Prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal extremity complaints in children and adolescents. A systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundIt is difficult to gain an overview of musculoskeletal extremity complaints in childhood although this is essential to develop evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies. The objectives of this systematic review were therefore to describe the prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal extremity complaints in children and adolescents in both general and clinical populations in relation to age, anatomical site and mode of onset.MethodsMEDLINE and EMBASE were electronically searched; risk of bias was assessed; and data extraction was individually performed by two authors.ResultsIn total, 19 general population studies and three clinical population studies were included with children aged 0-19 years. For most of the analyses, a division between younger children aged 0-12 years, and older children aged 10-19 years was used. Lower extremity complaints were more common than upper extremity complaints regardless of age and type of population, with the most frequent pain site changing from ankle/foot in the youngest to knee in the oldest. There were about twice as many non-traumatic as traumatic complaints in the lower extremities, whereas the opposite relationship was found for the upper extremities in the general population studies. There were relatively more lower extremity complaints in the general population studies than in the clinical population studies. The review showed no pattern of differences in reporting between studies of high and low risk of bias.ConclusionsThis review shows that musculoskeletal complaints are more frequent in the lower extremities than in the upper extremities in childhood, and there are indications of a large amount of non-traumatic low intensity complaints in the population that do not reach threshold for consultation. A meta-analysis, or even a simple overall description of prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal extremity complaints in children and adolescents was not feasible, due to a large variety in the studies, primarily related to outcome measurements.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-017-1771-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

<p>Incidence, Risk and Protective Factors for Unintentional, Nonfatal, Fall-Related Injuries at Home: A Community-Based Household Survey from Ujjain, India</p>

“…Worldwide, multiple studies have shown that boys have a higher incidence of fall than girls. 6,11,13,25,27,28,33 The majority (n = 248, 51%) of falls occurred at the ground level, which is similar to that reported earlier. 11,27,28 Results of a multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that type of residence, number of members in the family, type of cooking area, and whether the mother was alive were significantly associated with fall injuries.…”

“…These injuries are considered minor and treatable at home and hence are most frequently neglected. 33 The most common anatomical site of injury in this study was the head (31%), followed by lower extremities (26%). A systematic review reported that the head is the most common anatomical site of injury after a fall.…”

“…A systematic review reported that the head is the most common anatomical site of injury after a fall. 33 In a study in Bangladesh, head, face, and chest injuries were frequent in younger children (<4 years); upper limb injuries were frequent in older children (5-9 years old); and lower limb injuries were frequent in young adults (10-24 years old). 34 Boys were more likely to sustain falls than girls and children aged between 5 and 10 years had a maximum incidence of fall-related injuries in the study.…”

Prevalence of Hip or Groin Pain in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

“…Previous systematic reviews have investigated musculoskeletal pain prevalence in children and adolescents 1,24 . One systematic review, published in 2011, focused on chronic pain and, based on 4 studies, found musculoskeletal and/or limb pain prevalence rates of 4% to 40% based on different prevalence periods and age groups ranging from 9 to 19 years.…”

Foot care needs for children and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

“…Healthcare needs in children and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are higher than the general population (Robertson, Roberts, Emerson, Turner, & Greig, ) and include many secondary comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes and musculoskeletal problems (Rimmer & Yamaki, ; Rimmer, Yamaki, Lowry, Wang, & Vogel, ). The foot and ankle is a common site for musculoskeletal complications in children (Fuglkjær, Dissing, & Hestbæk, ); these are often debilitating (Foley & Killeen, ) and can have significant impact on quality of life (Roux et al, ) and participation (Morris, Liabo, Wright, & Fitzpatrick, ). Foot and ankle problems result in additional health burden for children, their families and health service providers, and early intervention to support children to live healthy, active lives is essential (Roth‐Isigkeit, Thyen, Stöven, Schwarzenberger, & Schmucker, ).…”