The Easter break is looming and for many secondary schoolchildren it will mean
a welcome relief, not only from homework and exam revision but also from the
dull and debilitating ache of back pain. Although widely perceived as such,
back pain is not a condition exclusive to adults. Statistics reveal that a
growing number of youngsters are suffering muscle strain, pinched nerves and
even temporary paralysis caused by problems that once afflicted only their
parents and grandparents.
According to the charity BackCare, 50 per cent of children suffer back
problems during their schooldays and, says Nia Taylor, the charity’s chief
executive, “for two to three children in every class that pain is chronic or
recurrent”.
Physiotherapists and chiropractors are also reporting record numbers of
children needing back treatment. “We have seen back pain in young people
rise from one in five, three years ago, to one in three last year,” says Tim
Hutchful, a spokesman for the British Chiropractic Association (BCA).
“Children’s backs are especially vulnerable as their bones are soft and
still developing.”
What has caused this marked upturn in numbers, experts say, is likely to be a
combination of many lifestyle factors; heavy backpacks, badly designed
school furniture and obesity have all been linked to adolescent back pain in
studies.
By far the most significant contributory reason is inactivity. “Children are
simply not moving around as much as they used to,” Taylor says. “Their backs
are subjected to pressure and strain as they sit still for hours at desks,
computer tables or playing computer games.”
Jo Tuffrey, a former secondary school PE teacher who is now a Pilates
instructor and backpain specialist at the renowned Redgrave Clinic in
Buckinghamshire, is convinced that lifestyle habits are responsible for the
growing number of clients as young as 13 with back problems. “I see an
increasing number of young teenagers with chronic back pain that is
typically a result of repetitive bad posture and immobility,” she says. “As
a consequence of their inactive habits, their chest muscles shorten and back
muscles lengthen. The deep stabilisation muscles of the spine that should be
relaxed and released become tight and tense so back problems are almost
inevitable.”
Tuffrey is working with local schools and education authorities to raise
awareness of good posture among the PlayStation generation. “I see so many
young people with back pain who spend hours texting or messaging on the
computer,” she says. “If the problems with their posture are not addressed
now, it will be catastrophic by the time they are adults.”
“Being hunched is damaging”
Regular activity, even standing up or walking around the room, squeezes and
stretches the discs, the small fibrous cushions between each vertebrae,
acting as shock absorbers for the spine. “This motion pumps nutrition and
oxygen, keeping the discs healthy,” Tuffrey says. “When people don’t get
that movement, it can starve the discs of nutrition and may be a trigger for
pain.” Taylor adds that even turning pages and looking around reading a book
or reaching and twisting while playing board games involve more beneficial
movement than computer games. “You don’t have to be running around to
stretch muscles, but being hunched in the same position is damaging,” she
says.
Indeed, a landmark study conducted a few years ago at the University of
Michigan’s spine programme centre in the US, showed that being too heavy and
inactive were the primary cause for the rising trend of young people with
back pain. However, most experts concede that while sedentary lifestyles are
the underlying cause, other factors act as a catalyst. Lugging heavy
schoolbags undoubtedly plays a part. British schools are legally obliged to
provide storage for children’s possessions, but many don’t. The British
Chiropractic Association says that about 61 per cent of children have no
lockers at school, which means that, by the time they have packed their
textbooks, PE kit, calculator, pens, mobile phone, packed lunch and bottled
water, most of their bags weigh close to 40lb (18kg).
Hutchful says that this is “the equivalent of a grown man strapping a
microwave oven full of food to his back all day”.
Sammy Margo, a spokeswoman for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy,
stresses the importance of backfriendly backpacks, dismissing the shoulder
bags favoured by fashion-conscious schoolgirls. She says that bags with one
strap spread the load unevenly. “Look for two wide, padded straps and a
waist-belt, which will help to redistribute the weight from the shoulders
and back to the pelvis. A padded pack will also help to reduce pressure on
the back, shoulder and underarm regions.”
Keep the load between 10 and 15 per cent of your child’s weight, pack the
heaviest items first and closest to the spine.
Cheap, plastic school furniture is another hazard. Taylor says that
old-fashioned sloping desks are far kinder to backs and most school chairs
would be illegal in the work-place. If your child spends hours on the
computer at home, get an adjustable chair that supports the lower and upper
back. “
It is most important to encourage children to move about or at least stand up
even when they are at school,” Margo says. “At home, don’t let them slouch
on the sofa or hunch over computer games for too long. The long-term
consequences could be dire.”
40lb is the weight that the British Chiropractic Association calculates
is carried by many secondary school children. It would be the equivalent,
for a grown man, of walking around with a microwave full of food on your
back
20% is the maximum recommended average percentage of a child’s body
weight to be carried in his or her school rucksack
13% of 10 to 16-year-olds suffer recurring
14 is the age by which half of all children will have experienced some
form of back pain Source: www.backpain.org
A lesson in good posture
Jo Tuffrey, a back pain specialist, recommends the following exercises that
parents can do every day with their children
Dumb waiter
This move opens out the chest and releases the shoulder blades, improving
your posture
Sit with feet hip-width apart and bend your elbows into your waist, holding
your palms in front so that they are facing upwards towards the ceiling.
Breathe in. As you breathe out, lift the pelvic floor and gently hollow the
navel towards the spine. Breathe in, keeping elbows in at the waist and
palms extended as though holding a plate in front of you. Still holding your
imaginary plate, gently move your hands apart by 45 degrees (or if you are
extraordinarily flexible, even farther), opening out the chest. Breathe out
and return to starting position. Repeat five to six times.
Arm openings
This will help to stabilise the shoulder blades
Lie on your side with your head on a pillow, knees bent at right angles to
your body. Keep a natural curl in your back. Place a tennis ball between the
knees and keep your knees, ankles, hips and shoulders directly on top of
each other. Extend your arms in front of you with palms together. Breathe
in, take the top arm and slowly draw out a semicircle over your body,
pointing up to the sky, then aiming to touch the floor behind you. Keep the
knees together and the hips entirely still while the waist rotates. Turn
your head in the direction of your moving arm. Breathe out as you bring the
arm back round in an arc to meet the other hand again. Repeat five to six
times on each side.
Corkscrew
A good stretching exercise
Stand up straight, keep shoulders relaxed and clasp your hands lightly behind
your head. Breathe in and shrug shoulders to your ears. Breathe out as you
drop them. Breathe in and gently move your elbows back so that your shoulder
blades come together. Breathe out and release your hands to the side,
opening them wide so that you can feel the shoulder blades stretching. Allow
the neck and spine to stretch and lengthen as your arms come down to the
side. Repeat 5-6 times.
Jo Tuffrey is based at the Redgrave Clinic in Buckinghamshire, redgraveclinic.co.uk;
01628 533200.
For really good bags for school go to www.ergonomicschoolbags.co.uk. I got my son one of the Elite's and he no longer has pain in his lower back. expensive but well worth the investment and very good quality.
Louise, Wembley, UK