The one-week prevalence of neck pain and low back pain in post-secondary students at two Canadian institutions

BACKGROUND: Low back and neck pain are common in the general population, but the prevalence among Canadian post-secondary students is not well known. We aimed to determine the one-week prevalence of neck pain (NP) and low back pain (LBP) among postsecondary students in Canada. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University, and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) in the Fall of 2017. Neck and low back pain intensity in the past week were measured with the 11-point numerical rating scale. We report the cumulative, gender- and institution-specific one-week prevalence (95% CI) of any pain (1–10/10) and moderate to severe pain (≥ 3/10). RESULTS: The one-week prevalence of any neck pain ranged from 45.4% (95% CI: 38.4, 52.4) in the Faculty of Education to 76.9% (95% CI: 72.9, 80.4) at CMCC. The one-week prevalence of neck pain ≥3/10 ranged from 44.4% (95% CI: 37.5, 51.4) in the Faculty of Education to 58.4% (95% CI: 54.0, 62.7) at CMCC. The one-week prevalence of any low back pain ranged from 60.9% (95% CI: 53.8, 67.5) in the Faculty of Education to 69.0% (95% CI: 64.8, 73.0) at CMCC, and the one-week prevalence of low back pain ≥ 3/10 ranged from 47.8% (95% CI: 43.4, 52.2) at CMCC to 55.1% (95% CI: 51.2, 58.9) in the Faculty of Health Sciences. The prevalence of any back or neck pain and pain ≥ 3/10 was consistently higher in females than males, with the largest difference seen for neck pain at CMCC. CONCLUSION: Most post-secondary students in our samples experienced LBP and NP in the past week. Overall, the one-week prevalence of NP and LBP was higher among chiropractic students and among females. This study should draw attention to school administrators about the burden of NP and LBP in post-secondary students. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12998-023-00496-y.