Low Back Pain and Everyday Functioning of Students.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of low back pain episodes (over a period of 12 months) and everyday functioning of students suffering from it.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study enrolled 1321 students of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of Bachelor-level programmes in Physical Education, Physiotherapy, Pedagogics, and Tourism and Recreation at 4 universities in Poland. An original questionnaire was used. A 10-point VAS scale was used to assess pain intensity. The reliability of the questionnaire had been assessed before commencing the study by administering it twice at a month's interval to a group of 20 people. No significant differences were noted between the results obtained in the two tests (p<0.05).

RESULTS: Our analysis of the frequency of low back pain episodes showed that the respondents who experienced pain rarely (1-2 episodes per year) constituted the biggest group. With regard to pain intensity, mild pain, reported by 43.4% of the respondents, was most common. Over 20% of the subjects reported severe pain. A considerable percentage of the respondents (over 20%) limited their physical activity because of low back pain and 4.4% had to give up physical activity altogether. Nearly 60% of the subjects reported that the low back pain made it difficult for them to sit for prolonged periods, while nearly 50% had difficulty standing.

CONCLUSIONS: 1. This study of a group of students from eastern Poland revealed that low back pain is common. 2. Low back pain interferes with or limits daily activities of the students, such as sitting, standing or physical activity.