Back pain has been widely studied by doctors and researchers for years. However, very little has been done looking into similar effects on children and adolescents—until now.
Peter D. Fabricant, MD, MPH, is an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York City. Along with his colleagues, he recently presented the findings of their new study at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
The study was titled The Epidemiology of Back Pain in Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study of 3,669 American Youth. It highlights a significant increase in back pain—specifically in the lower back—in kids from ages 10 to 18 years old.
New Research On Back Pain In Youth
The subjects were proportionally representative of the population where they resided—race/ethnicity, and health insurance status as determined by census data. They were also equally divided by age and sex. Additionally, any outlier subjects were excluded from the final analysis in order to yield more accurate results.
Here are some of the findings:
- Back pain is common in children and adolescents. Back pain incidents in children tend to increase by about 4% with each year of age.
- Females reported more back pain than males in the previous year—38% compared to 29%. In both groups, lumbar back pain was the most common at 68.9%.
- Of the children involved in the study, 33.7% experienced some form of back pain in the previous year, but only 40.9% of them sought treatment like physical therapy, massage therapy, or chiropractic treatment.
- Although back pain is common in children and adolescents, less than 5% of those who sought treatment needed surgical or procedural intervention. In conclusion, back pain in children very rarely involves invasive treatment.
Chiropractic Care To Treat Back Pain In Youth
As a noninvasive treatment, chiropractic care can be effective for the growing number of children who are experiencing back pain. While not a guaranteed solution, chiropractic treatment yields significant results for many suffering from different forms of back pain. It also has the ability to benefit even more youth.
Ready to give chiropractic care a try for your child? Schedule your appointment today with Spring Creek Medical Center’s chiropractor in Logan, Utah!
