School kids in Australia are at risk of developing pre-arthritic postures. There has been an influx of children in Western Australia seeing physiotherapists for sore backs and necks, and physios have put it down to too much sitting and using screens.

Amidst this health crisis, a primary school in Queensland has developed an innovative solution. They have hired a physiotherapist to be available on campus, not just during school hours but also before and after school and even during lunchtime. This proactive measure is a testament to their dedication to the health and well-being of their students.

Kate, a primary school teacher at a local school in Brisbane, says that children sit more these days than they did 15-20 years ago.

“I have been a schoolteacher for a few decades, and I have definitely seen a change in how much a child moves now compared to a couple of decades ago. These days, lots of kids get driven to school. They sit a lot in class, do homework on a screen, or play video games. Their lifestyles are very sedentary. Kids used to ride their bikes more, play more sports, play outside at home, and I was certainly seeing fewer spinal issues in school kids,” she says.

A study by Deakin University in Victoria found that high school students spent most of their sitting time during school. The study was conducted on 400 students across 18 high schools. This means that these teenagers spent two-thirds of their waking hours sitting.

“I would love for schools in Australia to start implementing more outdoor learning, stand desks for students, and, overall, to start getting more creative so that children aren’t sitting down all day,” says Kate.