Introduction:
Spine pain is an important social problem concerning the majority of the adult population, it is also the main cause of disability. Numerous research conducted on different populations suggest that it is also a significant problem among children and youth.

Objectives:
The aim of the study was to examine: the frequency of spine pain occurrence in high school youths and the scale of this problem. Also examined was on which parts of the spine the back pain occurred, and how it related to the study subjects. Selected potential risks and implemented counter-measures were also subjected to analysis.

Material and methods:
The study involved a group of 499 participants: 290 girls, 209 boys who were secondary school students aged 16-18. The study consisted of a questionnaire concerning spine pain, the frequency, location, reasons, risk factors and remedies.

Results:
Only 37.9% girls and 45% boys did not have pain incidents. No age or morphological parameters were found with the incidence of pain. The most frequent reason for pain was sitting for long periods – 35.5% girls and 34.2% boys. Gender differentiated reasons for pain were physical activity (p<.001) - declared more often by boys and lack of reasons (p<.01), and declared more often by girls.

Conclusions:
Spinal pains are common and affect more than a half of high school students in the Upper Silesian of Poland. The most common location is the lumbar section. Factors affecting the frequency of pain are: susceptibility to stress, vision and postural defects.