Really, your kid is having back pain?

I just finished reading a few posts about kids and back pain.   Jeff Cubos writes that children should not have back pain.  He gives 3 reason why he thinks kids have back pain now.  Facebooking, skinny jeans and inactivity.  No surprises here.

Facebooking or sitting at computer, video game, or watching TV:

Prolonged sitting is one of the most deleterious activities most people engage in. After only 3 minutes of full flexion of the spine ligamentous creep or laxity occurs which persists even after 30 minutes of rest!

What this means is, after sitting for 3 minutes the ligaments that support the spine continue to stretch.   This is why bending over to pick something up after sitting leads to low back pain.   Also, watch how your kids sit with the big hunchback of their upper spine and their head forward.   (C posture)   If you look from the side they look like a C.  How do you think they spend most of their day?  Sitting in classes, standing hunched over, head down walking and texting, playing video games, and sitting at a computer.  They spend most of their day in this position. This is the posture we typically associate with being old.   Remind your kids that is what they look like now.   Take a picture of them and show them how they look.  What do you think it will look like in 5, 10, 20 years?

Skinny Jeans or baggy jeans that are too low:
Why does this affect back pain?

Typically, when a client compensates we see a dysfunction at the joint either below or above the joint that is painful (remember, a symptom is nothing more than a presentation of a problem. It tells us something is wrong but it does not tell us what is wrong)….When one presents with low-back pain…an evaluation of the hip (for both strength deficits and mobility restrictions) should also be performed.”

If the hips cannot move, something has to compensate for that lack of movement, usually that is the spine.  This is why with so many of our low back patients we look at the hip and work on moving and strengthening the hips as much as we work on the spine itself.

Inactivity:
This really is self explanatory, but Jeff chalks it up like this:

For one reason or another, kids just don’t move these days. Maybe its because of “facebooking” or maybe its because their jeans are so tight, but for whatever reason, kids are inactive. Can’t blame school. School has been around for a long time. But after school? If you’re child is complaining to you of low back pain, simply take a picture of them while they tell you it hurts. More often than not their speaking to you in this position:

Make it a point to get your kids active.   Even better, go out and get active with them.