Prevalence and Characteristics of Back Pain in Children and Adolescents from the Region of Murcia (Spain): ISQUIOS Programme

Abstract

Puberty is a vulnerable period for musculoskeletal disorders due to the existence of a wide inter-individual variation in growth and development. The main objective of the present study was to describe the prevalence of back pain (BP) in the past year and month in school-aged children according to sex, age, maturity status, body mass index (BMI) and pain characteristics. This study involved 513 students aged between 9 and 16 years. Anthropometric measures were recorded to calculate the maturity stage of the students using a regression equation comprising measures for age, body mass, body height, sitting height and leg length. An ad hoc questionnaire composed of eight questions was used to describe BP prevalence in school-aged children. The results showed that the prevalence of BP in school-aged children was observed in 35.1% over the last year (45% boys and 55% girls), and 17.3% (40.4% boys and 59.6% girls, with an association found between female sex and BP) in the last month. The prevalence of back pain in the past year and month was higher the older the students were, or the more pubertal development they had experienced. The prevalence of BP in the last year was also higher in those with overweight or obesity. After adjustment for sex, there was an association between BP and older age and higher BMI in boys and an association between BP and higher pubertal development in girls. In summary, the present study showed that the prevalence of BP was related to the maturity stage and weight of the participants, with different prevalence patterns found according to sex.

Gender Mediation in Adolescents’ Back Pain and Physical Fitness: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The results showed, as in other research studies, that the area of the body with a high prevalence was the lumbar region [6,18], with a low prevalence found in the cervical region [5,18]. Previous research shows a different prevalence of SP results among adolescents, ranging from 10.7% to 78.5% [4,5,18]. These differences in the prevalence of pain are the result of the different periods of time studied (from one week to lifetime), the areas included [4], and/or characteristics of the sample utilized for each research study.…”

“…In the present study, a high prevalence of SP was observed in adolescents in the past year. The results showed, as in other research studies, that the area of the body with a high prevalence was the lumbar region [6,18], with a low prevalence found in the cervical region [5,18]. Previous research shows a different prevalence of SP results among adolescents, ranging from 10.7% to 78.5% [4,5,18].…”

“…Females showed a significantly higher prevalence of SP than males, as other studies have shown for general SP [3,6,18], CP [3], TBP [4], and LBP [6,7]. Males showed a higher prevalence of PA than females, as in other studies [8,9,11].…”

“…In addition, another limitation is that there are other parameters that have been shown to have a significant influence on the incidence of SP. These include the type of sport practiced [29], differences in sagittal spine disposition and pelvic tilt [9], hamstring extensibility [9], anthropometric variables [9,18], or specific sedentary leisure activities. For the latter, the daily time spent on electronic devices such as computers, cell phone, and tablets [30,31] has shown different values depending on gender [9,[29][30][31].…”

“…For SP, a visual representation of a human silhouette was used for patients to indicate the site of their pain. The use of this device is advantageous for younger participants, who sometimes have difficulties in describing their pain [18]. The SP during the past year was determined as follows: "having SP during the past year that hampered or limited activities at school or in their leisure time for more than three months".…”