Due to the popularity of smartphones and tablets, as well as the growth of television channels, computer games, and educational applications, children and teens are spending more time on screens, sometimes with poor posture, which can lead to back pain and other issues.
A study by Brazilian researchers funded by FAPESP and informed of In an article published in the scientific journal Healthcare, several risk factors for spinal health were identified, such as viewing screens for more than three hours a day, closeness of the eyes to screens, and sitting on the stomach or back. Lie down.
The study focused on thoracic spine pain (TSP). The thoracic spine is located behind the chest (thorax), mostly between the shoulder blades, extending from the bottom of the neck to the beginning of the lumbar spine. The data analyzed came from a survey of 14- to 18-year-old male and female students in their first and second year of high school in Bauru, a medium-sized city in São Paulo state.
A baseline questionnaire was completed in March–June 2017 by 1,628 participants, of whom 1,393 completed a follow-up questionnaire in 2018. The analysis showed a one-year prevalence of 38.4 percent (proportion reporting TSP in both baseline and follow-up surveys) and a one-year incidence of 10.1 percent (new TSP reported only in follow-up surveys). More girls than boys reported TSP.
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TSP is common in various age groups of the general population worldwide, with a prevalence of 15%–35% in adults and 13%–35% in children and adolescents. The explosive growth in the use of electronic devices during the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly made the problem worse. The risk factors associated with TSP are physical, physiological, psychological, and behavioral, according to several investigations. There is also strong evidence of the effects of physical activity, sedentary habits and mental disorders on spinal health. All of these factors are considered important in the latest global review of evidence and guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The study can be used to inform health education programs for school students, teachers, staff and parents,” said Alberto Di Vitta, first author of the article. He holds a PhD in Education from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Public Health at the São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Botucatu.
“It is in line with some of the objectives of the National Curriculum Standards [PCN, Brazilian government guidelines for secondary schools]According to which schools are responsible for health education, which includes the identification of risks to individual and collective health and interventions to combat them, as well as the promotion of habits of self-care in relation to the possibilities and limitations of the body,” Vita Said, who is currently teaching and researching at Eduvale College as a faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy in Avare, São Paulo State, and Sapucai Valley University’s graduate program in Education, Knowledge and Society in Pusio Alegre, Minas Gerais State.
Information on risk factors for TSP in high school students is important because children and teens with back pain are more inactive, achieve less academically and have more psychological problems, according to the article. Furthermore, fewer studies have been done on TSP than on low back and neck pain. A systematic review of the literature on TSP found only two prospective studies regarding prognostic factors.