Back Pain

• The Spine Program team includes doctors, surgeons, physician assistants and nurse practitioners from Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. They are skilled at assessing and treating back pain.
• We take care to find out what is causing your child’s pain. Our experts do a careful exam to understand your child’s condition, how it affects your child and if it’s linked with other health concerns.
• Back pain can affect more than a child’s bones, muscles and joints. That’s why we connect you and your family with any expert your child may need across Seattle Children’s. For example, we may involve Adolescent Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine, Rheumatology, Neurosurgery and Pain Medicine.

• We believe that most back problems in children do not need surgery. We can successfully treat back pain in most children with other methods.
• Nonsurgical treatment often means rest, medicine, bracing, physical therapy, biofeedback, or mental health therapy. We have orthotists, who build and fit braces; physical therapists; biofeedback specialists; and a team that provides mental health care.
• If your child does need surgery, our orthopedic spine surgeons are leaders in their field. They have more training and experience with children’s complex spine conditions than anyone else in the area. Spine surgery for children is all they do. Each is board certified.
• Before we recommend surgery, we look at your child as a whole person. Your child’s team will take many factors into account. These include how serious their condition is, the effects on their health and how much more they will grow. We also consider what results you can expect from treatment.
• We have the technology and skills to use 3D imaging to guide your child’s surgery, if needed. This helps us place hardware, such as for scoliosis, with precision. It also lets us see in real time the changes we make to your child’s spine. Based on your child’s needs, we may use X-rays or CT (computed tomography).
• Neuromonitoring helps us prevent a spinal cord injury during surgery. Our surgical spinal cord monitoring team leads the country in new ways to make back surgery safer. 

• The team from our Spine Program is trained not only to treat back pain. We specialize in caring for kids. We know how to care for all types of spine problems in children and teens, whose bodies are still developing.
• When we evaluate your child’s back pain, plan their treatment and provide their care, we consider your child’s needs based on their age.
• If your child needs imaging that uses radiation, we use the lowest amount possible (PDF) to make the best image. We have a low-dose radiation X-ray machine, called the EOS. It makes safer full-body images. We also have the largest group of board-certified pediatric radiologists in the Northwest.

• We know it can be stressful to have a child with a back problem and to find the treatment they need. Everyone at Seattle Children’s works to make your experience here as easy as we can on your whole family.
• Your child’s team does more than plan and provide care for your child. We also make sure you and your child understand your child’s condition and treatment options.
• Care is easier for you because your child’s team members from the Spine Program work closely with each other — and with other programs and clinics your child may need at Seattle Children’s.
• Seattle Children’s supports your family with a range of resources. Our Child Life specialists, Family Resource Center and Guest Services are here to help.

• Members of the Spine Program team are leaders in research. We are always tracking the results of our patients’ care so we can be sure we are choosing the best treatment for each child. Your child’s care team may ask if you want to be involved in research. For example, we may ask to include data about your child’s condition and treatment in our studies.
• Our spine experts are part of national and international research groups. These groups study the latest treatment approaches and technologies. Together, we work to find the best and safest ways to care for children. We are part of the Scoliosis Research Society, Pediatric Spine Study Group, Harms Study Group and Fox Congenital Spine Study Group.
• Learn more about current orthopedics research at Seattle Children’s.

Our team will ask about your child’s medical history. We’ll also ask questions like these to find out what is wrong:

• How bad is the pain?
  • Does it prevent your child from sleeping at night, going to school or playing?
  • Does your child have to stop sports or other activities they enjoy?
• How long has your child had back pain?
• Is the back pain worse early in the day or late in the day?
• Does your child feel numbness, tingling or weakness in their legs?
• Has the back pain changed bladder control or bowel movements?
• Has your child lost a lot of weight or had a high fever along with the back pain?

We will check your child’s nervous system and their reflexes and do other tests. We may ask that your child have X-rays.

After reviewing the X-rays, the exam results and your child’s symptoms, we may ask for more tests, including:

• Blood tests to check for arthritis
• Bone scan to look for inflamed spots in the bones of the spine
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan to look at the spinal cord and other parts of the spine that are not bone