Pediatric back pain

What is pediatric back pain?

Muscle strain can cause back pain in children, or it could be a sign of a more serious condition.

What are the signs and symptoms of pediatric back pain?

If your child has muscle strain, the symptom will be pain, especially with movement.

More serious conditions that can cause back pain may involve the following symptoms:

• Constant crying or complaining of pain
• Numbness in the back, arms or legs
• Pain that does not go away after several weeks of home treatment
• Pain that does not go away after taking over-the-counter pain relief
• Pain that wakes your child from sleep
• Weakness in arms or legs

What are the causes of pediatric back pain?

The most common conditions that cause back pain in children include:

• Infection in the disk space
• Muscle strain injury
• Scheuermann's kyphosis (rounded back)
• Scoliosis
• Spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebra)
• Stress fracture of the spine
• Tumor on the spine
• Spondylolysis (defect of the joint between vertebrae)