Effect of a high-density foam seating wedge on back pain intensity when used by 14 to 16-year-old school students: A randomised controlled trial

Physiotherapy (United Kingdom)

Volumn 98, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 300-306

  Candy, Elizabeth A ^a,b,c   Farewell, Daniel ^b   Jerosch Herold, Christina ^c   Shepstone, Lee ^c   Watts, Richard A ^c   Stephenson, Richard C ^d  

^a ANEURIN BEVAN UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD   (United Kingdom)

^b CARDIFF UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA   (United Kingdom)

^d UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

14 to 16 year olds; Back pain; Randomised controlled trial; School seating

Indexed keywords

EID: 84868197092     PISSN: 00319406     EISSN: 18731465     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.physio.2011.04.353     Document Type: Article

References (29)

1. Jones G., Macfarlane G. Epidemiology of low back pain in children and adolescents. Arch Dis Child 2005, 90:312-316.
2. Burton A.K., Clarke R.D., McClune T.D., Tillotson K.M. The natural history of low back pain in adolescents. Spine 1996, 21:2323-2328.
3. Harreby M., Neergaard K., Hesselsøe G., Kjer J. Are radiologic changes in the thoracic and lumbar spine of adolescents risk factors for low back pain in adults? A 25-year prospective cohort study of 640 school children. Spine 1995, 20:2298-2302.
4. Grimmer K., Nyland L., Milanese S. Longitudinal investigation of low back pain in Australian adolescents: a five-year study. Physiother Res Int 2006, 1:161-172.
5. Jeffries L.J., Milanese S.F., Grimmer-Somers K.A. Epidemiology of adolescent spinal pain: a systematic overview of the research literature. Spine 2007, 32:2630-2637.
6. Hakala P.T., Rimpelä A.H., Saarni L.A., Salminen J.J. Frequent computer-related activities increase the risk of neck-shoulder and low back pain in adolescents. Eur J Public Health 2006, 16:536-541.
7. Grimmer K., Williams M. Gender-age environmental associates of adolescent low back pain. Appl Ergonom 2000, 31:343-360.
8. Troussier B., Tesniere C., Fauconnier J., Grison J., Juvin R., Phelip X. Comparative study of two different kinds of school furniture among children. Ergonomics 1999, 42:516-526.
9. Mandal A.C. Traditional school furniture damages backs. Talkback 2004, 16-18.
10. Astfalck R.G., O'Sullivan P.B., Straker L.M., Smith A.J. A detailed characterisation of pain, disability, physical and psychological features of a small group of adolescents with non-specific chronic low back pain. Man Ther 2010, 15:240-247.
11. Balagué F., Dudler J., Nordin M. Low-back pain in children. Lancet 2003, 361:1403-1404.
12. Murphy S., Buckle P., Stubbs D. A cross-sectional study of self-reported back and neck pain among English schoolchildren and associated physical and psychological risk factors. Appl Ergonom 2007, 38:797-804.
13. Mandal A.C. The correct height of school furniture. Physiotherapy 1984, 70:48-53.
14. Linton S.J., Hellsing A.L., Halme T., Akerstedt K. The effects of ergonomically designed school furniture on pupils' attitudes, symptoms and behaviour. Appl Ergonom 1994, 25:299-304.
15. Murphy S., Buckle P., Stubbs D. Classroom posture and self-reported back and neck pain in schoolchildren. Appl Ergonom 2004, 35:113-120.
16. Bendix T., Bridger B. Seating concepts. Working postures and movements 2004, CRC Press, Boca Raton. N. Delleman, C. Haselgrave, D. Chaffin (Eds.).
17. Pynt J., Higgs J., Mackey M. Historical perspective milestones in the evolution of lumbar spinal postural health in seating. Spine 2002, 27:2180-2189.
18. Pynt J., Higgs J., Mackey M. Seeking the optimal posture of the seated lumbar spine. Physiother Theory Pract 2001, 17:5-21.
19. BSI. Educational furniture. Part 1: specification for functional dimensions, identification and finish of chairs and tables for educational institutions. London: BSI; 1980.
20. BSI. BSEN 1335-1 Office furniture. Office work chair. Part 1: dimensions - determination of dimensions. London: BSI; 2000.
21. BSI. BSEN 1335-2 Office furniture. Office work chair. Part 2: safety requirements. London: BSI; 2000.
22. Candy E., Shepstone L., Watts R. Does the introduction of a simple wedge to school seating reduce adolescent back pain?. Int J Ther Rehabil 2004, 11:462-466.
23. Wu C.S., Miyamoto H., Noro K. Research on pelvic angle variation when using a pelvic support. Ergonomics 1998, 41:317-327.
24. Jensen M.P., Karoly P. Self-report scales and procedures for assessing pain in adults. Handbook of pain assessment 2001, Guildford Press, London. D. Turk, R. Melzack (Eds.).
25. R Development Core Team. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna; 2011. Available at: (accessed: 31st May 2011). http://www.r-project.org/.
26. Corbeil R.R., Searle S.R. Restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimation of variance components in the mixed model. Technometrics 1976, 18:31-38.
27. Rubin D.B. Inference and missing data. Biometrika 1976, 63:581.
28. Coughlan S. Not all going on a summer holiday. BBC News 18/7/2007. Available at: (accessed: 17th November 2007). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6288114.stm.
29. Watson K.D., Papageorgiou A.C., Jones G.T., Taylor S., Symmons D.P.M., Silman A.J., et al. Low back pain in schoolchildren: occurrence and characteristics. Pain 2002, 97:87-92.