Desenvolvimento e avaliação de um aplicativo móvel para policiais militares: monitoramento e mitigação de dores musculoesqueléticas

Abstract

Military police officers are prone to experiencing lower back pain due to their work activities and conditions, especially due to the lack of targeted training for core muscle strengthening. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies to prevent and reduce this pain. Although mobile applications have shown effectiveness in treating various pains and illnesses, their specific efficacy in public safety professionals has not been sufficiently tested. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile application in monitoring musculoskeletal pain intensity in military police officers and providing guidance on core muscle exercises over a nine-week period. Twenty-seven voluntary military police officers diagnosed with lower back pain (ICD M54.5), aged between 21 and 60, were monitored for nine weeks. The experimental group (GAPP) received a cell phone with the application providing guidance on core training exercises three times a week over the nine weeks and responded to a pain diagram; the control group (GCTL) only responded to the pain diagram through an electronic form over the nine weeks. Pain intensity was assessed using the Corlett diagram, and the acceptability and usability of the application were measured using the System Usability Scale. The overall pain level and lower back pain were measured pre- and postintervention. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the means between groups (GAPP vs GCTL) and between different assessment times (pre- and post-intervention), with the Bonferroni post-hoc test used to identify significant differences (p < 0.05) between variables. The musculoskeletal pain diagram revealed a post-intervention reduction in overall pain (-21.3% vs -8.3%), in the trunk region (- 36.6% vs -11.2%), with emphasis on the lower back region (-42.6% vs -20.1%) in GAPP compared to GCTL, respectively. In the analysis of usability and satisfaction, 78.6% of users rated the application as “Best Imaginable,” “Excellent” (14.2%), “Good” (7.1%), “Moderate” (0.0%), and “Poor” (0.0%). The mobile application for military police officers demonstrated effectiveness in monitoring and reducing musculoskeletal pain. The significant reduction in trunk muscle pain and high usability indicates its potential positive impact on users’ health, highlighting the practical viability of using this technology.