7 yr old boy and back pain (MRI, fractures, x-rays, anti-inflammatories)

[Aboom]

When my son jumps on the trampoline he hurts mid back. The location he points to is the exact same spot he reached for when he had an incident early last year. He had went down an aluminum slide which was much faster than he realized. He wasnt not prepared and hit the ground hard on his bottom. He immediately screamed and reached for his back. I scooped him up and took him to the ER fearing a back injury such as compression fracture. I know it's more common in the elderly but he hit hard. Xrays came back negative. So fast forward to now and hes having trouble in that same location. I'm taking him to the doctor this week but I was wondering if anyone had any input about what it could be? Perhaps the er missed a fracture? Or something rlse?

[jaminhealth]

My grandson is very active and complained of back hurting in his younger years and he's 19 now and plays tournament vollyball and his mother is always taking him for body work for his back. We live in an area that attracts a lot of bodyworkers so lots of choices. DO's often do manipulation. Chiros work in small children.

I had my first back pain at 18 and I was active with dancing for years before.

Can't win, being active we get hurt and being stagnent isn't good either.

[Dragonmam]

I'd take him to an ortho and bring the x-rays. They may want to send him for an MRI. It's not unheard of for a kid to break the smaller part of the vertebra. They think my son did when he was about 14. In his case it was more of a stress fracture, but the pain was very specific to a particular spot. The MRI was of poor quality and showed several questionable areas so not helpful. They also thought maybe a slightly bulging disc. Either way, the treatment was the same (no sports for awhile, ice, anti-inflammatories and physical therapy) so no definitive conclusion was reached.

I hurt my back in a similar accident to your son when I went airborne while sledding in a saucer. I came down sitting straight up and took a really hard blow to the bottom of my spine. Six weeks later, I ended up at the doctor's with sciatica due to two bulging discs.

He should not be on the trampoline until he has recovered from whatever this is.

[Luckyd609]

At his age I would stay away from chiropractors. His bones are still growing and chiropractors are questionable at best.
Take him to an orthopedist.

[jaminhealth]

Oh chiros work on babies, and they are not cracking their bodies...there are many types of chiro work.

OP: As usual so many here to to panic modes with posters issues. I see it happen over and over again. Be aware and a lot of the issue could be part of growing pains and that he's very active.

[guidoLaMoto]

It's notoriously easy to miss fractures on plain x-rays of kids. OTOH- kids are pretty rubbery and it's harder for them to break a bone. OTOH- an unexpected force that the kid isn't prepared for can result in tendon & ligament injuries (as well as bone injuries) that could be picked up on MRI.


Kids are known to get osteomyelitis from bone contusions (Have you ever read Mickey Mantle's biography?)


Going to a chiropractor without adequate medical diagnosis should be considered child abuse in this case.


See an ortho.

[Luckyd609]

Originally Posted by jaminhealth

Oh chiros work on babies, and they are not cracking their bodies...there are many types of chiro work.

OP: As usual so many here to to panic modes with posters issues. I see it happen over and over again. Be aware and a lot of the issue could be part of growing pains and that he's very active.

Taking a baby to a chiropractor has to be just about the dumbest and dangerous thing one can do. Sheesh!!

[bluedevilz]

Originally Posted by Aboom

When my son jumps on the trampoline he hurts mid back. The location he points to is the exact same spot he reached for when he had an incident early last year. He had went down an aluminum slide which was much faster than he realized. He wasnt not prepared and hit the ground hard on his bottom. He immediately screamed and reached for his back. I scooped him up and took him to the ER fearing a back injury such as compression fracture. I know it's more common in the elderly but he hit hard. Xrays came back negative. So fast forward to now and hes having trouble in that same location. I'm taking him to the doctor this week but I was wondering if anyone had any input about what it could be? Perhaps the er missed a fracture? Or something rlse?

Back pain in children is not like back pain in adults and is uncommon in children under 10 and deserves a thorough work up.

It is good that you are taking your son to the doctor for evaluation and your pediatrician may decide to refer to an Orthopaedic or Neuro Spine Specialist for further evaluation.

Do not, under any circumstances, listen to the advice here of having your child evaluated by a chiropractor. Completely indefensible under any circumstances to let a chiropractor lay hands on a child....

"All things considered, it is an understatement to say that “Pediatric chiropractic care is often inconsistent with recommended medical guidelines.”6 Recommendation of any complementary alternative medicine therapy that has a risk/benefit ratio that is not acceptable and is not supported in medical literature may make a referring physician liable for negligence if the referral causes harm by delaying necessary conventional treatment.25

I don’t know of any reason to believe that it might be necessary to refer a child to a pediatric chiropractor or to use spinal manipulation on a child prior to onset of adolescence. “Wellness care” in the form of “subluxation correction” is unnecessary and scientifically indefensible, and it places children at risk."
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/ped...-indefensible/

Two serious issues with chiropractic evaluation and treatment of a child.

1. Chiropractors aren't qualified/educated to to identify the potentially serious underlying causes of back pain in children which could lead to a delay in treatment that could be catastrophic.

2. Spinal manipulation of a child with open/immature vertebral end plates which could be irreversibly harmed should be considered medical malpractice.

Not to mention the entire "theory" behind chiropractic "care" of vertebral "subluxations" causing multiple medical issues is unsubstantiated hooey that has never been and can never be proven since they don't exist...

[grampaTom]

Originally Posted by Luckyd609

Taking a baby to a chiropractor has to be just about the dumbest and dangerous thing one can do. Sheesh!!

I'm surprised she didn't recommend the kid just chew on grape seeds

[Jkgourmet]

I never cease to be amazed that people post issues like this to random strangers On an internet forum.

I'm also pretty darn sure that the ER told her to follow up with the pediatrician or an ortho.

And why is the kid allowed in the trampoline with a potential back problem?

Triple