Sports participation and low back pain in schoolchildren.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the biggest health problems worldwide.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sports participation (duration and type) and LBP related outcomes in childhood.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 5th and 6th grade primary school students. The final sample included 2,032 children aged 10-12 years old. Children completed a questionnaire about the prevalence of LBP and some LBP-related outcomes. In addition, the participants were surveyed about the type of sport they did and the duration.

RESULTS: There appears to be no relation between sports participation and severity of LBP-related outcomes studied, independently of their duration. Participating in football ⩾ 4 hours per week was associated with a decrease of six LBP-related outcomes (OR ranging from 0.54 to 0.66). Basketball participation does not seem to affect the development of back problems amongst children.

CONCLUSIONS: It can be suggested with caution that doing sport is not dangerous for LBP problems in children aged 10-12 years old. Nevertheless, this suggestion should be tested with further longitudinal and intervention studies to confirm the results.