Scoliosis in children and the cause of back pain in children

Young children can experience back pain due to causes such as scoliosis in children, infections, disc problems, bone marrow tumors, obesity, excessive physical activity ...

Are you surprised to hear that children have back pain? Before, you always think back pain is a disease of the elderly or those who have to do heavy work. In fact, back pain is quite common among children and adolescents with 10-30% of children having back pain.

If you notice that the child has a scoliosis or prolonged back pain, the pain is focused on one point or the child's spine looks unusual ... you should take your child to the doctor early. If not treated in time, scoliosis in children and prolonged back pain can have serious health effects that impair quality of life.

Scoliosis in children and the causes of back pain in young children

Scoliosis in children

Scoliosis in children is a deformation of the spine when the spine is bent to the right or to the left. The causes of scoliosis in children are congenital (cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy ), rickets , malnutrition , accidental injury, improper sitting posture, heavy carrying, The heights of the desks and chairs are not in line with each other ...

For people with scoliosis, if you look from the back you will see:

The shoulders are irregular, one shoulder blade will be higher than the other

Waist circumference

One hip is higher than the other

The spine is C-shaped when the top of the curve of the spine is directed to the left

The spine is-shaped (inverted C) when the top of the spine curve is directed to the right

The spine is in an inverted S or S shape: If the spine has two symmetrical curves.

In addition to the above identification signs, to accurately determine the condition of scoliosis in children, doctors will often order children to do subclinical imaging tests such as X-rays, MRI.

If not treated, children with scoliosis disease may hunchback, scoliosis ... affecting their health (chronic low back pain, premature degeneration of the spine, atelectasis), loss of aesthetics Bad impact on psychology. In addition, scoliosis condition also affects cardiopulmonary function, cardiopulmonary distortion, and female reproductive health in adulthood.

Depending on the state of the child is more or less deformed, the doctor will propose a specific treatment regimen. When the deformity has progressed to a significant level, your baby's doctor may prescribe a brace to adjust the spine. In cases of severe spinal deformity, the surgical method is considered to be the most optimal option for treating this condition. Children with low legs and feet caused by scoliosis can use orthopedic shoes for treatment.

Other causes of back pain in children

1. Back pain due to back pain muscles

Back pain caused by back pain or ligament muscle tension is the most common cause of back pain in young children and teenagers. Pediatricians estimate that about two-thirds of children with back pain are due to this cause.

This back pain occurs a lot in babies who play sports that require strong, flexible movements that require a lot of strength, such as soccer, basketball, soccer, sack dancing, gymnastics, dance. Dance, weightlifting, rowing, tug of war, martial arts ...

Most of your baby's back pain due to back muscle pain will disappear when the child has a reasonable resting regime and positive changes in activities. Children with back pain due to this cause, doctors can practice physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, yoga for children, massage ...

2. Stress fractures

Fatigue fractures are common in young adults due to long-term exertion or in women of menopausal age due to osteoporosis. However, in reality this condition can occur at any age. The main cause is the result of the stress resonance. This type of fracture is uncomplicated, so people with this type of fracture do not know they are injured.

Fatigue fractures often occur in the bones of the feet, toe bones, tibia, fibula, even vertebrae.

The most common fatigue fracture is spinal degeneration, or bone injury in the back of the vertebrae. Fatigue fractures in children occur mainly in children playing sports with the nature that causes the vertebrae to repeatedly bend, bend, stretch ... such as gymnastics, diving ...

Treatment methods for children with back pain due to fatigue fractures are usually less invasive methods such as medicine, massage ... Surgical methods are only carried out after applying the above treatment method but the child still has pain that persists for months or a severe spondylolisthesis condition.

3. Spinal disc problems

In fact, disc herniation tends to be more common in the elderly, who have to perform heavy work that is less common in young children. However, children with sedentary lifestyles, obese children or children with abnormal disc structures ... may fall into this situation.

Disc herniation occurs when the soft stroma between the two vertebrae ruptures, squeezing nerves and spinal cord. This condition causes children to have back pain, numbness, tingling in the legs, weakness in their legs, difficulty bending or stretching the spine ...

For children with severe pain or signs of nerve damage, the doctor may recommend surgery to reduce pressure on the nerve.

4. Infections of the spine, disc

Infection of the spine or disc is more common in toddlers or teenagers. Children with back pain caused by infection often have symptoms that are easy to confuse with many other diseases such as irritability, low-grade fever, back pain ...

Diagnosis of a child with back pain caused by an infection of the spine is often based on blood test results to identify signs of infection. If in doubt, your doctor may order imaging tests to pinpoint the exact location of the infection.

The main treatment is antibiotics, the surgical method is only used when the infection damages the structure of the spine.

5. Tumors on the spine or marrow

A benign or malignant bone tumor that appears in the spine can cause severe back pain in a child. If your child has back pain at night, lose weight ... you should take your child to the doctor immediately. This can be a warning sign of back pain caused by spinal tumors.

A doctor can rely on imaging tests (magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography) to make specific diagnoses. Depending on the type of spinal tumor, doctors recommend appropriate treatment. Benign tumors sometimes need surgery as well. This is because if not treated properly, they can deform the spine. Treatment for malignancies often involves a combination of treatments such as medication, radiation therapy, and surgery.

When should children with back pain see a doctor?

If your child tells you he has back pain, don't worry too much. Most of the reasons why children suffer from back pain are muscle injuries or back ligaments when exercising, playing, carrying backpacks or backpacks ... This is not too dangerous because it will go away on its own when something goes wrong. appropriate.

However, if your baby has back pain and is accompanied by one of the following warning signs, you should take your baby to the doctor. These are signs children with back pain may be linked to the above serious health problems:

Pain at night, the pain makes the baby wake up

Pain persisted for several weeks

There are symptoms such as fever, chills, irritability, weight loss ...

The limbs show signs of numbness, muscle weakness

Babies standing or walking seem to be crooked, skewed to one side

Babies always complain about back pain or discomfort when moving, playing ...

Hopefully the information that aFamilyToday Health provides above has given you an overview of scoliosis in children and back pain in children. From there, you will know the correct treatment if your child shows signs of scoliosis or back pain.