The statistics for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), especially neck and shoulder pain, are grim. In fact, neck pain prevalence is as high as 1 in 4 people, with office workers, manual laborers, and healthcare workers being at risk the most. However, it's not just adults who are suffering from these conditions.
A 2019 research posted on BMC Public Health reported that neck and shoulder pain can even be prevalent among elementary students. It studied 693 elementary school students in Iran and found that 35.8% of the students experience neck pain, while 30.9% complain of shoulder pain.
The Common Causes of Neck and Shoulder Pain in Elementary Students
The BMC Public Health research looked at the elementary students' physical and leisure activity, psychosocial variables, and school-related aspects and found the following reasons for neck and shoulder pain in students:
Poor Posture
School children have a high propensity to bend their neck, back, and trunk for long periods of time. This prolonged poor posture leads to the musculoskeletal pain that they experience.
Mismatched School Furniture
Most elementary schools use same sized furniture which mismatch the body measurements of a great number of students. By not having the right desk and seat height, the children are forced to maintain abnormal postures that lead to shoulder and neck pain.
A high desk height, for example, makes the students raise their arms, increasing the burden on their upper bodies and eventually leading to neck and shoulder problems. Meanwhile, a short desk height encourages the children to slouch or lean forward. A forward posture can put immense weight on the neck and upper back.
Too Much Homework
The amount of homework is another major risk factor for elementary students. The more time spent doing homework, the more likely that the children experienced neck and shoulder pain.
According to a 2013 study, the worst position to do homework is to bend on the floor. This position causes muscle weakness in the spinal cord and an increased kyphotic curve. Once the upper body muscles weaken, they won't be able to hold the spine straight. This forces the ligaments, bones, and cartilage to work more, increasing kyphosis and causing neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Difficulty in Viewing the Board
The research published in the BMC Public Health research mentioned difficulty in viewing the board as another contributing factor to neck and shoulder pain in children. A 2017 cross-sectional study of more than 1600 schoolchildren aged 11 to 14 years supports this.
There are many possible reasons why students have difficulty reading what is on the board. It could be due to an improper desk arrangement, poor lighting, or being too far away from the board.
When the children are overextending their neck to see the board, it can cause neck pain.
How to Reduce Neck and Shoulder Pain in Young Students
Considering the risk factors mentioned above, there are plenty of steps that can be done to prevent these painful conditions in elementary students. Some proposals by experts include:
Use of Adjustable Furniture
The use of adjustable children's furniture can make a huge impact in reducing shoulder and neck pain in children, by catering to each child's body individually. Some of them are height adjustable, and feature desk tops that tilt toward the child to avoid the need to lean forward, a common problem with children.
Replacing existing school furniture with adjustable ones is obviously not feasible in many cases, and depends largely on each school district's budget.
Encourage Frequent Breaks
Another way to mitigate musculoskeletal pain is to prevent children from staying in one position for too long. When kids are doing a huge amount of homework, writing their report, or studying for upcoming exams, they should know it is important to take frequent breaks.
Not only does taking a break help reduce mental fatigue, it also helps students retain more of what they're studying. Of course, since we're talking about neck and shoulder pain here, what they do during their short break is very important. Encourage your children to take a quick walk, do some stretches, or anything that would get them moving.
A good starting point is 50 minutes of study and 10 minutes of break.
Class Seating Arrangement
A good class seating arrangement is helpful to the students' learning and health. During decision-making, consider factors like the students' height and if anyone has vision problems. Tall students should be seated at the back while shorter ones should be at the front.
Meanwhile, kids with good vision are better positioned far from the board while near-sighted ones should be nearer.
Additionally, you can reduce lighting glare in classrooms by using venetian blinds to control the amount of daylight that goes in.
Teaching the Correct Sitting Posture
Teach kids the importance of good posture and remind them every now and then to check their sitting position until it becomes a habit.
Just like with adults, their posture should follow the 90-90-90 angle rule.
Keeping the straight back with the backrest for support, their thighs should rest flat on their seats to create a 90° angle.
Their knees should be at a right angle from their thighs with 1 to 2" of space from the edge of the seat.
With their feet flat on the floor, it should form a right angle to their ankles.
Mitigating the Risks
The BMC Public Health research sheds light on the risks even children face today with neck and shoulder pain development. School personnel and parents are encouraged to work together to minimize the risks at school and at home before it's too late.
