title: [Back pain in children].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The incidence of back pain in children in our country is unknown. Several causes can produce this symptom, but it is necessary to rule out pathologies that require specific treatments. The goal of this work was to study the incidence and the etiology of back pain in children in our country.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present a prospective study done in our Orthopedic Department during a period of 7 months. Twenty-two patients were referred with back pain of at least two months duration. The incidence was 2.9% compared to the total number of patients. The average age ranged from 7 to 17 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A careful history and a radiological examination diagnosed 50% (11 cases) of the causes of backache in the present study. An idiopathic etiology was the most frequent cause and represented 9 patients (41%). In the remaining 12 cases (59%) pathological causes that required special treatment were identified including 2 cases of Scheuermann disease, 4 cases of painful scoliosis, 3 spondylolysis with spondylolisthesis, 2 cases of discitis, 1 benign neoplasm and 1 psychogenic cause.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We recommend conservative management with the use of medication for relief of pain and physical therapy in the idiopathic cases. In the remaining cases, the specific treatment of the disease can improve the back pain.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Nacional del Niño Jesús, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Abril Martín
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Martos Rodríguez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Queiruga Dios
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díaz Martínez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015299:Discitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012544:Scheuermann Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013169:Spondylolysis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
vernacular_title: Dolor de espalda en la infancia.