An assessment of lower back pain in young adults: implications for college health education

A convenience sample of 243 undergraduates completed a 36-item questionnaire on their knowledge about back care and exercise patterns before they attended lectures and a workshop on back mechanics. At the workshop, the students were individually evaluated for posture, hamstring flexibility, hip flexor flexibility, back and abdominal strength, and lifting technique. Twenty-nine percent of the students reported that they experienced no back pain; 71% experienced lower back pain 1 to 5 days a week. The majority were neglectful of their posture, lifting and carrying techniques, and scored fair-to-poor on the hamstring flexibility test, possibly foreshadowing back problems in later life. The majority of respondents were unsure of what exercises to do for back care. Within the subgroup of students who claimed they were knowledgeable about exercise, more than 50% were performing ineffective and potentially harmful exercises. The results underscored the potential worth of health education on back care offered through didactic instruction and experiential workshops.