Spinal pain in pre-adolescence and the relation with screen time and physical activity behavior

Abstract

Background To investigate how screen time and physical activity behavior were associated with spinal pain in pre-adolescence. Methods This study included 45,555 pre-adolescents who participated in the 11-year follow-up of the Danish National Birth Cohort. The 11-year follow-up included self-reported information on computer and TV behavior, aspects of physical activity, as well as frequency and intensity of spinal pain (neck-, mid back- and low back pain). Data were linked with parental socioeconomic data from Statistics Denmark registers. Associations were estimated using multinomial logistic regression models. To account for sample selection, we applied inverse probability weighting. Results Duration of screen time was stepwise associated with the degree of spinal pain. Compared with those spending < 2 h/day in front of a screen, screen time of ≥6 h/day was associated with a substantially increased relative risk ratio (RRR) of severe pain for both girls (RRR: 2.49, 95% CI: 2.13–2.92) and boys (RRR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.65–2.32). Being physical inactive was likewise associated with higher likelihood of severe spinal pain (RRR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.10–1.34) relative to those being moderately active. We observed that being physically active was seemingly associated with lower risk of spinal pain among boys with high frequency of screen time. Conclusion Findings indicate that both duration of screen time and physical inactivity are correlated with spinal pain in pre-adolescents with the strongest associations for screen time. Reducing screen time or increasing physical activity might help preventing spinal pain in pre-adolescents, particularly among high frequent screen users. Future prospective studies investigating the causal relationship are necessary.

Laboured reading and musculoskeletal pain in school children - the role of lifestyle behaviour and eye wear: a cross-sectional study

“…In the present study, headache and neck-, shoulder- and low back pain were also associated with increased use of near digital devices. Several studies in children and adolescents have showed correlations between duration of screen time and spinal pain [ 16 , 34 , 39 , 84 – 86 ]. A study including 45 555 Danish children (2010–2014) showed more pronounced associations between spinal pain and screen time, compared to between spinal pain and physical inactivity [ 34 ].…”

“…Several studies in children and adolescents have showed correlations between duration of screen time and spinal pain [ 16 , 34 , 39 , 84 – 86 ]. A study including 45 555 Danish children (2010–2014) showed more pronounced associations between spinal pain and screen time, compared to between spinal pain and physical inactivity [ 34 ]. There are few studies investigating pain symptoms in relation to the specific use of different types of digital devices in children and adolescents.…”

Musculoskeletal disorders in video gamers – a systematic review

“…A related analysis of 45,555 pre-adolescents showed the association of screen time in general and the degree of spinal pain [ 64 ]. It was found that the relative risk ratio in children increased with increasing hours spent in front of a screen, independent of physical activity.…”

Relation between Physical Fitness Components and the Occurrence and Subjective Intensity of Back Pain in Secondary School Adolescents

“…Based on the risk-intensity association for back pain proposed in previous studies [ 27 , 28 , 29 ], and in accordance with Joergensen et el. [ 30 ], based on their responses participants were grouped into three main categories: no back pain (NBP: students who stated not to suffer from back pain; score = 1); mild-to-moderate back pain (MBP: participants with low to null health risk; scores = 2–3); and severe back pain (SBP: youth whose back pain may imply higher health risk; scores > 3).…”