title: Back pain in the young athlete.
abstract: Back pain in the pediatric athlete is rare compared to the adult population. However, the diagnosis should be accurate as most have specific etiologies and treatment. Nearly 50% of the time, the cause of the pain is an injury to the pars interarticularis. A thorough history and careful physical examination should guide the physician to a working differential diagnosis. Based on this, appropriate laboratory and imaging work-up is pursued to arrive at a timely diagnosis and subsequent treatment regimen.
authors.affiliation: Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sassmannshausen
authors.forename: Brian G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis; D007738:Kyphosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis