Back Pain in Children

Back pain in children is not like back pain in adults. Compared to an adult, a child with a backache is more likely to have a serious underlying disorder. This is especially true if the child is 4 years old or younger, or if a child of any age has back pain accompanied by:

• Fever or weight loss
• Weakness or numbness
• Trouble walking
• Pain that radiates down one or both legs
• Bowel or bladder problems
• Pain that keeps the child from sleeping

More serious causes of back pain need early identification and treatment or they may become worse. Always see a doctor if your young child's back pain lasts for more than several days or progressively worsens.

Osteochondroma

An osteochondroma is a benign (noncancerous) tumor that develops during childhood or adolescence. It is an abnormal growth that forms on the surface of a bone near the growth plate.

Growth plates are areas of developing cartilage tissue near the ends of long bones in children. Bone growth occurs around the growth plate, and when a child becomes full-grown, the growth plates harden into solid bone.

An osteochondroma is an outgrowth of the growth plate and is made up of both bone and cartilage. As a child grows, an osteochondroma may grow larger, as well. Once a child has reached skeletal maturity, the osteochondroma typically stops growing, too.

In most cases of osteochondroma, no treatment is required other than regular monitoring of the tumor to identify any changes or complications.

Osteochondromas can develop as a single tumor (osteocartilaginous exostosis) or as many tumors (multiple osteochondromatosis). Because symptoms and treatment options may vary depending on which form a patient has, this article discusses them separately.

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Desert Orthopedic Center

 702-731-1616

2800 East Desert Inn

Las Vegas, NV 89121 

Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of rare diseases that cause muscles to weaken and deteriorate. MD affects the voluntary muscles that control movement in the arms, legs, and trunk. It also can affect involuntary muscles, such as the heart and respiratory muscles.

MD is a progressive disease, meaning that it worsens over time. Depending upon the form of MD, children and adults may gradually lose the ability to walk and do other everyday activities. In later stages of some forms of the disease, heart and breathing problems may develop.

Although there is currently no cure for MD, there are medications that may slow the rate of muscle degeneration, as well as other treatment options to improve function and assist in activities of daily living.

Limb Length Discrepancy

Limb length discrepancy is a difference between the lengths of the arms or legs. Except in extreme cases, differences in arm length do not usually impact how the arms function and do not require treatment. For this reason, this article focuses on differences in leg length.

A discrepancy in leg length will usually become obvious to parents as they watch their child grow and begin to crawl and walk. Some children are born with legs of different lengths. In other cases, illness or injury causes a discrepancy in length to develop over time. While a slight difference in leg length may not cause symptoms, a significant difference can cause a noticeable limp and make it difficult for a child to run and play.

Treatment for a discrepancy depends upon the severity. In many cases, a minor difference in leg length can be evened out by wearing a lift in one shoe. A child with a more significant difference, however, may benefit from surgery to make his or her legs the same length. This can be done a number of ways, but is most often accomplished through a procedure that slows or stops growth in the longer leg.

Bone Tumor

Bone tumors develop when cells within a bone divide uncontrollably, forming a lump or mass of abnormal tissue.

Most bone tumors are not cancerous (benign). Benign tumors are usually not life-threatening and, in most cases, will not spread to other parts of the body. Depending upon the type of tumor, treatment options are wide-ranging—from simple observation to surgery to remove the tumor.

Some bone tumors are cancerous (malignant). Malignant bone tumors can metastasize—or cause cancer cells to spread throughout the body. In almost all cases, treatment for malignant tumors involves a combination of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

Claw Toe

People often blame the common foot deformity claw toe on wearing shoes that squeeze your toes, such as shoes that are too short or high heels. However, claw toe also is often the result of nerve damage caused by diseases like diabetes or alcoholism, which can weaken the muscles in your foot. Having claw toe means your toes "claw," digging down into the soles of your shoes and creating painful calluses. Claw toe gets worse without treatment and may become a permanent deformity over time.