Sports Injuries & Chronic Back Pain in Teens

Because a child's spine must continue to grow for many years, repair of these bony defects requires the delicate balance of care offered by specialists.

Sport's injuries are the most common cause of back pain in children. Back pain is common after a minor fall or other injury, which can cause a muscle pull or ligament strain. The pain can be treated with anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen, rest, and ice and it should improve over five to seven days. Severe pain or pain that is not slowly improving should be evaluated by your doctor, especially after a more serious injury or high fall.

Chronic pain is uncommon in children. However, children do commonly get pain after an injury. Children suffering from pain should be seen by their doctor immediately, especially when there was no injury or the pain increases over a few days. Other warning signs that should alert you to seek medical attention include fever, weight loss, a change in the way your child walks or stands, numbness or weakness of the legs, trouble holding urine or bowel movements, pain that is constant or present at rest, and/or pain that awakens your child from sleep.

To protect your child from sports injuries make sure they have proper equipment before they participate in any team sports.

Because children rarely suffer from back pain, any complaint by a child or teenager about acute back pain or chronic back pain is taken very seriously by physicians and usually will result in a detailed consultation that will include a review of the child's medical history and a physical exam.

Scoliosis can be the cause of back pain but is a rare diagnosis among children and teenagers. Teens with scoliosis may develop back pain but it has not been found that people with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis are any more likely to develop back pain than the rest of the population.

Degenerative problems from years of wear and tear, which are routine in adults, are rarely the cause of problems in the pediatric population, a child may suffer from a range of spinal defects and abnormalities of both the spinal cord and vertebral column. Vertebral column problems include fused vertebrae, absent vertebrae, and joint abnormalities, which cause instability to the spine placing the spinal cord at significant risk of injury.