Low Back Pain in Schoolchildren: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Western City of São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of low back pain in children and its relationship with gender, age, exercise practice and sedentary activities (time on TV and on computer and/or video game). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a sample of 1,461 students, being 754 males and 707 females enrolled in the 5th to 8th grades of all five local elementary schools of urban Ourinhos, SP, Brasil, aged 10-14 years old, from whom sociodemographic data, time spent on sedentary activities such as TV and computer and/or video game were collected. We conducted a descriptive, bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of low back pain in the sample was 18.5%, being 15.5% in boys and 21.6% in girls. Low back pain was associated to the female gender, age range between 12-14 years and the habit of watching TV more than three times a week and over 3 hours per day. Conclusion: The students analyzed showed high prevalence of low back pain related to gender, age and habit of watching TV. Appropriate interventions should be implemented to reduce the occurrences of back pain in schoolchildren. Level of Evidence III, Cross Sectioning.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Low Back Pain (LBP) among Adolescents in Central, Thailand

“…One related study indicated that adolescents with LBP tended to be from upper grades and a few studies have revealed that LBP correlated with increased age (Shan et al, 2013;Fernandes et al, 2015;Sato et al, 2008;Olsen T et al, 1992;Salminen, Pentti, & Terho, 1992). Our study also revealed that the prevalence of LBP increased in upper grades in secondary school.…”

“…Most studies found that LBP was common among females (Shan et al, 2013;Fernandes et al, 2015;Troussier, Davoine, de Gaudemaris, Fauconnier & Phelip, 1994;Balagué et al, 1994;Diepenmaat, 2006). Our finding showed that the prevalence of LBP among females was significantly higher than males.…”

“…LBP was common among females probably related to female hormonal change and the menstrual cycle (Balagué et al, 1994;Wedderkopp, Andersen, Froberg & Leboeuf-Yde, 2005). In addition, the physical strength of females was lower than males, putting females increasingly at risk of musculoskeletal overload (Fernandes et al, 2015). In addition, most females tended to have more mental stress than males, whereas stress has been found to correlate with musculoskeletal disease (Shan et al, 2013;Mikkelsson, Salminen & Kautiainen, 1997;Härmä, Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpelä & Rantanen, 2002) and male had higher pain thresholds than females (Shan et al, 2013;Torgén & Swerup, 2002).…”

“…Our study also revealed that the prevalence of LBP increased in upper grades in secondary school. This result might be related to adolescents having enhanced growth and consequent decreased flexibility, including that of the hamstring and the quadriceps muscles, causing functional failure of the lumbar muscles as a result of back pain (Fernandes et al, 2015;Poussa et al, 2005). In addition this result might be associated with the academic and psychological pressure placed on upper grade high school students due to frequent examinations such as the Ordinary National Education Test (O-net), and the university entrance examination.…”

Sitting Posture, Sagittal Spinal Curvatures and Back Pain in 8 to 12-Year-Old Children from the Region of Murcia (Spain): ISQUIOS Programme

“…In addition, there has been found a correlation between BP and the number of hours the students dedicate to watch television [71][72][73][74], or with incorrect sitting posture due to inappropriate furnishing in the schools [75]. Similarly, students who remained seated for long periods throughout the day in an inappropriate posture (e.g., an unaligned head position, hyperlordotic or slumped trunk, and unaligned shoulders) [65,76], are predisposed to fatigue and higher levels of pain [63].…”