“If the subject were not so serious, you could make all kinds of jokes about it. For example, that these days it is no longer enough for young people to start drinking and smoking at ever younger ages – now they also have to have ‘back problems’. But a look at the latest figures makes such mockery stick in your throat. As hard as it may be to believe: according to a study by the Robert Koch Institute, for which more than 17,000 young people were surveyed, back pain is the third most common complaint among children and adolescents aged 11 to 17, after headaches and stomach aches. Although there are many interacting causes, one main reason can be identified: children sit too much and move too little.
- Mum, my back hurts!
- Young years spent sitting: a look at the causes
- Encouraging movement: the not-so-difficult antidote
- Sitting properly: if you have to, do it ergonomically
- Moving properly: exercises for a healthy child’s back
- More information
Mum, my back hurts!
This is in line with the finding from a representative survey of teachers by “DAK” and the Forsa Institute that there has been an increase in motor skill deficits among pupils over the past ten years. Around 70 percent of teachers observed a general rise in health problems among pupils over the past ten years; stress and psychosomatic complaints are also increasing. When looking for the causes, you quickly find yourself in familiar territory: one glance at the playgrounds in residential neighbourhoods, at the meadows on the outskirts of town or towards the football cages is enough to see that these places used to be much livelier. Children who spend the whole afternoon at the football pitch, on the BMX track or at the skate park, playing hide-and-seek in the woods or drawing chalk roads in the street outside the house for their scooter or pedal car for hours on end have become a rarity. Of course, children still go outside – they just arrive later and head home again earlier.
Young years spent sitting: a look at the causes
Above all, the presence of grammar school pupils in public places is likely to have declined significantly in recent years. Since the nationwide switch in Germany from the nine-year Gymnasium to the so-called G8 system, with only a few exceptions pupils now have up to 36 lessons a week instead of the previous 30. On top of that come homework and an increasing number of private tutoring sessions, because covering the same amount of material in twelve fewer months is a calculation that simply does not work out for some. Incidentally, a heavier study workload can also be seen at Realschulen and Mittelschulen. Even at universities, students have to make do with less time: since the introduction of the bachelor's and master's system, students may graduate one to two years earlier, but they also spend longer at their desks and in lecture halls during their studies.
At least during primary school years, children's natural urge to move still ensures that after lessons and homework they throw themselves into activities that many secondary school pupils would already find too exhausting even to dream about. Of course: at 14 or 15, football for boys or hip-hop dance training for girls may still be cool. Apart from that, however, back-strengthening and physically demanding activities such as climbing trees face overwhelming competition from games consoles, social networks or television. To make matters worse, fewer and fewer parents can manage without a second income – which in turn enables adolescents to indulge their not always healthy inclinations to excess with relatively little supervision.
It fits the picture that doctors and health insurers are also recording an increase in cases of obesity, diabetes, joint pain and high blood pressure.
Encouraging movement: a countermeasure that is not all that difficult
The association “Aktion Gesunder Rücken” (AGR) also sees the cause of the steadily rising number of pupils with back problems in “modern living conditions”. “According to more recent surveys, almost half of primary school children have suffered from this at some point, and among older teenagers the figure rises to as much as 80 percent,” states a recent press release. In it, the association, which has been working for 20 years on the prevention and treatment of the widespread condition of “back pain”, also offers solutions to this common problem.
Accordingly, the experts agree that two basic things must be taken into account to prevent tension in children’s backs: plenty of exercise and the right furniture. Dr Dieter Breithecker, Managing Director of the “Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft für Haltungs- und Bewegungsförderung” (BAG), also advises that children should be active for at least three hours a day. Most children naturally have a strong urge to move and want to romp, play and run around anyway. However, he advises parents to actively encourage this need, and likewise if the child is enthusiastic about sport. Varied movement involving the whole body is better than specialising in a single sport too early. This versatility provides important stimulus for physical, mental and emotional development.
Sitting properly: if you do, do it ergonomically
Surprisingly, ergonomics often plays only a minor role in how parents perceive children’s furniture. Yet just as an optimally adjustable office chair or orthopaedic office chair for adults is important, an ergonomic office chair is just as important for children. The AGR has drawn up an extensive catalogue of criteria that children’s seating furniture must meet in order to be awarded the AGR quality seal as particularly back-friendly products. In addition to adapting to different postures and sitting positions, these include height adjustability, suspension and ergonomic seat and backrest features. Three-dimensionally movable chairs or stools encourage dynamic sitting and support children’s natural desire to move. A positive side effect is improved concentration.
A suitable chair should be paired with an adjustable desk. The AGR describes a tilt function of at least 16 degrees as important. The reason: a rigid, flat desk top can promote tension in the neck. Especially against the backdrop of schools and universities often not meeting ergonomic standards in their furnishings, it is important that children and young people sit on good furniture at home – if they already have to sit for long periods. According to experts, it would be desirable to adopt a dynamic teaching approach with the option of alternating between sitting and standing while learning.
Moving properly: exercises for a healthy child’s back
Just as for adults, all kinds of exercise are also good for children's backs. Essentially, the exact opposite of computer games is needed: instead of chasing tennis balls across a pixelated court or crooks through virtual worlds while moving little more than their thumbs or hands, children should spend a few hours moving their whole body. Except perhaps their thumbs. Because when playing computer games, most children slouch in an armchair, putting one-sided strain on their spine and, above all, failing to strengthen their back muscles. Like anything you don't use, the muscles in the back waste away if they are not needed for too long. Regular sport that challenges the whole body – for example swimming, athletics, cycling or climbing – is still the best way to prevent back pain. It is also still the most effective way to avoid a problem that, firstly, affects well-being and, secondly, can impact the back as a consequence: excess weight.
By the way, young people find it considerably easier than older people to build healthy muscle and lose weight, so they should identify the problem as early as possible, tackle it and make it part of their lifestyle – so that they can avoid these kinds of complaints for as long as possible. To put it casually: the mission must be to leave the topic of “back pain” to older people again.
More information
The website of “Schön Klinik” provides “Strong tips for a healthy children's back” and offers medically sound back exercises for schoolchildren.