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Cited by 56Pediatric Pain Management TechniquesMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationConnective tissue disorders research

Musculoskeletal pain in schoolchildren across puberty: a 3-year follow-up study

Open access
Sperotto, Francesca, Brachi, Sara, Vittadello, Fabio, Zulian, Francesco·2015·Pediatric Rheumatology
DOI 10.1186/s12969-015-0014-zPMC PMC4438455
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (MSP) in children can be due to non-inflammatory conditions, such as the benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS) or idiopathic MSP (IMSP). Aim of the study was to evaluate type and persistence of MSP in a cohort of schoolchildren with MSP followed for 3 years, in order to identify the main risk factors. METHODS: Healthy schoolchildren, aged 8-13 years, underwent a general and rheumatologic examination, focusing on presence of chronic MSP, defined as continuous or recurrent pain lasting more than 3 months and heavily interfering with daily life activities, presence of generalized joint hypermobility, the body mass index and the pubertal stage. All symptomatic subjects were re-evaluated 3 years later with the same methods. RESULTS: Seventy of the 88 symptomatic subjects of the initial cohort of 289 were re-evaluated 3 years later. Of these, 38 (54.3 %) still presented MSP, including 19 with BJHS and 19 with IMSP. Main symptoms were lower limbs arthralgia and myalgia. MSP persisted more in females than in males (p = 0.038) and in pubertal rather than pre-pubertal subjects (p = 0.022); these subjects recovered significantly more both from BJHS (p = 0.004) and IMSP (p = 0.016). Gender did not influence the distribution of MSP according to pubertal stage. CONCLUSIONS: Female gender, BJHS and pubertal stage are important risk factors for persistence of MSP. Further studies are needed to evaluate the natural history of MSP towards adulthood and the role of the pubertal age.

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  • Musculoskeletal complications and comorbidities can occur in any child.

    “Skin and soft tissue features may develop with time post growth (stretch marks) or injury (scarring), and musculoskeletal complications and comorbidities can occur in any child [6].”

    From Pediatric joint hypermobility: a diagnostic framework and narrative review (2023) · cites this paper as [6]

    The Background describes musculoskeletal pain as a frequent cause of pain and sometimes disability in childhood, supporting the general point that children can have musculoskeletal problems. It does not establish that complications and comorbidities can occur in any child; the study concerns musculoskeletal pain in a cohort of schoolchildren. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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  • Skin and soft tissue features may develop with time post growth, such as stretch marks, or with injury, such as scarring.

    “Skin and soft tissue features may develop with time post growth (stretch marks) or injury (scarring), and musculoskeletal complications and comorbidities can occur in any child [6].”

    From Pediatric joint hypermobility: a diagnostic framework and narrative review (2023) · cites this paper as [6]

    The Methods (Clinical assessment) describe examination of pubertal stage and the musculoskeletal system, while the Background and Discussion address musculoskeletal pain across puberty. No passage in our copy addresses stretch marks, scarring, or skin and soft-tissue features developing after growth or injury; searches for those terms found none. (LLM, conf=0.73)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Sperotto, F., Brachi, S., Vittadello, F., & Zulian, F.
Affiliations
University of Padua (IT)
Corresponding author
Zulian, Francesco
ORCID
Venue
Pediatric Rheumatology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-05-15
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
16-16
ISSN
1546-0096 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12969-015-0014-z
PMC
PMC4438455
OpenAlex
W2153916779
Cited by
56
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5
FWCI
6.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Pediatric Rheumatology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Connective tissue disorders research
Keywords
chronic musculoskeletal pain, elementary school students, puberty, benign joint hypermobility syndrome, pain persistence, risk factors, sex differences, body mass index, myalgia, natural history (disease)
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Joint Instability, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Puberty, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Cohort Studies, Body Mass Index, Prevalence, Musculoskeletal Pain

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