When Goldilocks visited the cottage of the three bears, she found porridge that was too hot and too cold, and she found beds that were too firm and too soft. It wasn’t until she found the right middle ground was she able to eat and sleep well. The message from that story can be applied to many different areas of life, including to our spine health. According to a recent study, many kids aren’t getting the right amount of activity, and that could be why a growing number of children are experiencing back pain at a younger age.
Finding The Right Amount Of Activity
When it comes to kids and spine pain, back doctors are seeing increases in clinic visits for two sub-specialities. We’re seeing a big increase in kids who are presenting with back pain due to inactivity, and in kids who are dealing with overuse injuries. We explore both of those groups and how back pain can be treated and prevented in each.
Inactive Kids
Kids are meant to be active. That’s why they get to go outside for recess a few times each day and they burn off energy in gym class and after school activities. However, with the advent and rapid evolution of the smartphone and advancements in gaming technology, we’re seeing more kids spending increased hours on the couch playing video games or texting all night on their phones. It’s great that they are finding a way to stay connected with their friends, but investing so much time in an inactive activity can be detrimental to their spine. This is especially true if they are slouched on the couch or hunched forward to compose a text.
But it’s not just posture problems that cause spine issues for inactive kids. Active kids burn more calories, and inactive kids will struggle to do the same. That can lead to weight gain, which in turn puts more stress and pressure on the spine. Weight loss can do wonders for spine health no matter your age, so it should come as no surprise that it’s one of the recommended forms of treatment for children who are inactive, overweight and experiencing spine pain. And while this may sound obvious, one of the best things inactive kids can do for their spine is to find an activity that they enjoy that gets them standing or moving. It doesn’t need to be exercise-focused either. While swimming or soccer can be great, other activities like Girl Scouts or fishing can get you outside, and away from the television and refrigerator.
Overactive Kids
Overactive kids can also be at risk for spine injuries, but for other reasons. Finding different ways to stay active and burn calories is great, but problems can develop when you do the same physical activities day in and day out. The most obvious example of this is in young children who specialize in a singular sport, especially if they play year-round. If your child is playing spring baseball, legion baseball during the summer, fall ball in autumn and then doing indoor baseball workouts during the winter, their spine could suffer from overspecialization. When you only focus on one sport and you don’t give your body enough time to heal between sessions, structures can be overworked and develop unevenly.
That’s why so many physicians recommend multi-sport participation. Not only will this introduce your to a new group of potential friends, but it will also test and train different muscle groups. This ensures that structures don’t develop unevenly, and odds are it will only help your performance in other sports. You can absolutely be very physically active, but you need to vary your activity and give your spine ample time to rest between activities so that it can function optimally. Of course, it always helps to consult with a spine specialist if you want to treat back pain that has developed as a result of athletic activity.
So if your child is complaining of back pain, or you have noticed their activity level and are concerned about their spine health, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi’s office for some individualized care and tips for helping them develop a healthy spine. For more information, reach out to his office today at (651) 430-3800.
