Spinal health and young people:
an introduction
Spinal pain is a major health problem in our society. Back complaints are the second most common reason for people visiting their GP in Australia. Many adults are unable to undertake work or recreation due to spinal pain and disability. Studies suggest that 60-80 per cent of Australians will experience a back problem at some stage in their life.1 Chronic spinal pain has implications for the individual and also for the wider community as it costs millions of dollars in lost productivity.
Research conducted recently has shown that back pain may also be a significant problem amongst children and young people. A comprehensive study conducted in Australia has shown that approximately 25% of school-aged children suffer from back and/or neck pain at any one time.2 It is believed to be due to a combination of factors such as poor posture, everyday load carrying and the use of computers.
As the spine is growing and developing it is vitally important to address spinal health issues for a number of reasons. Firstly, to prevent spinal stress and dysfunction that causes pain, which may affect study and participation in sport and recreation. Secondly, to develop good techniques for spinal health that will carry through into adulthood.
Because of the growing need to address this problem, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, in collaboration with other organisations, has developed a package to encourage young people, parents and school communities to take positive action to promote spinal health. This package is comprised of the following sections:
We hope you find the package useful.
1 Buchbinder R, Jolley D and Wyatt M (2001) Breaking the back of back pain. Medical Journal of Australia Vol 175 pp 456-457
2 Grimmer K, Williams MT and Gill TK (1999) High school students and backpacks - A cross sectional study. Adelaide: Centre for Allied Health Research, University of South Australia
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