Five Natural Ways To Help Your Child With Back Pain

If your child is suffering from back pain, there are several effective, non-invasive ways you can help them. If you want to avoid unnecessary drugs and help your child feel better, check out these five tips:

1. Have your child do yoga or other core-strengthening exercises

Back pain is often related to a lack of core strength. By stretching, doing yoga, or engaging in other workouts that focus on strengthening the core, your child may be able to eliminate his or her back pain. Ask your doctor, a chiropractor, or a physical therapist for exercises your child can do to strengthen his or her back.

2. Visit a chiropractor

Chiropractors are trained to find subluxations in the spinal vertebrae – essentially, these professionals find places where your spine is out of alignment, and they adjust it into its proper position. Chiropractic care has been proven to help with issues ranging from migraines to chronic pain, but you should make sure to select a chiropractor who specializes in children.

3. Do low-impact activities

Low-impact activities can help relieve back pain for some children. Things like walking or bicycling help your child to get his or her back into proper alignment while also helping to strengthen and relax muscles. Ideally, your child should avoid high-impact activities such as jumping on a trampoline or mountain biking.

However, rather than setting all of the limits yourself or forcing your child (who may be in serious pain) to do something too strenuous, let your child be your guide.

4. Tell your child to listen to his or her body

Children often have an intuitive sense of how to deal with pain. In most cases, they should not just lie around if they have back pain, but if they express pain when they try to get up and do even low-impact activities, they should be allowed to rest.

Similarly, if doing yoga or other activities, let your children tell you if the stretch is causing them pain or overextending them – allowing them to listen to their bodies helps them to find the most effective stretches for pain remediation.

5. Watch for serious signs

Unfortunately, in some cases, back pain can be a symptom of something more serious. If your child’s back pain wakes him up in the middle of the night, is accompanied by a fever of greater than 100 degrees, or prevents your child from engaging in regular activities, you need to call the doctor.