Low Back Pain in Children and Adolescents

By Gitte Nielsen - Senior Physiotherapist SOS Centres Weybridge and Sevenoaks

It has been reported that up to 40% of children and adolescents, between the ages of 10 and 16 years, complain of low back pain. A further 13% of this population experiences recurrent symptoms, with the episodes becoming increasingly frequent with age.

Less than 10% of children with low back pain are absent from school or sports/ physical activities due to their symptoms. It has been reported that the pain, in the majority of cases, resolves within 7 days. However, a quarter of the children who complains of recurrent low back pain symptoms miss days at school and nearly a third of them miss out on sports activities.

What causes children to have low back pain?

Various theories of the cause of low back pain in children and adolescents have been proposed. The most common causes reported in the literature are heavy school bags, poorly designed furniture at school, being tall and a sedentary life style e.g. prolonged seating in front of computers.

All of these activities may overload the joints and ligaments in the spine and cause the muscles to become weak, which in turn reduces stability to the joints.

How can Physiotherapy help children and adolescents with low back pain?

Through an assessment the Physiotherapist can identify which structures of the joints and muscles are causing pain. Treatment will then be directed at correcting any movement dysfunctions, re-educating poor posture, strengthen weak muscles and provide advice on adequate activity levels and seating arrangements for study.