Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39438037›Full record

SynthesisBritish journal of sports medicine2025

Does sedentary behaviour cause spinal pain in children and adolescents? A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Laura R C Montgomery, Michael Swain, Amabile B Dario, Mary O'Keeffe, Tie P Yamato, Jan Hartvigsen, Simon French, Christopher Williams, Steve Kamper

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in British journal of sports medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Laura R C MontgomerySchool of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia laura.montgomery@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1634-0846
Michael SwainDepartment of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2184-8409
Amabile B DarioSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Mary O'KeeffeSchool of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Tie P YamatoSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jan HartvigsenCenter for Muscle and Joint Health, Department of Sports and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5876-7410
Simon FrenchDepartment of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7061-7706
Christopher WilliamsUniversity Centre for Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8896-0978
Steve KamperSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate whether sedentary behaviour is a risk or prognostic factor for spinal pain in children and adolescents. Specifically, to estimate the (1) direction and strength of the association; (2) risk of spinal pain onset and (3) effect on spinal pain prognosis.

designSystematic review with meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Electronic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science up to 23 March 2023. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Reports estimating the effect of sedentary behaviour on spinal pain in young people (≤19 years).

resultsWe included 129 reports, 14 were longitudinal (n = 8 433) and 115 were cross-sectional (n > 697 590). We incorporated 86 studies into meta-analyses. (1) From cross-sectional data, we found low certainty evidence of a small positive association between sedentary behaviour and spinal pain (adjusted odds ratio 1.25 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.33), k = 44, n > 92 617). (2) From longitudinal data, we found low certainty evidence of no increased risk for the onset of spinal pain due to sedentary behaviour (adjusted risk ratio 1.07 (95% CI 0.84 to 1.35), k = 4, n = 1 292). (3) No studies assessed prognosis.

conclusionCross-sectional data suggest minimally higher odds of spinal pain for children and adolescents who engage in greater sedentary behaviours. However, longitudinal data do not support a causal relationship, indicating that sedentary behaviour does not increase the risk for onset of spinal pain. Due to the low certainty of evidence, these findings must be interpreted with caution. We found no evidence of the effect sedentary behaviour has on spinal pain prognosis in children and adolescents, highlighting a considerable gap in the literature.

Indexed as

Back PainSedentary BehaviorAdolescentChildCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPrognosisRisk FactorsAdolescentBackChildNeckSedentary Behavior

Identifiers

PMID39438037
PMCPMC11874411

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.