More and more children have back pain

More and more children suffer from back pain.

(01.07.2010) More and more children in Germany suffer from back pain. The main reasons are insufficient exercise and improper diet. Children who have back pain early on will later have more problems with their backs.

According to a study by the German Employees Health Insurance (DAK) more and more children suffer from back pain. For example, the number of affected children with back pain has increased rapidly in the last ten years. The health problems usually begin at school age and are particularly common at the age of 11 to 14 years. In the course of the study, about 100 paediatricians were interviewed. The study was prepared by the research group "Forsa" on behalf of the DAK.

The doctors said the proportion of children with severe back pain was about 13 percent. The proportion of children with mild to moderate back pain would be 44 percent. The main reason for the rapid increase in complaints is not enough exercise and movement and a high sum of game consoles and television. In addition, parents would not promote their children enough in the motor sector and stimulate motor development too little. But too insufficient physical education and an unbalanced diet are in the opinion of doctors, the main reasons for back pain in childhood. Also read: Back pain exercises. (Sb)