Backache, headache for our teens glued to their screen!

Backache, headache for our teens glued to their screen! In addition to promoting physical inactivity and overweight, the hours spent in front of a TV screen, computer and console games are also accused of giving the wrong back and cause headaches. What is it really?

It is a fact, youth have more backache and a headache!

The pain in the back, neck and shoulders, as are headache, do not just affect adults but also teenagers. Among young people aged 12-19 years, the main concern felt pain the head, immediately followed by the back. The stomach ache is only in third position. But we also find that the complaints are more frequent. For example, between 1991 and 2001 they increased by studies, 22-50% for males and 44-50% among girls.

The decrease in physical activity, poor posture, a binder too heavy, are all factors that could contribute to the increasing frequency of pain among adolescents. Unless the time spent watching TV or a computer, which has also sharply increased in parallel, that explains this ... A European study helps answer this question.

The screen is it generates pain in the adolescent?

This study included 30,000 adolescents aged 11-15, living in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland. They were asked to evaluate the average time they spend on daily activities on screen televisions, computers (work and / or leisure), game console.

They should also indicate the frequency with which they felt pain in the neck, lower back, headaches, etc.. (Less than once monthly, once, twice a month ...). Finally, the authors took into account the physical activity of candidates.

They find that among boys, 15-31% are prone to headaches and 11-21% suffer from backache. For girls the percentages are 26-44% for headache and 11-26% for the back. Finally, subjects who complain the most pain are those who spend the most time in front of a screen. The activities on screen thus increase the risk of pain in adolescents.

Caution, however, this relationship between screen and pain is not very strong. This means that activities on screen are not the only factor generating pain.