RESUMO
BACKGROUND: This study was designed to provide an overview of the epidemiology and clinical findings in children presenting to a sports injury clinic with 'low back pain' (LBP). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of presentation, management and outcome of children and adolescents presenting with back pain to a specialist paediatric sports injury clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective descriptive review of patients aged 8-16 years presenting with LBP to a specialist at sports injury clinic between January 2004 and December 2010 was performed. Epidemiological variables, historical points and examination features, including several 'red flags', were evaluated in each patient and the findings related to the diagnosis made from the consultant radiologist reported imaging at that time. RESULTS: A total of 174 patients were analysed. LBP constituted 30% of presentations to the clinic. The median patient age in the study group was 14.0 years, with the male to female ratio of the population analysed being almost 1 : 1. For males, the most prevalent primary sport was rugby and for females, swimming was the most prevalent primary sport. Biomechanical back pain was most frequently diagnosed with spondylolysis, the most prevalent radiological diagnosis. CONCLUSION: No consistent demonstrable association was established between clinical presentation and final diagnosis. It was found that red flags could not be relied upon for the inclusion or the exclusion of a significant radiological finding. This study therefore suggests that, in this population group, a significant diagnosis cannot always be reliably excluded from clinical assessment alone.
