ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Low back pain in schoolchildren: the role of mechanical and psychosocial factors

K D Watson, A C Papageorgiou, G T Jones, S Taylor, D P M Symmons, A J Silman, G J Macfarlane

Arthritis Research Campaign (ARC) Epidemiology Unit, School of Epidemiology and Health Sciences, Stopford Building, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor G J Macfarlane, Unit of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Medical School, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK;
G.Macfarlane{at}.man.ac.uk

Background: Low back pain (LBP) in schoolchildren with no apparent clinical cause is known to be a common problem, but considerably less is understood regarding the aetiology of such pain.

Aim: To assess the role of both mechanical and psychosocial factors (including emotional and behavioural problems and other somatic pain complaints) in childhood LBP.

Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in a population of 1446 schoolchildren aged 11–14 years. Information on these potential risk factors for LBP was sought using a self complete questionnaire and a five day bag weight diary.

Results: Mechanical factors such as physical activity and school bag weight were not associated with LBP. However, strong associations with LBP were observed for emotional problems, conduct problems, troublesome headaches, abdominal pain, sore throats, and daytime tiredness.

Conclusion: Results suggest that psychosocial factors rather than mechanical factors are more important in LBP occurring in young populations and could possibly be a reflection of distress in schoolchildren.

Keywords: epidemiology; low back pain; mechanical load

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; LBP, low bain pain; SDQ, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Atoms

Harvey Marcovitch
Arch. Dis. Child. 2003 88: 1. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Costa, L. d. C M., Maher, C. G, McAuley, J. H, Hancock, M. J, Herbert, R. D, Refshauge, K. M, Henschke, N. (2009). Prognosis for patients with chronic low back pain: inception cohort study. BMJ 339: b3829-b3829 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McNALLY, J. D., MATHESON, L. A., ROSENBERG, A. M. (2009). Epidemiologic Considerations in Unexplained Pediatric Arthralgia: The Role of Season, School, and Stress. The Journal of Rheumatology 36: 427-433 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Henschke, N., Maher, C. G, Refshauge, K. M, Herbert, R. D, Cumming, R. G, Bleasel, J., York, J., Das, A., McAuley, J. H (2008). Prognosis in patients with recent onset low back pain in Australian primary care: inception cohort study. BMJ 337: a171-a171 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jones, M A, Stratton, G, Reilly, T, Unnithan, V B (2005). Biological risk indicators for recurrent non-specific low back pain in adolescents. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 137-140 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jones, G T, Macfarlane, G J (2005). Epidemiology of low back pain in children and adolescents. Arch. Dis. Child. 90: 312-316 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Roth-Isigkeit, A., Thyen, U., Stoven, H., Schwarzenberger, J., Schmucker, P. (2005). Pain Among Children and Adolescents: Restrictions in Daily Living and Triggering Factors. Pediatrics 115: e152-e162 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jones, G T, Silman, A J, Macfarlane, G J (2004). Parental pain is not associated with pain in the child: a population based study. Ann Rheum Dis 63: 1152-1154 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• (2003). Robin Goodfellow (42-8). Rheumatology (Oxford) 42: 1028-1028 [Full Text]  
• (2003). Distress and low back pain are linked in schoolchildren. Ann Rheum Dis 62: 511-511 [Full Text]