Evaluation and Diagnosis of Back Pain in Children and Adolescents

Although traditionally it has been accepted that back pain in young children and adolescents most often has an organic etiology, nonorganic back pain in this population is becoming more common. The most common identifiable clinical entities responsible for such pain are spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, Scheuermann kyphosis, overuse syndromes, disk herniation, apophyseal ring fracture, spondylodiscitis, vertebral osteomyelitis, and neoplasm. Appropriate clinical workup leads to earlier diagnosis and management of back pain and avoids unnecessary cost. Knowledge of the most common diagnoses associated with back pain in children and adolescents and the use of a systematic method to select the appropriate diagnostic tests can help the clinician to minimize costs and maximize the likelihood of making the correct diagnosis and providing appropriate treatment.