Around 3 in 10 children and adolescents suffer from body pain

Approximately 30% of Brazilian children and adolescents report feeling pain in their bones, ligaments and muscles that is so severe that it prevents them from carrying out some daily tasks. The data come from a survey carried out with students from Ceará and São Paulo and published in the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy.

This type of pain can often be overlooked by parents and healthcare professionals. The new discoveries help to demystify the condition and prevent the development of chronic pain in adulthood.

Musculoskeletal pain in children and adolescents

• The study was carried out with 2,688 children and adolescents with an average age of 12 years from 28 public and private schools.
• Of the total, 728 (27.1%) reported experiencing intense musculoskeletal pain in the last 30 days before applying the questionnaire.
• This questionnaire considers pain that affects children’s daily lives, preventing them, for example, from attending school and/or carrying out sporting activities.
• Back pain was the most cited (51.8%), followed by legs (41.9%) and neck (20.7%).
• The young people who feel the most pain are older, have a difficult relationship with their family, have more psychologically aggravated symptoms and seem to spend more time watching television and playing video games.
• This study is observational and did not investigate possible causes.

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Growing pains: myth or truth?

The parents of the children and adolescents who participated in the research also filled out a questionnaire about their children’s health conditions. In 17% of cases, they minimized the children’s complaints and considered it a less serious problem.

This type of vision is not uncommon. Most people believe that the pain cited by children and adolescents is related to their growth. However, science currently does not have enough evidence to prove that this link actually exists.

The research team highlights that it is necessary to pay attention to children’s reports of pain, as this can prevent a bigger problem during adult life. Treatment includes physical activity.

There is no reason to be overly concerned, but it is important to know the condition, validate the symptom and possibly seek help for those whose lives are impacted by the condition. Always remember that this is a common problem.

Tiê Parma Yamato, study coordinator, for Agência FAPESP.

The study also followed patients with musculoskeletal pain for a year and a half to understand its duration and financial impacts on the healthcare system. The results should be released soon.