Low back pain has many contributing factors. My San Diego based Chiropractic office sees people with lower back pain on a regular basis. Most of these people have injured their backs in the typical ways. Improper lifting techniques, bad posture, sports injuries, work injuries and auto accidents often result in either acute or chronic back pain. Some of these contributing factors to lower back pain are avoidable and some are not. However, there are other, more insidious contributing factors to low back pain.

Adolescents who smoke can more than double their risk of developing long-term low back pain, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Research had previously linked chronic back pain in adults with smoking during the teenage years. It follows then that by preventing adolescents from smoking, they may be able to avoid low back pain later in life.

Researchers have also investigated the influence of various risk factors on development of pain: explosive growth spurts; poor flexibility; weak abdominal muscles and lack of physical activity.

Studies show that 17 percent of adolescents complain of low back pain. Those who experienced a major growth spurt of more than two inches in six months were the most likely to develop lower back pain, in fact, it tripled the odds of developing pain. Growth spurts are unavoidable and not under our control, but the other major contributors to developing pain were all preventable: smoking, poor weight lifting form, and poor flexibility are all avoidable.

Education is a good first step to keeping adolescents from developing low back pain. Make your kids aware of the risk factors for developing lower back pain, and the consequences they will face later in life.

In addition, be sure they follow a few simple rules:

• Avoid smoking
• Stretch adequately, especially prior to working out.
• Strengthen the abdominal muscles

Finally, lead by example, kids who grow up in environments that are health conscious tend to be healthier people.

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