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Relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and physical inactivity in adolescents

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Abstract

Purpose

To determine the correlation between musculoskeletal system disorders and the physical activity levels of adolescents.

Methods

A total of 417 high school students were included in this cross-sectional study. To explain the musculoskeletal pain and physical activity, a self-administered questionnaire which included the Nordic International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) was distributed.

Results

The standardised Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire showed that 57.3% of the students reported having musculoskeletal disorders in one or more body parts, and 52.2% of them consisted of girls. The mean weekly energy consumption as linked to the physical activity of the participants was found to be 2534.58 (± 2371.31) metabolic equivalent task (MET/wk): 45.8% of the individuals exhibited low levels of activity. A statistically significant relationship was found between experiencing upper/low back pain and the participants’ low physical activity levels.

Conclusions

The current study has shown that the prevalence of MSDs was high among high school students, with a correlation being found between low physical activity and back pain. Physical activity levels should hence be considered when evaluating adolescents with musculoskeletal disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Inönü University, Malatya, Turkey

    Semra Aktürk & Raikan Büyükavcı

  2. Department of Public Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Inönü University, Malatya, Turkey

    Ümmühan Aktürk

Authors
  1. Semra Aktürk
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  2. Raikan Büyükavcı
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  3. Ümmühan Aktürk
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Correspondence to Semra Aktürk.

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Conflict of interest

Author Semra Aktürk declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Raikan Büyükavcı declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Ümmühan Aktürk declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Aktürk, S., Büyükavcı, R. & Aktürk, Ü. Relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and physical inactivity in adolescents. J Public Health (Berl.) 27, 49–56 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0923-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0923-7

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