Low back pain and physical exercise in leisure time in 38-year-old men and women: A 25-year prospective cohort study of 640 school children

Abstract

A cohort of 38-year-old men and women were studied for leisure time physical exercise in relation to low back pain (LBP), education, work, social class and smoking by a self-administered questionnaire. At the age of 14 years, the subjects had been interviewed by their school doctor regarding history of LBP and radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine were taken. The results show no positive correlation between radiographic changes and LBP in the adolescent period and decreased physical activity in adulthood. Physical activity for at least 3 h/week reduces the risk of LBP measured as lifetime, 1-year and point prevalence. Eighty-five percent of the subjects who reported taking physical exercise for at least 3 h/week had participated in sports activity almost constantly since their school days and these reported being in better condition than the rest of the cohort. Otherwise they did not have a healthier mode of life. No physical exercise during leisure time was associated with a short school education, unskilled work, unemployment and sickness, low social class, divorce, living in an apartment and smoking. Sixty percent had never or not for many years been interested in participating in sports. Badminton and tennis were the most common sports practised (36%), followed by gymnastics (32%), ball games -soccer and team handball -(25%), running (20%) and swimming (18%). Gymnastics and swimming seem to reduce LBP significantly. Our results show a falling interest in participating in sports activities over time, with 68% of the subjects being members of an athletic association previously, but only 29% currently. Women were more physically inactive during leisure time, probably because of their dual role. Logistic regression analysis indicates that physical activity is related to a long school education, high social class and regular sports activity over time.

Musculoskeletal neck and back pain in undergraduate dental students at a UK dental school — a cross-sectional study

“…[28][29][30] Due to its ability to improve musculoskeletal and cardiovascular function, physical exercise may be useful for improving back function and preventing development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, this has been strongly suggested from prospective studies in medical literature. 29,31 Some studies suggest that ergonomic advice on improving physical activity should be offered before the individual begins his or her working career or during education. 32,33 A study from Peros et al 34 showed that the introduction of a physical fitness program into the dental curriculum, involving 90 minutes of cardiovascular activity per week, had a positive impact on lower back pain amongst final-year dental students in Croatia.…”

Prevalence of Low Back Pain in Alpine Ski Instructors

“…Seventy-three percent of the respondents reported LBP at least once during their lifetime. Harreby et al 11 report a lifetime prevalence of 75% among a group of 640 adults.…”

“…11,12,26,32 Videman et al 30 report that the prevalence of LBP is 29% among athletes and 52% among inactive subjects. Jones et al 14 report that the risk of activity-related LBP is lower in persons with better physical fitness.…”

Assessment of physical activity in patients with chronic low back or neck pain

“…However, the development (or aetiology) of low back pain is poorly understood and the evidence of the contribution of physical activity to the prevalence, the prevention and management of low back pain is still inconclusive and poorly documented (1,6). Physical activity has been suggested to be both a possible risk factor (20,21,23,26) and a preventive factor (3,15,16,22,32,40) for LBP. Some studies showed that patients with CLBP are less physically active or fit than healthy individuals (3,21,23,32).…”