OrthoSpineNews reports on the findings of an HSS study co-authored by pediatric orthopedic surgeon Peter D. Fabricant, MD, MPH, and published in Spine, assessing back pain in children.

Dr. Fabricant and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional survey on 4,002 children and adolescents from 10 to 18 years old. Participants were equally split by age and sex and represented census-weighted distributions of state of residence, race/ethnicity, and health insurance status. A total of 3,669 participants were included in the final analysis. The investigators also sought to look for any significant associations between demographic variables and back pain, as well as determine the impact of back pain on daily activities and quality of life in individuals who sought treatment.

“We found that back pain in one form or another is very common in children and adolescents (33.7 percent). The incidence also increases linearly with age. However, back pain is usually not severe and infrequently results in any procedural treatments such as injections or surgery (1.6 percent),” cited Dr. Fabricant. “Because back pain is often recurrent and becomes more common with age, clinicians should counsel patients about the possibility of future episodes of back pain and the importance of preventative treatments,” he added.

Read the full article at OrthoSpineNews.com.