Lower back pain in girls. What to do if your child has back pain

Back pain is usually more characteristic of adults. But it is by no means impossible to ignore their appearance in children. If a child complains of back pain, this is a signal for parents to take action. What can cause pain and what to do about it, we will tell in this article.

Causes

A child's back always hurts for some reason. There is no causeless pain in this part of the body. All reasons can be divided into several groups. The back can hurt due to an injury, and this is a fairly common situation. Pain can be a symptom of disorders in the state of the spine - scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis.

The next group of reasons concerns complications viral diseases. Often, influenza, SARS, and some other infectious diseases cause rheumatism. Back pain may be associated with diseases that are not related to musculoskeletal system, for example, to certain diseases of the kidneys, in which the lower back hurts.

It is impossible to ignore the complaints of the baby for back pain. The listed groups of reasons can represent serious danger for the life and health of the child. The sooner the cause is found pain syndrome, those with more likely the child can be effectively helped.

Let's look at some of the most common causes of pain. This information is provided as a reference only and cannot be used for self-diagnosis, install accurate diagnosis only a doctor can.

Incorrect distribution of the load on the back

This is a fairly common cause, which gradually leads to the fact that the child complains about aching pain in back. The load on the back muscles is unevenly distributed in children who wear an uncomfortable satchel, clog it too much with textbooks, as well as in children who learn lessons and work in an improperly organized workplace - with insufficient lighting, a low or excessively high chair or table.

The vertical load is incorrectly distributed with incorrect posture, prolonged sitting in a sitting position. Therefore, children who prefer computer games to all entertainment in the world are much more likely than others to complain of back pain.

Children who sleep on a soft mattress with a large pillow also suffer from pain. In a dream, the baby's body "fails", physiological curves spinal column take the wrong position.

The constant tension of the back muscles leads to impaired blood circulation in them, which is manifested by pain. The child may complain of pain, usually in the afternoon, pain can be observed in the shoulder blades, in the lumbar region.

Correcting the situation is quite simple. The action plan for this is:

show the child pediatric orthopedist to find out if the load distribution disorder has caused scoliosis and other changes in the spine;
buy your child the simplest reclinator - the “eight”, so that he can maintain his posture;
organize workplace right - think over the lighting, the height of the furniture;
change the child's backpack or bag to an orthopedic satchel or a backpack with rigid orthopedic inserts and make sure that the backpack is not too heavy;
change the mattress on the child's bed to a hard orthopedic one, replace the large pillow with a small and dense one, or teach the child to sleep without a pillow;
limit the time spent by the child at the computer, prohibit reading while lying down.

Injuries

Children often fall, jump, run, and therefore complaints of back pain can occur after jumping on a trampoline, after falling from a bicycle or swing, even after physical education, if the exercises were associated with jumping or sharp turns body.

You can suspect an injury in a child by the nature of the pain. If in the first case it is aching and muffled, then when the spine is injured, it is sharp, a strong character, often accompanied by "lumbago". On the spine, when an individual vertebra is injured, you can see a slight swelling, touching which will be quite painful for a son or daughter. In some cases, vertebral fractures are asymptomatic, and the pain increases gradually.

Spinal injuries may be accompanied by headache, nausea, loss of consciousness, impaired coordination of movements. You can't wait in this case. If the child complains of back pain after physical activity, jumping, visiting attractions, falling, you should act immediately. The action plan is:

lay the child on his back, fix him as much as possible, immobilize;
call an ambulance and wait for the doctors;
with severe pain, you can give the child painkillers, but not in tablets, because swallowing reflex may be broken; it is better to make an intramuscular angle in upper part hips in front.

To establish the nature and extent of the injury, if any, it is necessary to contact a traumatologist, surgeon or vertebrologist. The ambulance will carefully take the child to the hospital, where the appropriate specialists will find the cause of the pain and begin appropriate treatment.

It is not necessary that the child will have a fracture. Bruises and sprains are not ruled out, but the first response measures for parents should be exactly the same as described above so as not to harm the baby in the event of a fracture.

Inflammatory diseases

Quite often, muscle pain in the back area manifests itself as a consequence after suffering a sore throat or flu. Rheumatic pains usually occur after an acute period of the disease, when the body temperature returns to normal. By itself, rheumatism can be accompanied by a new round of fever.

The pains are sharp and painful. Distinguishing them from trauma is quite simple - before the onset of pain, there was no physical activity, falls and jumps. Often the area of the shoulder blades, the cervical region hurts.

Myositis often develops - inflammation of the muscles as a result past illness or hypothermia, for example, after being in a draft or a long swim in a cold body of water.

The procedure should be like this:

the child must be at rest;
provide him with dry heat;
call the pediatrician;
start applying local funds- ointments and gels that the doctor will prescribe;
after acute period left behind, you can do physical therapy, massage and gymnastics.

Pathologies of the musculoskeletal system

The child begins to complain of back pain if he develops scoliosis in full swing. Curvature of the spine initial stage may not manifest itself in any way, but there always comes a moment when tense muscles can no longer painlessly hold the curved vertebrae, trying to compensate for the distribution of the load.

Most often, such pain is experienced by children of early age. school age as well as teenagers from 10 to 16 years old. pain attacks are repeated with enviable frequency. She has different intensity, then increases, then decreases. The back hurts especially badly after a long walk, after physical education or the need to sit for a long time (in a lesson, for example).

Other symptoms include - fatigue, headaches, visual displacement of the shoulder blades relative to each other in height, different shoulder heights, hunched and lowered shoulders.

If there was no flu, tonsillitis, the child did not fall and did not hit his back, then it is imperative to consider the likelihood of developing scoliosis in him.

The action plan for parents looks like this:

visit an orthopedic surgeon or traumatologist with your child. If there is a vertebrologist in the hospital, you can visit him;
do x-rays back, feet (to also exclude flat feet as a cause of back pain);
start treatment according to the regimen prescribed by the doctor - wear a corset or posture corrector, visit an exercise therapy room, a physiotherapy room, give the child a massage;
for sleep, you should choose a hard surface - hard "shields" that can be bought at any orthopedic salon;
follow the correct organization of the workplace, choose the right backpack with wide straps and an orthopedic back;
limit the time of watching TV and playing games at the computer;
give the child to the swimming section - this particular sport will help strengthen the back and quickly achieve a stable therapeutic effect.

Many parents are faced with a serious problem: the child. Unpleasant sensations are most often localized in the lumbar region.

They can appear in the baby too. preschool age, and in a teenager. Discomfort occurs from time to time or torments constantly, sometimes associated with sports or household chores. In no case should you close your eyes to this symptom: you should contact a vertebrologist who will find out the cause of the pain and select a treatment.

Pain Causing Factors

According to statistics, discomfort in the lumbar region, adolescents are most often disturbed. In 80% of cases, they are provoked by muscle strain, physical exertion or poor posture. In 20% of cases, the problem is associated with serious diseases of the spine and internal organs.
Most often, discomfort is caused by the following reasons:

improperly organized workplace;
uncomfortable satchel;
poor-quality bedding (mattress, pillow);
overstrain of the muscular corset;
received injuries;
benign and malignant tumors;
inflammatory processes;
curvature of the spine (scoliosis);
osteochondrosis.

An uncomfortable backpack can cause back pain in children

If the pain is caused by domestic causes (uncomfortable chair, muscle strain, etc.), then unpleasant symptom easy to remove, eliminating the provoking factor. If this does not help, then the reason lies deeper and is associated with serious diseases. You need to see a doctor and get tested. If the pain is sharp, traumatic nature, you need to immediately go with the child to a medical facility.

Symptoms of back pain in children

Unpleasant sensations different origin may be of different nature:

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spicy;
aching;
weak.

The pain may disturb the child constantly or appear from time to time. If discomfort often visits the baby, you need to pay attention to the presence of other signs of health problems.

The most common back pain in children is moderate character and intensify in the evening. If a child complains of feeling unwell immediately after sleep, this is a symptom of a serious spinal disease.

Frequent intense pain may be a manifestation of a tumor or hernia. In this case, the health of the child in the future depends on the timely appeal to a specialist.
Even if the pain is not acute and visits the baby infrequently, you should not refuse a visit to the vertebrologist. This specialist will conduct a thorough diagnosis and identify the causes of discomfort. Practice shows that in most cases, discomfort is caused by incorrect posture or overwork associated with visiting sports or dance sections and circles.

Features of the symptomatology and its causes

To understand the causes of lumbar discomfort, one should pay attention to its localization and the direction in which it radiates.
If discomfort is localized in the lower left side of the back and often visits the child, this indicates the beginning of the development of scoliosis. You should immediately consult a doctor: the curvature of the spine at this age progresses rapidly.
Lower back pain can be a symptom of spinal osteomyelitis. This disease is rare, but the possibility of its occurrence cannot be ruled out. The disease is accompanied by others external manifestations: fever, general weakness.
Unpleasant sensations in the left side of the lower back may indicate serious violations in the work of internal organs. This is how kidney stones, inflammation of the bladder manifest themselves. In adolescent girls, pain before menstruation may radiate to this area.
Unpleasant sensations covering the entire lower back and not having a specific localization are often associated with overwork due to sports or dancing. Also, the rotational movements of the back, characteristic of some children's games, can become a cause of discomfort. Muscle tension leading to pain occurs when you stay in one uncomfortable position for a long time: sitting at a computer or at a school desk.

For back pain in a child, you should consult a doctor who will select an adequate treatment.

If the discomfort is mild, it may be due to the use of an incorrectly selected (too soft) mattress. This symptom is also characteristic of obese children. It is connected with the fact that a person constantly has to "wear" overweight body.
Acute pain in the lumbar region is not always caused by diseases. Sometimes it becomes the result of psycho-emotional overstrain in a stressful situation. In this case, the child increases the sensitivity in the shoulder girdle and neck.

Diagnosis and treatment of pain

If the child is constantly disturbed by discomfort in the lumbar region, you should consult a doctor. Such a problem is the responsibility of several specialists:

pediatrician;
traumatologist;
orthopedist;
vertebrologist;
hematologist.

Often a child cannot objectively assess his condition. Parents should help him conduct a self-diagnosis. Ask the baby questions about his well-being, observe him, evaluate if there are any external signs diseases (general malaise, fever, nausea, etc.).
The doctor is studying medical card child, conducts an oral conversation and external examination. According to the results of these events, he assigns certain studies to the patient. For example, a blood test is sufficient to determine an infectious disease, an x-ray is required to diagnose spinal ailments, and difficult cases- computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.
Treatment for discomfort depends on the diagnosis. If everyday factors are the cause of pain, it is enough to simply exclude them. Negative influence and pick up orthopedic bedding for the child. If discomfort is caused by diseases of the internal organs, the doctor selects the necessary medicines. In some cases (an attack of appendicitis), urgent surgical intervention is required.
If the pain syndrome is caused by a disease of the spine, a set of measures is necessary. Reception medicines in this case plays a secondary role. Much more important is properly selected physical therapy, manual therapy and physiotherapy. It is also important to monitor your posture, eat right and observe the daily routine.

Scoliosis as a cause of back pain

Often children take uncomfortable postures when sitting at a table, playing at a computer, watching TV. This can lead to a sideways curvature of the spinal column - scoliosis. The baby begins to hurt his back in the chest and lower back, there is general weakness, fast fatiguability.
B progresses very quickly, so carefully monitor the condition of your child. If you notice the asymmetry of the nipples or shoulder blades, the shortening of one leg, the appearance of a hump on the back, immediately contact a doctor: a pediatrician or an orthopedist.

How younger child, the more dangerous the consequences of scoliosis can be. It is not simple cosmetic defect, This serious problem, negatively affecting the condition of the spine and internal organs. If your baby is diagnosed with a curvature, immediately start treatment: exercise therapy, physiotherapy and massage. Some patients are shown to wear orthopedic corsets and even surgery.

Sometimes children complain to their parents about pain in the back, lower back or spine, but why do children have back problems? It seems that they should not have osteochondrosis, lumbago and other troubles? Why can a child's back hurt? In fact, just like adults, children can get back pain due to different reasons- ranging from simple fatigue due to active exercises and activities during the day, to the presence of very dangerous and serious illnesses. Let's look at back problems in more detail.

Most common causes pain.

So, the most popular, probably, of the diseases of the back, which manifests itself as pain, is scoliosis (this is a curvature of the spine, both to the sides and back and forth). Parents of almost half of today's schoolchildren and even preschoolers are familiar with this problem. Children today are extremely vulnerable heavy loads, are forced to carry heavy backpacks with books and school supplies, sit in a static position for a long time in the classroom, and even pore over the lessons in the evenings. School loads today are such that doing homework with children is a matter of more than one hour.

No less than the development of back problems contributes to the global penetration into our lives of computers, tablets, TVs and other devices that make life easier. If earlier children from the street could not be driven home, they rode bicycles, skates and sleds all day after school, today for many parents it is a problem to send their children for a walk. At home there are social networks, games on tablets and computers, movies and cartoons on TV, etc. And parents are simply afraid to let their children go for a walk - the situation today is criminogenic, and there is neither the strength nor the desire to walk with them. Fewer children began to attend various sports sections, firstly, many parents are very busy, and secondly, there are almost no free ones left and there is no way to take children there.

Everything would be fine if it were not for health problems: lack of fresh air and static loads on the back prolonged sitting do not contribute to health in general, and a strong skeleton and good posture - in particular. With prolonged sitting, the large and heavy head of the child presses on the spinal column, leading to its compression, squeezing of the intervertebral discs and impaired posture. This leads to back pain and stoop. When moving, the loads are evenly distributed and there is no such problem. Such problems must already be dealt with with the help of a physiotherapy doctor and physical therapy, massage and physiotherapy. In addition, parents need to take care of an ergonomic table and chair for the student, as well as proper lighting so that the spine does not suffer.

Other causes of pain in the back and spine can be injuries, sprains in the muscles of the back, lower back. Often this happens with back bruises and falls on the back, with immoderate or improperly built sports, exercises on the back muscles without their preliminary warm-up and preparation. This can happen in teenagers, more often in boys. Moreover, it is worth remembering that complaints of pain may not occur immediately after a workout or injury, but after a few days or a few hours, when pain occurs in the focus of the affected muscle. active inflammation. If the child complains of back pain, find out from him if he fell on his back, if he hit it, if he did exercise beyond measure.

Also, the cause of back pain can be the desire of parents for the comfort of the baby and buying him a soft mattress. Doctors have shown that constant sleep on featherbeds or very soft mattresses can lead to pain in the back area, especially severe when waking up and in morning time. During sleep, the back should be straight, maintaining all the physiological curves along the spine, which helps to fully relax the muscles. If the mattress is soft and squeezes under the body of the baby, the muscles experience stress and tension instead of rest, which leads to their spasm and blood stasis, this causes pain and a feeling of tension in the back. solution similar problem it can be getting the right mattress.

Another problem associated with back pain can be damage to the internal organs. In particular genitourinary system children. Often with inflammatory processes in the area of the kidneys or in the area of the bladder due to reflex irritation nerve trunks there is a feeling of heaviness or pain in the lower back. If a child regularly complains of pain in the lower back, while they are not associated with physical exertion and injuries, and when tapping in the lumbar region, there is an increase in pain, this may be a sign of kidney damage. It is necessary to pass at least a urine test and undergo an ultrasound of the kidneys.

The girls in adolescence back pain in the sacrum and lower back can occur as a precursor to menstruation, or pain occurs in the first days of menstruation, and such pain can also be a sign of damage to the genital organs, especially the uterine appendages. For such complaints, immediate appeal to a gynecologist and conduct a detailed examination. In principle, slight discomfort during menstruation is quite acceptable, but they should not be strong and even more painful.

Another cause of pain in the spine or back can be inflammatory and degenerative lesions of the muscles of the back and the area of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs. Parents of those children who complain about the difficulty of getting up in the morning, the occurrence of pain that radiates to the legs, in which lameness may occur, should be especially wary. Usually children, as they say, "swing" and "pacing" after a few minutes or hours and the pain disappears, but these symptoms are very dangerous. After physical activity, such pains usually increase. It is worth consulting with an orthopedist.

Rare options.

There are over a hundred causes for back and spine pain, and many of these causes are rare. It is worth remembering - the child's skeleton consists of their strong bone base, vertebral bodies, which are strong and durable due to the sufficient content of calcium in them. If the child's nutrition is inadequate, he receives little calcium from the diet, or calcium is heavily consumed, blocked by taking any medication or toxic drugs(For example, anticonvulsants), a state of rickets occurs (if it is an age of up to 1-2 years), or a state of osteoporosis at an older age. Equally important will be the vitamins necessary for the absorption of calcium, especially vitamin D and B vitamins. Take care of proper nutrition child and their consumption enough foods with calcium.

Even less often, children develop viral, microbial and tuberculous lesions of the spine, causing persistent and increasing symptoms in strength and severity. The manifestations of these diseases are combined with the presence of other clinical symptoms– fever, changes in blood tests, inflammatory phenomena other localization. With the flu, aching of all joints of the body, including the spine, and muscle pain can occur.

Back pain can be stressful, then the shoulders, neck and spine hurt, as if "carrying a heavy load on the shoulders." As the child gets out of stress, the shoulders relax and back pain disappears. It usually occurs as a protective psychological reaction reflected in physical condition. Back pain can be of a reflected nature, as a projection of the pain of the organs inside the body. With heart pain, there may be pain between the shoulder blades, with pain in the pancreas along the upper part of the lower back, under the ribs, with intestinal disease, the back hurts in the area from the lower ribs to the sacrum.

What to do?

First of all, inspect the back for injuries, abrasions, bruises and bruises. Children sometimes get injured in the excitement of a fight or game, and do not remember them. If there are obvious areas of injury on the back, cold, absorbable ointment and rest are needed. If there are areas of redness, fever, the muscles under the arms are dense when probing, a consultation with an orthopedic traumatologist is necessary.

You should initially contact the same specialist if you experience back pain that is not related to diseases of the internal organs. The doctor will ask you about the occurrence of pain and its nature, connection with any phenomena. And then he will carefully examine the back and the entire skeleton, feel the joints, ask him to bend down, make several movements. If necessary, various tests will be prescribed and an x-ray of the spinal column will be taken. This will give the doctor a picture of the structure of the spine and point to many of the pathologies. X-ray is the basis of diagnosis for problems with osteoarticular system and don't be afraid of it. Radiation exposure in modern devices minimal despite the fact that the pictures give a lot of information. Sometimes a snapshot only in direct projection is enough. But usually they take two or three pictures in frontal and lateral projections. Based on the results of the examination, the doctor will make a diagnosis and develop a treatment system.

Separately, we will soon talk about scoliosis and other posture problems, as the most common pathology.

Many parents are faced with the problem that the child has a backache.. Most often, children complain about. Such a symptom can also appear in an infant, and, more often, in a teenager, especially if he is involved in any kind of sports. Pain below can occur immediately after intense physical exertion, and after some time. Painful sensations can appear periodically or torment your child constantly. Intensity pain can also vary: from barely noticeable soreness to very strong, restricting movement.

What causes pain?

Why does the child have back pain? The cause of pain when, the whole lumbar region or, there may be muscle spasm associated with their overexertion after physical exertion, for example, when playing sports. Also guilty of children's spinal algia can be sudden sharp rotational movements, for example, during active games. Keeping a child in an uncomfortable position for a long time, for example, when he is sitting at a computer or doing homework, can also lead to pain. In such cases, with a lack of movement, they can help. Injuries from road accidents, sports, etc. can also cause back pain in a child.
If the pain is weak, it may be caused by an overly soft mattress or starting problems with posture. Tension of the back muscles causing pain, most often appears in children who, for some reason, lift weights, as well as in obese children. This is due to the fact that they have to constantly carry much more (compared to ordinary teenagers) weight.
Acute intense back pain in a child can be caused by stressful situation. As a rule, in such cases there is also hypersensitivity in the neck and shoulders. The condition of the spine is highly dependent on emotional state baby, because he is very sensitive to all psychosomatic changes in the body.

What problems with the body provoke the appearance of pain?

If a child has back pain in the lower part of it, this may be due to kidney inflammation or inflammation in bladder, and in rare cases even with kidney stones. Fortunately, the latter is rare in children.
Spinal algias can be one of the flu symptoms in children. In teenage girls, the lower back can hurt before menstruation, as well as directly during. However, these states are not dangerous.
Other causes of back pain in a child are often related to various problems in muscle and/or skeletal development. In adolescence, there is a fairly high chance of getting a broken bone during sports due to overexertion. Dislocations and subluxations due to injuries and/or accidents can also provoke the appearance of spinal algias. In this case, be sure to immediately take the child to the doctor or call the ambulance.
In rare cases, when a teenager's back hurts, the cause may be different leg lengths, juvenile spondylitis, or Scheuermann-Mau disease (it occurs in boys much more often than girls). It cannot also be excluded infectious diseases, hematological and diseases of various internal organs. The main thing is not to ignore children's complaints and show it to a doctor who will find the cause and the right way treatment.

If a child has back pain, it is necessary to clarify the cause of discomfort as soon as possible and begin treatment. Ignoring even a small pain is unacceptable, since this can be the first sign of both a minor injury and a serious illness of the internal organs.

In order to competently provide assistance to the child, it is necessary to be able to determine possible cause according to the nature of pain. In some cases, self-administration of first aid is possible, in others urgent hospitalization is necessary.

Back pain after injury

A feature of childhood is great activity, often in the process of an interesting outdoor game, the child forgets about caution and performs actions that are beyond his physical strength. The result of careless falls from a swing or a bicycle can be an injury, including the back. The degree of damage depends on the nature of the injury with minor blows, bruises, sprains and muscle sprains are possible. To relieve pain after minor injuries, it is useful to apply a cold compress, lubricate the impact site homeopathic ointments. From the second day of treatment, cold compresses should be replaced with warm ones. Naturally, for the period of recovery of damaged ligaments and muscles, activity should be limited, giving preference to calm games.

Injuries accompanied by severe pain, dizziness and clouding of consciousness cannot be treated at home. These symptoms are typical for serious damage spine, so you need to urgently call an ambulance. If there was a fall from a great height (from a horizontal bar, a tree, a ladder) and there is a suspicion of a fracture of the spine, it is forbidden to move the child until the ambulance arrives. Strong pain and fever may indicate the following injuries: vertebral fracture, disc displacement, slippage of the vertebra (tuberculosis).

Back to zmistuBil with scoliosis and sciatica

One of the most common causes of back pain in childhood scoliosis is a curvature of the spine in the lateral plane. Scoliosis appears due to constant uneven tension on the right and left sides of the spine. With scoliosis, the child's back hurts in the lumbar region, the nature of the pain is periodic. Also, discomfort can appear in the chest and legs. Curvature develops most often in children who abuse games with a console and a computer. During an interesting computer game boys and girls tense muscles that are in one position for a long time, stoop and experience tremendous stress, all this is not in the best way affects health, including the musculoskeletal system. Scoliosis must be treated before the child reaches puberty.

Radiculitis - inflammation of the root of one of the spinal nerves- is no longer considered a disease exclusively of the elderly. Children's sciatica can develop as a complication after suffering infectious diseases:

flu;
chronic tonsillitis;
viral infection.

Angina is especially dangerous in childhood, which is the root cause of many chronic diseases spine, kidneys and heart. With sciatica, the child's back hurts lumbar, gives in the leg. Often there are sensations of tingling or numbness in the legs. Radiculitis can be determined by the following signs:

the child complains of pain in the back and legs;
when walking, the child tries not to step on the sore leg, lameness appears;
when examining the lumbar spine, scoliotic curvature is observed.

Diseases of the spine require complex treatment, the program of which is determined only by a doctor. Treatment folk methods with children's scoliosis and sciatica is unacceptable.