Back Pain in Children: A Guide for Parents and Guardians

If you thought back pain was a problem solely experienced by adults, then you’d be mistaken. It can affect people of all ages, including children and teens. This is because childhood is a crucial period for physical development where many critical changes occur, so pains and aches in some body parts should not be an alarming occurrence. However, discomfort caused by back pain can be worrying for many parents, and it is worth looking into to ensure that it isn’t indicative of a more serious issue. 

There are many reasons why your child’s back could be hurting, and it’s best to get up to speed on why it could be happening to determine whether a trip to a specialist is necessary. 

Muscular or Non-Specific Pain

Many adolescents experience back pain from poor posture or strain from overuse. Rest and decrease in strenuous activity is usually recommended in this case so that the back muscles can recover. 

If your child’s muscular pain isn’t going away, consider seeing a physical therapist or a pediatric chiropractor in Tulsa. 

Spinal Misalignment

Spinal misalignments are often accompanied by back pain, so it’s worth taking your child to get an x-ray to rule out conditions like scoliosis and Scheuermann’s kyphosis disease. While the latter manifests as a humpback curve in the spine, scoliosis appears as an S-shaped curvature. Both become more noticeable during the onset of puberty and are usually corrected via therapy and chiropractic care. Braces and surgery are needed in more severe cases.

Herniated Disc

Though this is uncommon, children can develop herniated discs if they experience enough physical trauma or a forceful injury. Discs found between vertebrae can rupture, which results in pain and numbness in the hands and feet due to pinching of the spinal cord or nerves. Getting surgery done for such a condition is quite expensive—but chiropractic clinics and physiotherapy centers can help with such conditions. 

Stress Fractures

Stress fractures can occur in adolescents when the back is hyperextended during sports like diving, wrestling, and gymnastics. This spinal injury can occur on one side or both sides of the spine, causing significant pain and a limited motion range. 

Your child may need a back brace for this injury, but surgery is not necessary. Medications like steroids and anti-inflammatory procedures can manage the pain when nursing such injuries. Fortunately, if appropriately worked on, it will usually not lead to further pain in adulthood.

When to Worry About Back Pain

Understanding just how serious your child’s symptoms for back pain are can ease your worry and prepare you for what care procedures to look for. Several of the issues outlined here can be addressed with physiotherapy and chiropractic care, with some requiring a doctor’s help. 

Be on the lookout for symptoms like numbness, tingling in the arms or legs, bowel problems, and fever, especially in very young children. These are signs that more urgent medical attention may be required. 

Conclusion

Back pain can be a great source of discomfort for children, but fortunately, it can be worked on through various means. Physiotherapy and chiropractic procedures can do plenty to ease the pain from muscle strain and vertebrae misalignment, and these typically go away within a short period. After determining that the cause for back pain isn’t severe, finding chiropractic care in Tulsa can be one of the best options for your child in reducing their back pain. 

Everybody can seek care options from a chiropractor for back pain—including children and teens! Here at Inside Out Chiropractic, we provide neurologically-based chiropractic care to the local community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. To book an appointment, visit our website today!