Children Complaining About Back Pain at Earlier Ages
Many parents are reporting that children are starting to have back pain at younger ages. This may be due to several factors. The children of today are leading different lives than most of us did when we were children. They spend much more time in sedentary positions than they do participating in activities.
So why do children suffer with back pain? Actually, there are four explanations to this growing problem. First, children are not sleeping correctly; either they are getting less than eight to 10 hours of rest or they are sleeping wrong by lying on their stomachs. Children must sleep a sufficient amount of hours and sleep lying on their backs or sides, in order to not place stress on their necks and lower back.
Second, children must use backpacks to carry all their school supplies and books. As parents know, these bags can get very heavy because schoolteachers hand out subject books for children to use at home and in class. Many schools have eliminated the extra time between classes for safety reasons, thus not allowing students the time to visit their lockers to get and put away books.
There is, however, a solution to this problem and this is getting downloadable versions of the books. Many schools have opted to go this route. However, if a child's school is still using regular books (most are), the child will need to use both straps of the bag; they'll need to make sure the bag is resting high and that it's tight against the body, as this will help to reduce the amount of strain placed on the back. A child's backpack should never weigh more than 10 percent of their weight.
Parents have several choices in the kinds of bags they can purchase for their children. If they choose to purchase the standard backpack, parents will need to make sure there are straps for the waist and shoulder (students typically use the shoulder straps and not the waist ones). However, parents can also find roller bags and if these are purchased, children will need to switch their arms to ensure that the chest muscles are not being overstretched.
Games/Computers - Low back pain can be attributed to computers and video games. Many kids are sitting in one spot for a long time with very little back support. Since this is a cause of back pain, parents must limit how long their child is using the computer or playing games.
An often overlooked area of injury to kids is sports. Since children are very resilient, many of their injuries are overlooked. The pain usually goes away rapidly, but an injury may still remain. Parents should not be embarrassed about seeking healthcare for any possible injury. Take extra care when overlooking any sports injuries or falls. Better safe than sorry!
Having a postural exam performed on children can be very helpful. Many postural problems can be detected and corrected if found early. Prevention is always the preferable treatment. Following some of the tips in this article can help with back pain in later years.
So why do children suffer with back pain? Actually, there are four explanations to this growing problem. First, children are not sleeping correctly; either they are getting less than eight to 10 hours of rest or they are sleeping wrong by lying on their stomachs. Children must sleep a sufficient amount of hours and sleep lying on their backs or sides, in order to not place stress on their necks and lower back.
Second, children must use backpacks to carry all their school supplies and books. As parents know, these bags can get very heavy because schoolteachers hand out subject books for children to use at home and in class. Many schools have eliminated the extra time between classes for safety reasons, thus not allowing students the time to visit their lockers to get and put away books.
There is, however, a solution to this problem and this is getting downloadable versions of the books. Many schools have opted to go this route. However, if a child's school is still using regular books (most are), the child will need to use both straps of the bag; they'll need to make sure the bag is resting high and that it's tight against the body, as this will help to reduce the amount of strain placed on the back. A child's backpack should never weigh more than 10 percent of their weight.
Parents have several choices in the kinds of bags they can purchase for their children. If they choose to purchase the standard backpack, parents will need to make sure there are straps for the waist and shoulder (students typically use the shoulder straps and not the waist ones). However, parents can also find roller bags and if these are purchased, children will need to switch their arms to ensure that the chest muscles are not being overstretched.
Games/Computers - Low back pain can be attributed to computers and video games. Many kids are sitting in one spot for a long time with very little back support. Since this is a cause of back pain, parents must limit how long their child is using the computer or playing games.
An often overlooked area of injury to kids is sports. Since children are very resilient, many of their injuries are overlooked. The pain usually goes away rapidly, but an injury may still remain. Parents should not be embarrassed about seeking healthcare for any possible injury. Take extra care when overlooking any sports injuries or falls. Better safe than sorry!
Having a postural exam performed on children can be very helpful. Many postural problems can be detected and corrected if found early. Prevention is always the preferable treatment. Following some of the tips in this article can help with back pain in later years.
About the Author:
About the author: Dr. Robert Simmons is a charlotte chiropractor using applied kinesiology technique. We regularly hold free charlotte chiropractic nutrition seminars and exciting classes.