Physiotherapist-Led School-Based Back-Health Education Program

NCT07489638 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2019/094
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 317
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the effects of a physiotherapist-led, school-based back-health education program delivered in primary school classrooms. The intervention consists of a theoretical-practical workshop focused on postural habits, physical activity, electronic device use, and backpack handling. The study includes schoolchildren with and without spinal pain and assesses changes in spinal pain characteristics, postural behaviors, physical activity patterns, and electronic device use over a three-month period. The main objective is to determine whether this educational program improves back-health behaviors and related outcomes in the school setting.

Conditions

Back Pain; Spinal Pain

Keywords

prevention; schoolchildren; spinal pain; Back School; health education program; sedentary behavior prevention; healthy physical activity; Screen use regulation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in spinal pain prevalence

  Change in the prevalence of spinal pain (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar), assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Metric: Proportion of participants reporting spinal pain in each spinal region at both assessment points.

  Baseline, 3 months

• Change in spinal pain intensity

  Change in spinal pain intensity measured using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Scale. Metric: Difference in score (0-10) between baseline and 3 months.

  Baseline, 3 months

• Change in spinal pain duration

  Change in spinal pain duration categories (\<12 h, 12-24 h, 1-7 days, \>1 week). Metric: Shift in categorical distribution from baseline to 3 months.

  Baseline, 3 months

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Change in Postural Habits

  Baseline, 3 months

• Change in Daily Duration of Habitual Physical Activity

  Baseline, 3 months

• Change in Weekly Frequency of Electronic Device Use

  Baseline, 3 months

• Satisfaction with the Educational Intervention

  immediately after the final workshop

• Change in Backpack-Related Behaviors

  Baseline, 3 months

Study Arms (1)

Postural Education Workshop

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a two-session educational workshop delivered by physiotherapists. The workshop covers basic spinal anatomy, postural hygiene, the importance of extracurricular physical activity, and strategies to regulate screen use to reduce sedentary behavior. Each session lasts 45 minutes, held 2-3 weeks apart, and includes both theoretical and practical components such as proper sitting and standing posture, ergonomic adjustment of the school workstation, correct backpack use, load handling, and promotion of active habits.

Behavioral: Postural Education Workshop

Interventions

Postural Education Workshop BEHAVIORAL

Participants receive a two-session educational workshop delivered by physiotherapists. The workshop covers basic spinal anatomy, postural hygiene, the importance of extracurricular physical activity, and strategies to regulate screen use to reduce sedentary behavior. Each session lasts 45 minutes, held 2-3 weeks apart, and includes both theoretical and practical components such as proper sitting and standing posture, ergonomic adjustment of the school workstation, correct backpack use, load handling, and promotion of active habits.

Postural Education Workshop

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 9 Years - 11 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Acceptance by the school administration and the Parents' Association (AMPA) to participate in the project.
• Commitment from the school administration to ensure that students and teaching staff participating in the project complete the questionnaires on the dates indicated by the research team.
• Students aged 9 to 11 years at the start of the study.

You may not qualify if:

• Lack of acceptance from the school administration or AMPA to participate in the study.
• Failure by the school administration to ensure completion of the questionnaires on the scheduled dates.
• Students with cognitive impairments that prevent them from understanding or responding to the questionnaires.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Vigo: lead
• Servicio Gallego de Salud: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Physiotherapy

Pontevedra, Galicia, 36001, Spain

Location

Related Publications (11)

• Skaggs DL, Early SD, D'Ambra P, Tolo VT, Kay RM. Back pain and backpacks in school children. J Pediatr Orthop. 2006 May-Jun;26(3):358-63. doi: 10.1097/01.bpo.0000217723.14631.6e.

  PMID: 16670549 BACKGROUND

• Moore MJ, White GL, Moore DL. Association of relative backpack weight with reported pain, pain sites, medical utilization, and lost school time in children and adolescents. J Sch Health. 2007 May;77(5):232-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2007.00198.x.

  PMID: 17430435 BACKGROUND

• Korovessis P, Koureas G, Papazisis Z. Correlation between backpack weight and way of carrying, sagittal and frontal spinal curvatures, athletic activity, and dorsal and low back pain in schoolchildren and adolescents. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2004 Feb;17(1):33-40. doi: 10.1097/00024720-200402000-00008.

  PMID: 14734974 BACKGROUND

• Balague F, Dutoit G, Waldburger M. Low back pain in schoolchildren. An epidemiological study. Scand J Rehabil Med. 1988;20(4):175-9.

  PMID: 2976526 BACKGROUND

• Bejia I, Abid N, Ben Salem K, Letaief M, Younes M, Touzi M, Bergaoui N. Low back pain in a cohort of 622 Tunisian schoolchildren and adolescents: an epidemiological study. Eur Spine J. 2005 May;14(4):331-6. doi: 10.1007/s00586-004-0785-2. Epub 2004 Sep 30.

  PMID: 15940479 BACKGROUND

• Sjolie AN. Low-back pain in adolescents is associated with poor hip mobility and high body mass index. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2004 Jun;14(3):168-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2003.00334.x.

  PMID: 15144357 BACKGROUND

• Burton AK, Clarke RD, McClune TD, Tillotson KM. The natural history of low back pain in adolescents. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1996 Oct 15;21(20):2323-8. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199610150-00004.

  PMID: 8915066 BACKGROUND

• Watson KD, Papageorgiou AC, Jones GT, Taylor S, Symmons DP, Silman AJ, Macfarlane GJ. Low back pain in schoolchildren: occurrence and characteristics. Pain. 2002 May;97(1-2):87-92. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3959(02)00008-8.

  PMID: 12031782 BACKGROUND

• Calvo-Munoz I, Gomez-Conesa A, Sanchez-Meca J. Prevalence of low back pain in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. BMC Pediatr. 2013 Jan 26;13:14. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-13-14.

  PMID: 23351394 BACKGROUND

• Hestbaek L, Leboeuf-Yde C, Kyvik KO. Are lifestyle-factors in adolescence predictors for adult low back pain? A cross-sectional and prospective study of young twins. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2006 Mar 15;7:27. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-7-27.

  PMID: 16539729 BACKGROUND

• Feldman DE, Shrier I, Rossignol M, Abenhaim L. Risk factors for the development of low back pain in adolescence. Am J Epidemiol. 2001 Jul 1;154(1):30-6. doi: 10.1093/aje/154.1.30.

  PMID: 11427402 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Back Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Yoana Gonzalez Gonzalez, PhD

  University ofVigo

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Manuel Fraiz Barbeito, Graduate

  Sergas

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 7, 2026
• First Posted: March 24, 2026
• Study Start: March 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: July 31, 2023
• Study Completion: March 27, 2025
• Last Updated: March 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)