Prevalence and Risk Factors of Low Back Pain in School Children Age 11-14 Years

Low back pain (LBP) is common in youth, although `associated with chronic pain in adults. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of LBP in school children age 11-14. A cross sectional study was carried out on school children aged 11-14 in north of Iran. Using random multistage sampling 5000 children were selected. Demographic, mechanical and lifestyle data as well as the prevalence and LBP characteristics were collected by a questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS (version11) software. Of the original sample, 4813 (96.2%) children returned the questionnaire. Point, last month, last 6 months and annual prevalence were 15%, 14.4%, 15.6%, and 17.4%, respectively. LBP was significantly correlated with age (p<0.05), lifting (p<0.05), position and duration of watching TV, doing homework and duration of exercise (p<0.05). The results indicated that the prevalence of LBP in school children is relatively high. Further studies evaluating the effect of different preventive strategies to reduce the prevalence of LBP in school children is strongly recommended.