Abstract

Musculoskeletal pain and headache are leading causes of years lived with disability, and an escalating problem in school children. Children spend increasingly more time reading and using digital screens, and increased near tasks intensify the workload on the precise coordination of the visual and head-stabilizing systems. Even minor vision problems can provoke headache and neck- and shoulder (pericranial) pain. This study investigated the association between headaches, pericranial tenderness, vision problems, and the need for glasses in children. An eye and physical examination was performed in twenty 10–15 year old children presenting to the school health nurse with headache and pericranial pain (pain group), and twenty age-and-gender matched classmates (control group). The results showed that twice as many children in the pain group had uncorrected vision and needed glasses. Most children were hyperopic, and glasses were recommended mainly for near work. Headache and pericranial tenderness were significantly correlated to reduced binocular vision, reduced distance vision, and the need for new glasses. That uncorrected vision problems are related to upper body musculoskeletal symptoms and headache, indicate that all children with these symptoms should have a full eye examination to promote health and academic performance.

Highlights

  • Musculoskeletal pain and headache are leading causes of years lived with disability, and an escalating problem in school children

  • The physical examination revealed that eighteen (90%) of the children in the pain group had upper shoulder trigger points, which was significantly more frequent compared to the 8 (40%) in the control group (χ2(1, n = 40) = 11.00, p = 0.001)

  • In the pain group there was a significant improvement in best corrected visual acuity (VA) in the right eye (n = 20, p = 0.023)

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Summary

Introduction

Musculoskeletal pain and headache are leading causes of years lived with disability, and an escalating problem in school children. Uncorrected vision problems (and need for glasses) substantially increase the load on the visual system and head-stabilizing muscles, provoking eyestrain, headache, and neck and back p­ ain[10,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28]. Even minor vision problems such as small refractive errors or reduced accommodation can cause these symptoms, as well as additional difficulty concentrating and poor coordination These vision problems challenge the ability to maintain good vision over time, and this may lead to unnecessary difficulties at school, lower academic performance, and risk for chronic pain d­ evelopment[17,29,30]. In a study published in 2015 including 493 Norwegian adolescents aged 12–18 years, the participants lost on average 9 days of activity per year because of headaches, significantly interfering with their daily activities and constituting a major health ­problem[34,35]

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