Causes of your child’ back pain

28 Jan Causes of your child’ back pain

It is common for children to experience back pain, as it can be caused by many factors in their daily lives. If your child is constantly complaining about back aches or pain, it vital to their health and your piece of mind that you seek the appropriate medical advice and treatment.

The most common causes of joint and back pain in children include:

• Sedentary lifestyle: children who are inactive and spend many hours seated will experience problems related to prolong sitting (read our blog: Dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, for more info on the impact of prolonged sitting). To counter act these problems try and get your child active by encourage them to walk, play outside, swim or cycle. Physical activity helps to keep the core muscles strong, which in turn supports the spine and helps to prevent back pain.
• Sport injuries: Children who play lots of sport can suffer an injury either from direct contact or by the overuse of certain muscles. if your child has suffered an injury, it is important that you seek the right care for them, as an untreated or unresolved problem now can lead to more serious aliments later in life.
• Screen time: looking down at smart phones, laptops, and tablet for extended periods of time can place the neck and back in unnatural positions, thus creating chronic muscle tension which can lead to pain and unbalanced postural changes for your child. To avoid this from happening it is important that you limit their time spent using these devices. Encouraging regular breaks may help to avoid these problems. Aim for 30-40 minutes session of screen time and taking a break to stretch out the stiff and tense muscle, before going back to work.
• Incorrect set up at their desks: When working at a desk kids tend to slouch over their laptops or tablets. To prevent them from slouching try and purchase a Bluetooth key and mouse, and a laptop stand that will elevate the screen to eyelevel, this will be helpful in getting your child to sit correctly in their chairs.
  Correct seated posture: sitting up straight with their backs resting against the backrest, elbows and knees bent at 90 degrees to their body and feet should be touching the floor. If their feet cannot touch the floor try and get them a footrest.
• Heavy school bags:  Children are often required to carry bags full of their PE kits, books and musical instruments, art supplies and other equipment they may require for school. As parents we should try to keep the weight of these bags as low as possible and invest a good quality backpack.
  It is also important to ensure that children wear the backpacks correctly: backpacks are to be worn on both shoulders, with a strap across the chest in order to keep the load as close as possible to their bodies.
  When packing the bags ensure that the heaviest items are placed closest to the body, as this will prevent any strain caused to the back muscles.
• Bad posture: can be cause by any of the above-mentioned factors.
  It should also be noted that children who have rapid growth spurts and become taller than their classmates, may slouch to “tower” over their friends. This can cause them to have rounded shoulders and a protracted head (the chin overhangs so that the ears are no longer in line with the shoulders and the pelvis), which can result in postural aliments and back pain.
• Shoes: incorrectly fitted, unsupportive and worn-out shoes can also cause pain to occur in the back.

If your child is struggling to maintain good posture or is experiencing any pain or discomfort, an osteopath may be able to help. Osteopathy uses hands-on techniques to diagnose, treat and prevent musculoskeletal aliments. It takes a holistic approach and is perfectly safe to be used alongside other forms of treatment.
Contact us at OsteoVision if you would like to discuss your child’s symptoms, have any questions or would like to book an appointment. Our team of highly skilled professionals are always on hand to assist you.
Call: 03303 904 300 
Email: info@osteovision.life
You can also book an appointment online at www.osteovision.life