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Purpose To assess the rate of visits to the emergency department of our medical center concerning low back or neck pain as a factor of COVID-19 confinement. Methods The study period was a 30-week interval during the COVID-19 pandemic contrasted by a similar stretch in the year preceding the epidemic. Visits to the emergency department prompted by low back or neck pain were recorded prior to and during lockdowns of the pandemic. The significance of the confinements for the development of pain syndromes was evaluated. Results A total of 1530 patients with newly diagnosed back or neck pain were enrolled. Most patients visited our emergency department for low back pain, commonly those older than 60 years. No significant gender variance was disclosed, although most visits of females were for low back pain. Low back pain presentations were curbed following confinement, but the rate of stays for neck pain swelled by more than 10%. Despite back pain predominance, visits for neck pain persisted. Before COVID-19, the average weekly number of emergency department visits was 38.5. This was followed by sharp drops during the COVID-19 lockdown (mean difference=-22.2, 95% CI=-28.7, -15.7, p