Treatment of unspecific back pain in children and adolescents: Inter disciplinary guideline released
Germany: A recent study published in the MDPI journal Children reports an evidence-based interdisciplinary guideline on the treatment of unspecific back pain in children and adolescents. The guideline, developed using a structured approach and expert consensus, addresses both the early course of non-specific back pain and the persistent and chronic course of the condition in childhood and adolescence. The reported recommendations
Physical therapy and physical activity
Recommendation 1: The authors recommend that active physical therapy be provided to children and adolescents with non-specific back pain.
Recommendation 2: The authors recommend that in physical therapy, children and adolescents with non-specific back pain should be instructed to perform a home exercise and physical activity. Adherence should be regularly monitored and adjusted by physical therapists.
Recommendation 3: Regarding manual therapy, no specific recommendation for non-specific back pain in childhood and adolescence can be provided due to inconsistent evidence.
Psychotherapy
Recommendation 4: The authors endorse cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) as the primary treatment for children and adolescents with recurrent or chronic non-specific back pain.
Drug therapy
Recommendation 5: The authors advise against the pharmacological treatment of recurrent or chronic non-specific back pain in children and adolescents.
Invasive therapy
Recommendation 6: The authors advise against invasive treatment for recurrent or chronic non-specific back pain in children and adolescents.
Interdisciplinary treatment programs
Recommendation 7: The authors recommend that children and adolescents with recurrent and chronic non-specific back pain, severe pain-related disability, and ineffective unimodal treatment receive intensified interdisciplinary multimodal pain treatment.
Prevention
Recommendation 8: To prevent back pain in children and adolescents, we recommend providing education and instructions for active exercise or encouraging regular physical activity and endurance sports.
"Further research on non-specific back pain in childhood and adolescence is strongly needed to reduce the imbalance between the high burden of non-specific back pain in childhood and adolescence and the low research activity in this field," the authors concluded.
Reference:
Frosch, M.; Leinwather, S.; Bielack, S.; Blödt, S.; Dirksen, U.; Dobe, M.; Geiger, F.; Häfner, R.; Höfel, L.; Hübner-Möhler, B.; von Kalle, T.; Lawrenz, B.; Leutner, A.; Mecher, F.; Mladenov, K.; Norda, H.; Stahlschmidt, L.; Steinborn, M.; Stücker, R.; Trauzeddel, R.; Trollmann, R.; Wager, J.; Zernikow, B. Treatment of Unspecific Back Pain in Children and Adolescents: Results of an Evidence-Based Interdisciplinary Guideline. Children 2022, 9, 417. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9030417
KEYWORDS: Children journal, back pain, children, adolescents, chronic, physical therapy, physical activity, drug therapy
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