Have you heard your patients blame age for their low back pain (LBP)? Whether it’s patients mentioning “growing pains”, “just getting old” or having “the back of an 80 year old”, age cops a lot of blame.
We know that adolescents growing bones are susceptible to injury or bone stress, whereas older patients may have osteoporosis or degenerative findings on X-ray that are normal age-related changes.
At every stage of your LBP patients life, their age will impact your diagnosis and management.
How do you know when your LBP patients’ age actually matters?
In this Clinical Edge member presentation with Paula Peralta (Specialist Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist, FACP) you’ll explore the types and patterns of low back pain in patients of different age and gender, including:
Children
- What to consider when you see a young child with back pain.
- Whether backpacks are related to LBP.
- Risk factors for LBP in children.
Adolescents
- Common causes of LBP in adolescents.
- Skeletal maturity - How growing bones and growth spurts impact LBP.
- Types of sports and activities that encourage stronger bones and higher bone mass in adolescents.
- Scoliosis identification and management.
- How to identify hypermobility as a contributing factor in LBP.
- A common treatment to avoid in hypermobile adolescents, that is likely to increase symptoms.
Young athletes
- How to manage training load in young athletes.
- Stress fractures.
- LBP in rowers.
Adults
- How patients work influences their recovery from LBP.
- How younger sporting years impact patients' current LBP.
- Impact of previous or current disordered eating such as anorexia nervosa.
- Questions to help identify spondyloarthropathies.
Adult athletes (>18 y.o.)
- Why adult athletes develop LBP.
- How to communicate effectively with coaches.
- How sleep is involved in LBP.
- Sports specific low back pain, including dance, cricket, diving and gymnastics.
- Questions you need to ask your adult athletes with low back pain.
Females across the lifespan
- Pregnancy related back pain.
- Pelvic girdle pain.
- Post partum pain, when and who to refer to.
- Middle-aged women, and how menopause can impact LBP
Older patients
- Risk factors for vertebral fractures.
- Osteoporosis, osteoporotic fractures and insufficiency fractures.
Structuring your subjective assessment.
- How to streamline and prioritise questions to easily fit an effective subjective history into your consultation.
- How much time to spend on a subjective history.
- How to effectively treat patients in a 30 minute initial appointment.
Watch this presentation now to improve your diagnosis and treatment of low back pain in children and adolescents right through to older patients.
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