More Children With Adult Spine Damage

Main Category: Back Pain
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 02 Dec 2003 - 0:00 PDT


More children these days have damaged backs, something we normally associate with adults.

Discs that cushion the spinal vertebrae in a study of 150 Scottish children showed slight tearing and bulging.

None of these children had any back pain. Detailed scans revealed the damage. Researchers went on to say that the damage does not mean that these children necessarily go on to develop back problems.

Researchers are baffled. They say there is no obvious genetic reason for this.

Not all adults with these symptoms have back problems.

Magnetic resonance imaging machines, which clearly pick out different types of tissue in the spinal column, were used in this study of 154 children. 14 of the children (9%) had clear signs of damage.

Dr Francis Smith, from Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, told a conference in the US: 'We found degenerative changes in the spine much earlier than we ever would have suspected. This study revises our thoughts on when we should begin preventive back care. Proactive steps should begin early in life, even before puberty.'

Half the populations of Western Europe and North America suffer back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain costs health services and national economies billions of dollars.

It is all in the genes

Although the Scottish scientists say there is no obvious genetic reason, other studies have suggested that genes could be responsible for some cases of spinal degeneration.

Dr. Smith said 'There is no history of poor nutrition, obesity, or any other known disease in these children. We suspect there may be genetic causes, although unrecognised trauma in sports or at play could also be a cause.'

He said that it was obvious these kids were not doing enough exercise. 'People should be looking at whether their parents or grandparents suffered from back pain, and take action to reduce the risk to themselves if they have a family history.'

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