Sports, smoking, and overweight during adolescence as predictors of sciatica in adulthood: a 28-year follow-up study of a birth cohort.

Lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity, and level of physical activity predict low back pain (LBP) and sciatica. The authors investigated whether participating in sports, smoking, and being overweight or obese at 14 years of age predicted hospitalizations due to LBP or sciatica in adulthood. In 1980, at the age of 14 years, a total of 11,399 members of the 1966 Northern Finland Birth Cohort returned the postal questionnaire.

Factors related to seeking health care among adolescents with musculoskeletal pain.

Musculoskeletal pain is common among adolescents, but little is known about the factors that affect seeking health care for the problem. We examined the care-seeking pattern among adolescents reporting musculoskeletal pain. The study consisted of adolescents aged 16 years from the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort who responded to a mailed questionnaire in 2001 and reported musculoskeletal pain over the preceding 6 months (n=5052).

Risk factors for persistence of multiple musculoskeletal pains in adolescence: a 2-year follow-up study.

Musculoskeletal pain in multiple sites is common already in adolescence, and may lead to subsequent musculoskeletal complaints in adulthood. We examined predictive factors for the persistence of multiple musculoskeletal pains in adolescence over a 2-year time span. A postal questionnaire was administered to a subsample of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n=1773) when subjects were aged 16 and 18.

Is insufficient quantity and quality of sleep a risk factor for neck, shoulder and low back pain? A longitudinal study among adolescents.

The quantity and quality of adolescents' sleep may have changed due to new technologies. At the same time, the prevalence of neck, shoulder and low back pain has increased. However, only a few studies have investigated insufficient quantity and quality of sleep as possible risk factors for musculoskeletal pain among adolescents.

Muscular fitness in relation to physical activity and television viewing among young adults.

Purpose: To study how time spent in physical activity and that in television (TV) viewing are associated with muscular fitness among young adults.

Methods: The study population consisted of a cross-sectional sample of 381 males and 493 females aged 19.1 yr (SD 0.

Psychosocial, mechanical, and metabolic factors in adolescents' musculoskeletal pain in multiple locations: a cross-sectional study.

Recent studies indicate that adolescents often experience musculoskeletal pains in two or more body locations. However, previous studies have mainly focused on localized pains, and the determinants of multiple musculoskeletal pains in adolescents are not well known. The present study was set to evaluate the role of psychosocial, mechanical, and metabolic factors in adolescents' musculoskeletal pains in multiple locations.

Reproducibility and reference values of inclinometric balance and isometric trunk muscle strength measurements in Finnish young adults.

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the reproducibility of the maximal isometric trunk muscle strength testing and inclinometric method to measure body sway and to establish reference values for these measurements in young Finnish adults. Reproducibility was assessed with 2 repeated measurements. Reference values are based on the cross-sectional cohort data.

Musculoskeletal pains in relation to different sport and exercise activities in youth.

Purpose: We examined the associations between participation in different sports and exercise activities and neck, shoulder, and low back pains in adolescents.

Methods: This population-based study included the members of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986, who, at the age of 15 to 16 yr, completed a questionnaire including items about their musculoskeletal pains and participation in various sport and exercise activities (N = 6945). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate how musculoskeletal pains are associated a) with participation in a certain type of sport or exercise activity and b) with the clusters formed by latent class analysis (LCA) according to the adolescents' profiles of participation in different sport and exercise activities.