Knee pain in adolescents: prevalence, risk factors, and functional impairment.
Mirelle O Saes, Maria C F Soares
PMID 28442078WHAT IT FOUND
22.6% of adolescents reported knee pain in the past week.
Pain was more common in older teens and in those not doing school physical education. Girls with knee pain reported greater functional impairment.
Key findings
0122.6% of adolescents reported knee pain (n=140), with no difference between boys and girls.
02Knee pain was more common with increasing age and among adolescents not doing school physical education; prevalence was 34.7% at 15-17 years and 37.8% among those not doing school physical education.
03Among adolescents with knee pain, girls reported greater functional impairment than boys (p=0.02).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Knee pain was self-reported and not checked by examination, so the true cause of each adolescent's pain is unknown. The survey asked about pain in the last 7 days, so it cannot show how long pain lasted or whether it was chronic. Because this was a cross-sectional survey, it cannot show that older age, lack of school physical education, or other factors caused knee pain. The study was limited to public schools in one city in southern Brazil, and it excluded students who used walking aids or could not understand the questionnaire. Only 45 adolescents did not take part in school physical education, so the comparison with those who did take part rests on a small group. The adult KOOS was used for adolescents, although the authors state there is little difference between the adult and child versions.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that school physical education prevents knee pain. This was a cross-sectional survey, and it only shows that adolescents who did not take part in school physical education reported more pain; pain could also reduce participation.