Children Complaining About Back Pain at Earlier Ages

Back pain in adults is common. After all, they work in jobs that have them sitting down for long periods of time or working with their back muscles day in and day out. However, back pain is no longer just an adult problem; parents are noting that their young children are complaining of back pain as well. This rise can be attributed to a number of reasons. For instance, present-day children lead more sedentary lives (playing games and watching television); their parents, on the other hand, didn’t have all the gadgetry to buy and play when they were young and didn’t have to worry with this issue as young kids.

Sleeping Habits – Children need plenty of rest every night, about eight to 10 hours to be exact. This rest time is sufficient enough for the body and all its systems to reenergize. How children and adults sleep is also important since laying on the belly can put too much stress on the body’s lower back and neck. The two best sleeping positions include sleeping on the side or the back.

Second, children must use backpacks to carry all their school supplies and books. As parents know, these bags can get very heavy because schoolteachers hand out subject books for children to use at home and in class. Many schools have eliminated the extra time between classes for safety reasons, thus not allowing students the time to visit their lockers to get and put away books.

Schools can easily deal with this problem by allowing students to get downloadable versions of their books. Many schools are going this route but there are still many more that haven’t. Children using book bags should utilize both straps, have the bag up high and keep it tight against the body. Book bag weight should never be an excess of 10 percent of the child’s weight. Anything more and it puts a strain on their backs.

The best backpacks have shoulder and waist straps, but it can be difficult to get kids to wear them at times. There are also bags that roll. If you purchase one of these, make sure that they switch arms from time to time. This prevents overstretching of the chest muscles. Chiropractors can perform a postural exam to show the effects of a book bag or backpack.

Games/Computers – Low back pain can be attributed to computers and video games. Many kids are sitting in one spot for a long time with very little back support. Since this is a cause of back pain, parents must limit how long their child is using the computer or playing games.

Fourth, children who play sports are at very high risk for developing back pain. Parents don’t often think about sports being a problem since so many kids are involved in it; however, sports like basketball, football and soccer has a lot of physical contact and injuries are not uncommon. While kids are tough and pain tends to go away quickly, the damage that’s been caused by the injury has already been done. Whenever a sports injury occurs, parents should immediately seek medical assistance.

A child’s doctor may conduct a postural exam that can detect any abnormalities. If any are found, the doctor will suggest a medical treatment designed to fix the problem (so long as it’s not too late). The best treatment children can do themselves is to prevent back pain in the first place. By following these simple tips, a child won’t have to deal with back pain at the immediate moment.

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