Physical activity and low-back pain in schoolchildren

Abstract

Design of the experiment is to study the crosssectional sample with retrospective information. The objective is to identify the types of physical activity associated with the decreased occurrence of low-back pain (LBP) in schoolchildren. Physical activity may be hypothesized to possess a potential for LBP prevention. The possible connection between LBP and specific sports activities is however sparsely documented. A total of 546, 15-to 16-year-old schoolchildren filled a questionnaire on current physical activities and LBP occurrence and severity. In multiple logistic regressions, the association of LBP with exposure variables was corrected for body height and weight (data from school health service files) and for anthropometric and school furniture parameters. More than half of the children reported pain or discomfort in the low-back region during the preceding 3 months, and 1/4 experienced a decreased functioning or need of care because of LBP. LBP correlated with physical inactivity, e.g. time spent on homework and hours watching TV or video, and with a series of sports activities, e.g. jogging, handball playing and gymnastics. Among sports activities, only swimming and the number of hours per week participating in soccer were associated with a decreased LBP prevalence. With the exception of swimming and soccer, the types of sport reported by this schoolchild population do not offer themselves for consideration as tools for LBP prevention. Based on the associations found with indicators of physical inactivity, attempts to motivate the children to increase their general physical activity level should be considered for trial.

The association between isoinertial trunk muscle performance and low back pain in male adolescents

“…The prevalence of non-trivial LBP in our study (36%) was much higher than that previously reported for LBP requiring medical treatment in adult male collegiate athletes [55] [42]. Similarly, in the study of Masiero et al, the annual prevalence of LBP interfering in some way with activities was reported to be 20.5% [49].…”

“…In a large study including almost 7,000 Finnish teenagers, it was shown that boys participating in volleyball, gymnastics, gym-training, downhill skiing or snowboarding had a higher prevalence of LBP, whereas those involved in cross-country skiing reported less LBP [41]. Finally, Skoffer et al found that a sedentary lifestyle or being engaged in some specific sports (most notably jogging, handball and gymnastics) were associated with an increased risk of function-limiting LBP [42].…”

Ocorrência de dor lombar e fatores associados em crianças e adolescentes de uma escola privada do sul do Brasil

“…A prática de exercício para além das aulas de Educação Física não se associou à ocorrência de dor lombar. Skoffer et al 32 …”

Back pain in children and adolescent

“…Výskyt bolestí zad se zvyšuje s věkem, zejména v období raného dospívání. Opakující se bolesti zad v dět-ství mohou být předchůdcem bolestí zad v dospělos-ti (1). Vyšší míra citlivosti bolesti zad je větší během růstového spurtu.…”