Abstract

Background and aims. Myopia, also known as short-sightedness, is one of the most widespread refractive disorders that can cause many difficulties in everyday life activities. The aim of the study was to compare the quality of life, physical activity, pain in the neck and shoulder area, joint range of motion, posture and balance of persons with myopia and the corresponding parameters for persons without vision problems.

Methods. The study involved 11 persons diagnosed with myopia (-2.5 to -5 D) and 11 persons without vision problems, aged 30-39 years. Quality of life was evaluated with the SF-36 questionnaire (36 Item Short Form Health Survey), the relation between quality of life and vision was evaluated with the NEI-VFQ25 (National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire) questionnaire, and physical activity was evaluated with the GPAQ (Global Physical Activity Questionnaire) questionnaire. To evaluate neck and shoulder pain and discomfort, the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) scale and the NBQ (Neck Bournemouth Questionnaire) questionnaire were used. To evaluate the neck and shoulder range of motion, goniometers were employed, posture was evaluated visually, the sagittal curvature of the spinal column was evaluated using scoliometry and balance was evaluated with the Romberg Tandem test.

Results and conclusions. Patients with myopia had more neck pain and discomfort and their quality of life was deteriorated, which is connected with their worse visual function compared with the persons without vision problems. The general quality of life, level of physical activity, shoulder and neck active range of motion, posture, sagittal curvature of the spine and static standing balance of the myopia patients did not differ from the corresponding parameters for the persons without vision problems.