The conditioning of the trunk muscles and back health in Physical Education

Background. The search for scientific arguments for the inclusion of back health as a fundamental aspect in the contents of physical conditioning for health in Physical Education (PE) in schools has led us to search for the relationship between the resistance of trunk musculature and non-specific low back pain in 1st year compulsory secondary education (CSE) students. Methods. Three tests were used: the front bridge (FB) test, the dominant side bridge (SB) test, and the modified Biering-Sorensen test (BS). The Nordic questionnaire was used to assess back health.Results. The prevalence of low back pain in boys was 58.3% (n = 42), while in girls it was 52.7% (n = 39) with no statistically significant differences. In the general sample, the students who had lower levels of muscular resistance of the trunk were associated with poor back health, while the students with better results were associated with good back health values. Conclusion: The resistance levels of the trunk musculature can be associated with the level of back health in 1st year CSE students. At these ages there are no large differences in the level of core resistance strength between sexes thus facilitating inclusive work in PE. Keywords: Muscular endurance; Core; Non-specific low back pain; Secondary education; Health education.