To Your Health
October, 2024 (Vol. 18, Issue 10) |
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Kids and Chronic Pain
By Editorial Staff
Anxiety and depression are skyrocketing among children and young adults, with social media use, isolation (due to increased reliance on technology / remote engagement) and other variables as key contributing factors. Another potential cause: chronic pain.
Let's look at new research emphasizing the association and underscoring why pain – at any age – needs to be addressed promptly, if not prevented altogether.
Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the research analysis reviewed 79 studies involving nearly 23,000 children under the age of 18. Conditions in which pain is the primary or secondary symptom, and cases in which pain does not have a known cause, were included in the studies.
Results showed that young people who experience chronic pain are three times more likely to also be diagnosed with clinical anxiety or depression than same-aged people without chronic pain. Specifically, per the researchers, "1 in 3 youth with chronic pain meet criteria for anxiety disorder, and 1 in 8 meet criteria for a depressive disorder."
No one deserves to suffer chronic pain, particularly not children – and particularly not when early intervention / prevention (such as chiropractic care) can often prevent it from progressing to chronicity in the first place. That's where your chiropractor comes in...
