Low back pain in a population of school children

A study was undertaken to analyse the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and confounding factors in primary school children in the city of Antwerp. A t otal of 392 children aged 9 were included in the study. All children comple ted a validated three-page questionnaire and they all underwent a specific lumbar spine oriented medical examination during their annual routine medic al school control. This examination was performed by the city school doctor s. The questionnaire was composed of easy "yes/no" questions and visual ana logue scales. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test and chi-squared test at the significance level P < 0.05. The prevalence of LBP was high. No gender difference was found. A total of 142 children (36%) re ported having suffered at least one episode of LBP in their lives. Of these , 33 (23%) had sought medical help fur LBP from a doctor or physiotherapist . Sixty-four percent of children reporting LBP said that at least one of th eir parents suffered from or complained of LBP. This was significantly high er than for the children who did not report having suffered LBP. The way in which the school satchel was carried (in the hand, on the back) had no bea ring on the incidence of LBP. There was significantly more LBP in children who reported playing video games for more than 2 h per day, but this was no t so for television watchers. The visual analogue scales concerning general well-being were all very significantly correlated with self-reported LBP, with children who reported LBP being more tired, less happy, and worse slee pers. Of the 19 clinical parameters taken down during the medical examinati on, only one was significantly more prevalent in the group of children repo rting LBP: pain on palpation at the insertion site on the iliac crest of th e iliolumbar ligament. From this study we can establish that there are few clinical signs that can help to single out school children with LBP.