BACK PAIN IN CHILDREN

1. BACK PAIN IN CHILDREN Back pain is associated with old age but there are many children who suffer from it and their parents frequently consult us about this discomfort suffered by their son or daughter. Fortunately, it is common for it to be sporadic pain as a result of poorly coordinated exercise, trauma or poor posture when studying, working with the computer, watching television or carrying a backpack to school. In general we always recommend that you keep your back attached to the back of the seat, as stiff as possible, avoid curvatures in the neck when working, so it will be necessary in the case of using the computer, that the screen of the same located at eye level and in front of them, not to one side as often happens, which in addition to neck pain will cause frequent headaches secondary to the continuous mobility of the eyes to be able to correctly visualize the display of our computer. On the other hand, it is essential that both feet rest on the floor, attaching the height of the chair to the size of the child in order to achieve this. Similarly, it is essential that every 30 to 45 minutes the boy and the girl get up from their seat and walk, as it is not highly recommended for the back in particular and for the rest of the muscles in general, the exaggerated sedentary lifestyle that many boys and girls show, especially when watching television or playing video games, causing in addition to back pain the feared obesity by the absence of physical exercise and by the usual rule of ingesting empty calories such as industrial pastries, sugary soft drinks, etc. that aggravate the discomfort. This is nonsense, since not all boys and girls have the same height at the same age, which means that while some do not fit in their desks, others hang their feet when they are seated. This is an issue that should be resolved as soon as possible. With regard to backpacks, it is essential that their weight does not exceed 15% of the weight of the child and that they are made of a semi-rigid material, with padded and adjustable straps, with a harness at the level of the abdomen and/or chest to avoid mobility and with the existence of multiple compartments to distribute the weight. It is important to teach the boy and the girl to distribute the weight in the backpack so that the heaviest is in the area closest to the body. We must also make sure that the size of the backpack is in accordance with the child's back and that its base does not exceed the second lumbar vertebra. If they decide to use backpacks with wheels, the ideal is that they take it pushing it in front and not behind as it is the habitual thing already of this last form favors the asymmetrical stretching of a part of the body that in the long run can pass invoice to them. The badly coordinated exercise or the traumatisms as I have said are also cause of back pains reason why we will have to insist on the necessity of a good coordination at the time of realizing any sport and to use suitable protectors to palliate the effect of the falls to these ages. The exploration of the back is fundamental when it comes to making a diagnosis. We must consciously observe the possible deviations or anomalous curvatures of the spine that are the cause of the problem. Thus, we may find scoliosis or lateral deviation of the spine, kyphosis or

2. abnormal curvature of the spine with dorsal prominence or lordosis when the opposite occurs. These pathologies will require the help of a specialist to correct this problem, since in the long run, if not treated, it can condition the well-being of the person in adulthood and old age. The exploration mentioned above is very simple and it is enough to place ourselves behind the boy or girl and make him/her bend the torso, trying to touch the toes with the fingers of the hand. If there is scoliosis, for example, we would observe a curvature of the spine and a prominence on the back, with no symmetry between both sides of the back. The treatment in principle is of observation but if the degrees of curvature are important we will need to treat them with a corset and in extreme cases we will have to resort to surgery. The latter, fortunately, is not the norm. Reference: how to cure back pain