Back Pain in the Young Child and Adolescent

Back pain is a common musculoskeletal condition that presents to physicians in the primary care office, the urgent care facility, and the emergency room. However, few primary care physicians have received education and training about the appropriate workup and referral for a child who presents with back pain. This book is designed to fill the gaps in primary care physician knowledge and ultimately improve patient care.

This book is divided into three major sections. The first section contains seven introductory chapters on epidemiology, anatomy of the spine, imaging studies, clinical considerations, general history questions, and physical examination pearls of the child with back pain. This section gives an overview of common back pain problems and provides instructions on how to best perform a history and examination of the pediatric patient with back pain. Classic historical and examination findings are highlighted that can lead to a focused differential diagnosis, successful treatment and appropriate referral. Recognition of the red flags in the history and physical keep the clinician 'out of trouble'. This section concludes with a chapter that guides physicians in "putting it all together".

The second section is the largest section of the book and contains 25 case based chapters organized by major presenting clinical features. Each chapter has a similar structure and includes red flags of the history and the physical, case examples, clinical pearls, and editor comments. Cases vary from common presentations of back pain such as back pain related to back packs to rare presentations of back pain such as back pain stemming from tuberculosis.

The third and final section of the book contains additional resources for the primary care physician, including web sites, parent handouts, and a bibliography of key articles. This section provides further information and alternative resources for the practicing clinician.

Written by experts in the field, Back Pain in the Young Child and Adolescent is a 'must have' resource for pediatricians, primary care physicians, and any other clinicians caring for younger patients who are experiencing back pain.