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Back Pain in Kids – Why Doctors Take It Seriously
Back pain is so common at any age but kids and teens are much more resilient than adults and can bounce back much quicker. Adults have a much harder time recovering and dealing with a back injury and are prone to more severe back issues than those under 25 years old. It is actually very uncommon for children to be sufferers of chronic or debilitating back pain or problems. There are so few cases of childhood back problems and pain in fact that pediatricians take any back pain complaint very seriously and usually results in an immediate evaluation and examination. If there is a significant finding or extra tests need to be performed than usually the first course of action is an X-ray or MRI with a referral to a specialist to make sure if there is any problems they are immediately identified and taken care of before any permanent damage is done.
The most common causes of childhood related and teen back problems vary with age group. It is way more common for older kids and teens to put more stress on their spines than younger children. Therefore, it is easy to say that younger children suffer far less from back issues and pain and when they do complain it is usually short lived and nothing serious. Most very young children tend to limit their activities to things that are not dangerous and if they do make a choice that causes them pain they are most likely to not try that again. When a small child is consistently complaining of back pain or chronic discomfort then it is good idea to have them seen immediately. This could indicate some major medical issues such as a spinal tumor, growth, or an infection of the spinal tissue. When children complain and there is no physical sign of trauma then there is a good chance there is something else going on and they should be seen. Most pediatricians will recommend further testing upon examination if there is no sign of bruising or other physical symptoms.
The older kids get the more aggressive they tend to get with their activities and sports and are at a higher risk for bone and spinal injuries. Older kids and teenagers are known for trying to test the limits of their bodies to try to impress their friends and see what they can do. These are the ages that one can see more incidences of pressure fractures and it is not unheard of to see some disk fractures, especially if the child plays contact sports. It is actually very commonplace for older kids to injure their joints in between their vertebral bones. This can be quite painful and the child will need to take it easy till it heals. Usually these types of injury heal quickly when appropriately cared for and very rarely do the nerve roots get truly damaged. The worst problem that older kids face is that right after their injury heals they are right back out there doing the same risky behavior as before. The best treatment for keeping kids from injuring their backs or to recover from an injury is to get plenty of physical rest, build up the musculature in the back, and stay away from risky behavior.
The most common source of back pain in older children is that of overuse injuries or sporting accidents. Tumor and/or infections of the spine can occur but are much more rare. Another common reason that children get back pain is due to scoliosis, a S-shaped curvature of the spine. It seems to be more prevalent in young girls than boys and can be prevented with good posture. Usually during adolescence scoliosis is not a major issue causing back pain like it is in adulthood. Many teens with scoliosis can develop back pain if they engage in aggressive activities, but other than that they should be fine while in their younger years. It is when these teens hit their adult years that they will be more likely to suffer from back pain. Most children no matter what the age carry no great risk of disk rupture unless they are into extreme sports that can cause such injuries or involved in a major accident.
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