ABSTRACT
Adolescent Low back pain (ALBP) has been identified as a significant adolescent morbidity within the community. A number of authors have identified a link between ALBP and low back pain during adulthood (Brattberg 2004, Greene et al. 2001, Harreby et al. 1995, Hellsing and Bryngelsson 2000, Hestbaek et al. 2006a, Hestbaek et al. 2006b), raising the potential that the seeds of the condition are planted early on. A key operational element for successful early intervention in the management of an adolescent morbidity, such as ALBP, is the identification of causal antecedents (Johnston 2002). A review of the literature identified 13 potential causal antecedents for the development of ALBP, with the strongest evidence being for age, smoking and psychological risk factors. Support for a relationship betweenALBP and factors such as gender, height, weight, strength, flexibility, posture, physical activity, familial history, socioeconomic conditions and load carriage remains ambiguous.
