Teens with back pain are becoming more frequent. It’s estimated that 50% of children and teens experience back pain with 15% experiencing frequent or continual pain. This is believed to be caused by the use of more technology. Kids are using smart phones, tablets and playing video games putting their spines in compromised postures for extended periods of time.
Conditions like text neck and carpal tunnel syndrome are becoming common. This added stress to the body is on top of the already known problems caused by carrying overloaded backpacks, sports injuries, sitting in school in poorly supported chairs and desks, stress and poor nutrition. Low back pain in teens not treated properly early on many times lead to chronic back pain later in life.
Many times parents are told their teen’s pain is just growing pains. Other times the doctors prescribe medications that can cause many side effects and are addictive. There is a much better option in providing back pain relief that is drug free, natural and actually corrects the cause: Chiropractic!
The research journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders gathered data from previous studies on treatment of teens with back pain. In the study: Physical therapy treatments for low back pain in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis , treatments such as physical therapy, manual therapy including chiropractic, exercise and education were compared. 334 patients were analyzed for efficacy of treatments. Out of 221 children and teens who received treatment it was found the most successful was a combination of chiropractic manual therapy along with exercise. This group saw improvements in reduction in pain, flexibility, disability, endurance and mental health.
A new study shows manual therapy like chiropractic has higher success rates than physical therapy treatment like ultrasound. Ultrasound was used on 455 patients with back pain. It is found that it was ineffective with little improvement compared to placebos. Manual therapy, like chiropractic, on the other hand showed substantial improvement in pain. 2/3 had 30% reduction and half had at least 50% reduction in pain. Manual therapy not only has the highest satisfaction for treatment of back pain but also this group is less likely to rely on drugs than the ultrasound and placebo groups. This is encouraging because manual therapy can help reduce dependency on addictive drugs.
Another study looked specifically at the use of chiropractic in treating low back pain patients from 4 to 18 years of age. 87% of the patients reported “important improvement” within 6 weeks of chiropractic treatment. Teens with back pain benefit greatly from chiropractic.
It is important to not ignore your teens with back pain. Proper treatment with chiropractic care can help prevent chronic long term back problems. Our Freehold Chiropractor has 16 years experience working with children and teens of all ages. Contact us to your child gets the pain relief they deserve so they can enjoy their activities.