95 mask during hemodialysis as a precaution against SARS in patients with end-stage renal disease. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan yi zhi, 103(8), 624–628.
13. Keye, S. A., Walk, A. M., Cannavale, C. N., Iwinski, S., McLoughlin, G. M., Steinberg, L. G., & Khan, N. A. (2021). Six-Minute walking test performance relates to neurocognitive abilities in preschoolers. Journal of clinical medicine, 10(4), 584. doi: 10.3390/jcm10040584
14. Kim, Y. I., Kim, S. G., Kim, S. M., Kim, E. H., Park, S. J., Yu, K. M., Chang, J. H., Kim, E. J., Lee, S., Casel, M. A. B., Um, J., Song, M. S., Jeong, H. W., Lai, V. D., Kim, Y., Chin, B. S., Park, J. S., Chung, K. H., Foo, S. S., Poo, H., … Choi, Y. K. (2020). Infection and rapid transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Ferrets. Cell host & microbe, 27(5), 704–709.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.03.023
15. Kyung, S. Y., Kim, Y., Hwang, H., Park, J. W., & Jeong, S. H. (2020). Risks of n95 face mask use in subjects with COPD. Respiratory care, 65(5), 658–664. doi: 10.4187/respcare.06713
16. Lim, M. T. C., Ramamurthy, M. B., Aishworiya, R., Rajgor, D. D., Tran, A. P., Hiriyur, P., Kunaseelan, S., Jabri, M., & Goh, D. Y. T. (2021). School closure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic - Impact on children’s sleep. Sleep medicine, 78, 108–114. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.12.025
17. Ma, Q. X., Shan, H., Zhang, H. L., Li, G. M., Yang, R. M., & Chen, J. M. (2020). Potential utilities of mask-wearing and instant hand hygiene for fighting SARS-CoV-2. Journal of medical virology, 92(9), 1567–1571. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25805
18. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases. (2020). CDC COVID-19 Science Briefs. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US); Science Brief: SARSCoV-2 Infection-induced and Vaccine-induced Immunity.
19. Parmet, W. E., & Sinha, M. S. (2020). Covid-19 - The Law and Limits of Quarantine. The New England journal of medicine, 382(15), e28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2004211
20. Person, E., Lemercier, C., Royer, A., & Reychler, G. (2018). Effet du port d’un masque de soins lors d’un test de marche de six minutes chez des sujets sains [Effect of a surgical mask on six minute walking distance]. Revue des maladies respiratoires, 35(3), 264–268. doi: 10.1016/j.rmr.2017.01.010