The research listened to more than 1,600 high school students in the interior of São Paulo; sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for health problems of this type, doctors warn
Agência FAPESP – With the diffusion of devices such as mobile phones and tablets and the multiplication of video channels, games and educational applications, children and adolescents are spending more and more time in front of screens. And, in these moments, it is normal for them to adopt inappropriate postures, which can cause spinal pain, among other problems.
Study funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp) and published in the scientific journal Health care identified several risk factors for spinal health, such as the use of screens for more than three hours a day, the short distance between electronic equipment and the eyes, use in the prone position (on the stomach) and even in a sitting position.
The focus of the study was so-called thoracic back pain, or TSP. 1,628 students, male and female, aged between 14 and 18, enrolled in the 1st and 2nd year of high school, day, in the urban area of Bauru, in the interior of São Paulo, who answered a questionnaire between March and June 2017 they were evaluated. Of this group, 1,393 were reevaluated in 2018.
The survey found that among all participants, the one-year prevalence was 38.4%, meaning that adolescents reported TSP in both 2017 and 2018. The one-year incidence was 10.1%. ; that is, they did not report TSP in 2017, but were reported as new cases of TSP in 2018. Back pain occurs more in girls.
What are the risk factors?
TSP is common in different age groups. It is estimated to affect 15% to 35% of adults and 13% to 35% of children and adolescents. The pandemic and the explosion in the use of electronics have exacerbated the incidence of the problem. Physical, physiological, psychological, and behavioral risk factors or a combination of these are associated with TSP, according to several surveys.
There is also strong evidence for the effects of physical activity, sedentary behavior and mental health on spinal health. All of these factors have been considered critical by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its most recent global review of evidence and guidelines.
“This work can be used to implement health education programs at different school levels, with the aim of training students, teachers, employees and parents,” says Alberto de Vitta, doctor of education at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) , with a postgraduate in public health from the State University of São Paulo (Unesp) in Botucatu and one of the authors of the article.
“This satisfies some objectives of the national curriculum parameters [PCN]according to which the school must assume responsibility for health education, identifying risk factors for personal and collective health in the environment in which we live, acting individually or collectively on factors unfavorable to health and promoting the adoption of care habits of oneself with respect to the possibilities and limits of the body”, adds Vitta, who teaches and researches at the Department of Physiotherapy of the Faculdade Eduvale of Avaré (SP) and at the degree course in Education, Knowledge and Society of the University of Vale do Sapucaí (Pouso Alegre, MG).
Information about risk factors for TSP in high school students is relevant because children and adolescents with back pain are more inactive, have lower academic achievement and have more psychosocial problems, the article states. Additionally, there have been few studies of TSP in relation to low back and neck pain. A systematic review of the TSP identified only two prospective studies on prognostic factors.
In addition to Vitta, the article is signed by Matias Noll, Instituto Federal Goiano and Faculty of Physical Education and Dance of the Federal University of Goiás, Manuel Monfort-Pañego and Vicente Miñana-Signes, of the University of Valencia (Spain), and Nicoly Machado Macie, of the University of São Paulo (USP).
The article Thoracic spine pain in high school adolescents: A one-year longitudinal study you can access: www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/2/196
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
