More Screen Time Equals More Spinal Pain According to Study

A study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (BioMed Central) on April 26, 2021, showed that an increase in screen time for children is directly associated with an increase in spinal pain. This study, titled "Spinal pain in pre-adolescence and the relation with screen time and physical activity behavior" was conducted at the Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, in Denmark.

The stated purpose of the study was "To investigate how screen time and physical activity behavior were associated with spinal pain in pre-adolescence." To accomplished this, the researchers sent web-based questions to children and their mothers. The children were asked how much of their leisure time did they spend in front of the computer, on computer gaming such as PlayStation, XBox, PSP, Nintendo and Wii, or watching TV or movies.

The scale of this study was large as the researchers obtained results from 45,555 children between the ages of 11 and 12. In addition to screen time, the researchers questioned the participants about their physical activity and how much time they engaged in sports. The researchers used the WHO's definition of physical activity which includes activities such as games, playing, sports, transportation, recreation, physical education and planned exercise in the context of family, school and community activities. The children were also asked to rate how much spinal pain they may have experienced using a scale from 1 to 6 with 6 being the most pain.

The results showed that almost half of the children spent between 2 and 4 hours per day in front of some sort of screen. A smaller amount, 22%, spent less than 2 hours per day in front of a screen, and 9% spent more than 6 hours per day in front of screens. As expected, those with more screen time engaged in less physical activity.

The researcher found that those children with more screen time were proportionality more likely to have spinal pain. The more time a child spent in front of a screen, the less activity they engaged in and the more spinal pain they suffered. Children who spent more than six hours per day in front of screen were significantly at risk for spinal pain according to the researchers.

In their conclusion the researchers noted, "Findings indicate that both duration of screen time and physical inactivity are correlated with spinal pain in pre-adolescents with the strongest associations for screen time. Reducing screen time or increasing physical activity might help preventing spinal pain in pre-adolescents, particularly among high frequent screen users."

Dr. Robert Braile, chiropractic practitioner and past president of the International Chiropractors Association commented on the findings in this study by saying, "Our bodies and spines are made to move. This is especially important in the developing skeletal system of a child. Screen time has become a part of our children's culture. We must, however, balance this with inclusion of physical activity for children. The results of a sedentary lifestyle for kids is resulting in numerous health issues both short-term and long-term."