Schoolchildren and adolescents

Cases studies
Schollchildren and adolescent Expecting mothers Parents and grandparents Older people Sedentariness Overweight people Sportsmen and sportswomen People with stress Workers Computer addicts Sick people People who have already had back surgery

The back is an important part of the body. It is very robust and has a special shape that makes it possible for the body to stand straight and move.

It was once thought that back problems, known medically as "mechanical pathologies of the rachis", were very rare among young people. We now know that this is not the case, and that they frequently occur, especially from the age of 12 onwards

What can cause back pain?

This is normally due to malfunctioning of the back muscles and not to a disorder of the spinal column.

The following factors have been shown to be associated with increased risk of back pain and are particularly frequent among young people in industrialised countries:

1. Sedentariness, which entails lack of muscular strength.

2. Bad postural habits.

3. Inappropriate competitive practice of some sports.

In some cases, like eurhythmics in young girls, such practice can cause deformations of the spinal column such as scoliosis..

In most cases this is because inappropriate training can cause muscle imbalances that affect normal back function but do not produce deformations of the spinal column.

But one thing is clear: exercise and sport are good for the back. Problems only arise when the training is inappropriate and is repeated with high intensity. If the training is appropriate, exercise and sport reduce the risk of back pain. There is a section of this site that shows sports and exercises which enhance the power, resilience and elasticity of the back muscles.

4. There may also be other factors that increase the risk of back pain but are not exclusive to young people.

Can back problems have prejudicial consequences for you?

Yes. The available studies show that if you suffer chronic problems now, you are more at risk of suffering them as an adult.

A study of two adolescent groups, one healthy and the other with back pain, showed that:

Contrary to former belief, alterations in the shape of the spinal column detected by x-sys, such as scoliosis, hyperlordosis, rectifications or spondylolisthesis, do not significantly affect the risk of a young person suffering back pain, either at the time the anomalies are detected or in the following 25 years. The same is true of scoliosis as long as it is less than 60º.

Adolescents with persistent pain are more at risk of it becoming chronic when they are adults.

Fear of pain can also instil an attitude which in itself increases the risk of suffering these problems in the future.

Repose and limitation of activity through fear of pain have been shown to be ineffective and counter-productive as treatments. In fact it has been demonstrated that they increase the risk of pain occurring and lasting longer.

Therefore, if you habitually limit your activity for fear of pain or you cease that activity whenever the pain occurs, you will acquire an attitude to pain that aggravates your disability and increases the risk of the pain recurring and becoming chronic.

So, if your back hurts it is important to do something to end the bout and prevent it from recurring. However, it is equally important that the pain should not prevent you from leading a normal life. Don't give in to it.

Some deformations of the spinal column can go on getting worse until the end of growth, especially in girls. It is very rare for such deformations to become severe enough to cause medical problems or affect your appearance, but it is essential to monitor their progress in order to take the appropriate action in each case. The requisite action is explained in the sections of this site on scoliosis and hyperkyphosis. Therefore, if you have one of these disorders, you need a doctor to monitor its development and you need to follow his directions.

What can you do to treat and prevent back pain?

There are several things:

1. Avoid the factors that increase the risk of back pain.

2. Take effective action to prevent it.

3. Observe these rules of postural hygiene.

4. Do sports and exercises that help make the back muscles strong, resilient and elastic.

5. If you get pain, have your doctor do everything necessary to diagnose the cause of the pain and administer the appropriate treatments as early as possible.

6. In any case, think positively and don't let the pain limit you. You will most likely be able to lead a normal life in spite of the pain.

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