While back pain is very common for adults, children and teenagers are much more resilient and flexible. However, according to our Southend chiropractor, due predominantly to lifestyle choices, children and teenagers are increasingly falling victim to back pain. This is why at Cliffs our chiropractors are encouraging good spine health and proper posture from a young age.
Back Pain in Younger Children
Because younger children are less likely to put their spine under the same severe stresses as older children and adults, any back problems are usually short lived. Also, younger children tend to self-limit their activities and choose not to repeat painful actions. This helps in their recovery if an episode of back pain does occur.
With this in mind, any persistent back pain in a young child should be taken very seriously.
Back Pain in Teenagers
Some teens are very active and are often involved in sports or other strenuous hobbies. As with any physical activity, there is always the possibility for a back injury to occur. This risk is even higher for teens who are involved in contact sports, such as rugby, football and martial arts.
On the other end of the scale, there’s the fact that most teenagers these days spend a whopping amount of time hunched over a Smartphone, tablet or computer. Frequent inactivity and poor posture are leading causes of back problems amongst younger generations, especially teenagers. As a parent, you should always treat any kind of back injury in your teenager as a serious concern and seek an accurate diagnosis from a healthcare professional.
There is also a variety of non-physical issues which may cause back pain to develop during the teenager years. The pressures of school and growing up can be overwhelming and may lead to anxiety-induced back pain in a number of young people. Emotional stress can also worsen any existing back pain symptoms.
This type of pain affects many young people, but often the true cause is misdiagnosed.
It is never too early to teach your children the importance of looking after their spines and our chiropractors at Cliffs in Southend really do encourage you to do this. Please visit our ‘Back Story‘ page for more information on proactive ways to keep your children’s backs safe.
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