Depending on the source population and definition of pain, 9–66 percent of children suffer from back pain. Prevention is the best strategy to minimize low back pain. These seven strategies can help.
- Emphasize good posture.
Encourage your child to stand up straight and avoid slouching. This can become easy to do with extended computer use, watching TV, and playing video games. Children and teens can learn good posture with practice. Researchers used one exercise program for posture correction among students for 20 minutes, three times a week over eight weeks and noticed that it helped reduce musculoskeletal pain.
- Be mindful of sleep.
Research shows sleep disruptions can create adverse short- and long-term health consequences. Without sufficient sleep, your child is more prone to injury, poor posture, and impaired judgment that can impact lower back pain. Sleep quality and quantity matter (aim for at least seven to eight hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep nightly), but don’t overlook culprits for back pain including a worn-out mattress.
- Foster active relaxation.
Psychological factors including depression, anxiety, and chronic stress can also impact lower back pain. Research shows that low back pain is more common among school-age children with high levels of psychosocial difficulties, conduct problems, or other somatic disorders. (This might require a therapist to determine underlying issues.) Whether that involves meditation, mindfulness, massage, or just watching funny movies, help your kid find something that brings happiness and joy. Encourage them to do it daily.
- Encourage stretching and core strength.
We sit too much and don’t move enough. Over-sitting creates tight, tense muscles that can manifest as low-back pain. Encourage your child to stand up every hour or so (set their phone alarm if necessary) and stretch their hamstring muscles. Research shows compared with education alone, regular exercise (in this case, four spinal movements) plus education can reduce low back pain in children aged eight to 11. Regular low-impact walking can help. Strong core muscles can also help support your lower spine. Pilates, which focuses on core strength, can help improve pain and functional ability.
- Take an Epsom salts bath.
After a hectic day, a warm bath can provide heat therapy to achy muscles while helping your child or adolescent relax. Add one cup of Epsom salt to a warm bath to soothe sore muscles and joints while giving your young one this undervalued mineral that can lower pain and inflammation.
- Be mindful of over-exercise.
Being sedentary can contribute to low back pain, but so can over-exercise. Back pain occurs in 10–25 percent of athletes and is more common among football players and gymnasts. If your child or adolescent engages in an intense physical activity, be especially emphatic about self-care and optimal recovery.
- Increase anti-inflammatory nutrients.
Inflammation can underlie back pain, and doctors sometimes prescribe pain relievers like NSAIDs. An anti-inflammatory diet, supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids, can also help lower inflammation. One review found that omega-3 essential fatty acids complement the pain-relieving aspects of NSAIDs, and studies show these anti-inflammatory fatty acids can successfully treat spine-related pain. Look for a fish oil combined with vitamin D, which could help with pain management especially with deficiencies in this vitamin.
Visiting a Chiropractor for Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is a common motivation for a chiropractic appointment, though even that is sometimes under-utilized. Chiropractic is a safe source of relief of that nagging, sometimes debilitating, lumbar-region pain.
One randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial evaluated the levels of pain in patients with problems in their lower back before and after a lumbar adjustment. Every indicator of pain improved for the treatment group, with no changes in the control group.
If your child or teen experiences back pain at any level, but especially in the lower lumbar region, visit a chiropractor. While medication may be designed to block pain, chiropractic is all about safely and effectively getting to the cause.
From a purely mechanical perspective, chiropractic care for lower back pain will typically include adjustments to these segments. Don’t forget those adjustments also have an impact on the organs you don’t feel, not just the muscles and select nerves that you do feel.
No child or teen must ever settle with lower back pain, and correcting this issue will help minimize or eliminate pain as they become adults. While most situations become better with time, a physician or chiropractor can help correct persistent lower back pain. Utilizing these strategies (including a good backpack that supports back health) can ensure your kids have a healthy, happy school year.
If you would like your child to thrive, check out PRI for more tips and ideas.
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