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Exceeding 2-h sedentary time per day is not associated with moderate to severe spinal pain in 11- to 13-year-olds: a cross-sectional analysis

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A Correction to this article was published on 26 January 2024

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Abstract

Neck, mid-back and low back pain, collectively known as spinal pain, become more common with increasing age across childhood and adolescence. A common belief among the general community is that sedentary time, including screen time, in adolescents is associated with spinal pain. We aimed to investigate whether exceeding 2-h of sedentary time per day is associated with moderate to severe spinal pain in a sample of Danish adolescents aged 11–13 years. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the SPACE study baseline data (2010). Adolescents self-reported their spinal pain (outcome) via the Young Spine Questionnaire and duration of engagement in sedentary behaviours (exposure). We provide estimates of associations as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, stratified by age and sex. The sample comprised 1,303 adolescents (48.7% female, mean age 12.5 years, range 10.9–14.3 years). Approximately 9 out of 10 adolescents exceeded 2-h sedentary time on weekdays outside of school (88.9%) and weekend days (89.9%). Close to one-quarter, 23.3% (95%CI: 21.0–25.6), of participants experienced moderate to severe spinal pain. We found no association between exceeding 2-h sedentary time per day and experiencing moderate to severe spinal pain; odds ratios ranged from 0.34 (95%CI: 0.04–3.20) to 4.65 (95%CI: 0.26–82.44).

Conclusion: We found no association between exceeding 2- or 5-h of sedentary time per day and moderate to severe spinal pain in this sample of 11–13-year-old Danish adolescents. Our cross-sectional analysis does not consider the longitudinal or complex sequences of events necessary to address predictive or causal questions.

What is Known:

• Up to a third of adolescents experience moderate to severe spinal pain, predisposing them to chronic spinal pain in adulthood.

• Frequent and excessive sedentary time is associated with poor overall health in adolescents; there is conflicting evidence to suggest whether it is also related to spinal pain.

What is New:

• We found no association between sedentary time and moderate to severe spinal pain in 11- to 13-year-old Danes.

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Availability of data and material

Access to the SPACE data analysed in the current study was provided by and is available from The Centre for Applied Research in Health Promotion and Prevention, Department of Sports and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark. SPACE study trial registration: www.Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN79122411.

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Funding

LM is supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program and the Chiropractic Australia Research Foundation Pty Ltd, in partnership with the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal Clinical Trials Network and Chiropractic Australia. SK is funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The original School site, Play-spot, Active transport, Club fitness and Environment (SPACE) study was funded by TrygFonden.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Laura R. C. Montgomery

  2. Sydney Local Health District, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Laura R. C. Montgomery & Michael S. Swain

  3. Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Laura R. C. Montgomery, Simon D. French & Michael S. Swain

  4. School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Steven J. Kamper

  5. Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Steven J. Kamper

  6. Centre for Pain, Health and Lifestyle, New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia

    Steven J. Kamper

  7. Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Jan Hartvigsen, Lise Hestbaek & Jens Troelsen

  8. Chiropractic Knowledge Hub, Odense, Denmark

    Jan Hartvigsen & Lise Hestbaek

Authors
  1. Laura R. C. Montgomery
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  2. Steven J. Kamper
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  3. Jan Hartvigsen
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  7. Michael S. Swain
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Contributions

Conceptualisation: L Montgomery, S Kamper, M Swain. Methodology: L Montgomery, S Kamper, M Swain. Writing (original draft preparation): L Montgomery. Writing (review and editing): L Montgomery, S Kamper, J Hartvigsen, S French, L Hestbaek, J Troelsen, M Swain. Resources: J Hartvigsen, L Hestbaek, J Troelsen.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura R. C. Montgomery.

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Ethics approval

This retrospective study adheres to the tenets of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (Updated July 2018). The Science and Engineering Subcommittee at Macquarie University approved this study (Reference No: 5201831463519, Project ID: 3146).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Communicated by Gregorio Paolo Milani

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The original online version of this article was revised: Table 2 has been corrected.

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Montgomery, L.R.C., Kamper, S.J., Hartvigsen, J. et al. Exceeding 2-h sedentary time per day is not associated with moderate to severe spinal pain in 11- to 13-year-olds: a cross-sectional analysis. Eur J Pediatr 181, 653–659 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-021-04258-x

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