Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Canada.
Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Canada.
Chiropr Man Therap. 2023 Jul 31;31(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s12998-023-00496-y.
Low back and neck pain are common in the general population, but the prevalence among Canadian post-secondary students is not well known. We aimed to determine the one-week prevalence of neck pain (NP) and low back pain (LBP) among postsecondary students in Canada.
We conducted a cross-sectional study of students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University, and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) in the Fall of 2017. Neck and low back pain intensity in the past week were measured with the 11-point numerical rating scale. We report the cumulative, gender- and institution-specific one-week prevalence (95% CI) of any pain (1-10/10) and moderate to severe pain (≥ 3/10).
The one-week prevalence of any neck pain ranged from 45.4% (95% CI: 38.4, 52.4) in the Faculty of Education to 76.9% (95% CI: 72.9, 80.4) at CMCC. The one-week prevalence of neck pain ≥3/10 ranged from 44.4% (95% CI: 37.5, 51.4) in the Faculty of Education to 58.4% (95% CI: 54.0, 62.7) at CMCC. The one-week prevalence of any low back pain ranged from 60.9% (95% CI: 53.8, 67.5) in the Faculty of Education to 69.0% (95% CI: 64.8, 73.0) at CMCC, and the one-week prevalence of low back pain ≥ 3/10 ranged from 47.8% (95% CI: 43.4, 52.2) at CMCC to 55.1% (95% CI: 51.2, 58.9) in the Faculty of Health Sciences. The prevalence of any back or neck pain and pain ≥ 3/10 was consistently higher in females than males, with the largest difference seen for neck pain at CMCC.
Most post-secondary students in our samples experienced LBP and NP in the past week. Overall, the one-week prevalence of NP and LBP was higher among chiropractic students and among females. This study should draw attention to school administrators about the burden of NP and LBP in post-secondary students.
腰痛和颈痛在普通人群中很常见，但在加拿大的大学生中，其流行率尚不清楚。我们旨在确定加拿大大学生中颈痛（NP）和腰痛（LBP）的一周患病率。
我们对安大略省科技大学健康科学学院和教育学院以及加拿大脊骨神经医学院（CMCC）的学生进行了一项横断面研究，这些学生于 2017 年秋季入学。过去一周内颈痛和腰痛的强度用 11 点数字评定量表进行测量。我们报告了任何疼痛（1-10/10）和中重度疼痛（≥3/10）的累积、按性别和机构划分的一周患病率（95%CI）。
教育学院的任何颈痛一周患病率为 45.4%（95%CI：38.4，52.4），CMCC 为 76.9%（95%CI：72.9，80.4）。教育学院的颈痛≥3/10 的一周患病率为 44.4%（95%CI：37.5，51.4），CMCC 为 58.4%（95%CI：54.0，62.7）。教育学院的任何腰痛一周患病率为 60.9%（95%CI：53.8，67.5），CMCC 为 69.0%（95%CI：64.8，73.0），CMCC 的腰痛≥3/10 的一周患病率为 47.8%（95%CI：43.4，52.2），健康科学学院的腰痛患病率为 55.1%（95%CI：51.2，58.9）。女性中任何背部或颈部疼痛以及疼痛≥3/10 的患病率始终高于男性，在 CMCC 中，颈痛的差异最大。
我们样本中的大多数大学生在过去一周内都经历过腰痛和颈痛。总体而言，脊骨神经医学学生和女性的 NP 和 LBP 一周患病率更高。这项研究应该引起学校管理人员对大学生 NP 和 LBP 负担的关注。
