Fares Jawad, Fares Mohamad Y, Fares Youssef
Department of Neurosurgery, Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Surg Neurol Int. 2017 May 10;8:72. doi: 10.4103/sni.sni_445_16. eCollection 2017.
Neck pain is a major public health concern that has been extensively studied in adults but not in children and adolescents. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore musculoskeletal neck pain in children and adolescents, as well as to discuss its possible risk factors and complications.
Participants were patients under 18 years of age, who had presented to the clinic (Beirut, Lebanon) in 2015, with nonspecific neck pain. They were examined and asked to evaluate and localize the pain. Neck positioning during various activities along with other complications were explored. Patients reporting pain associated with congenital or systemic diseases and fractures were excluded.
Two-hundred-and-seven children and adolescents presented with nonspecific neck pain. Musculoskeletal neck pain with spasm was diagnosed in 180 patients ( = 180). Participants did not show any findings on physical examination and radiological studies, and had no comorbidities. More females (57%) than males (43%) and more adolescents (60%) than children (40%) were affected. All the 180 participants (100%) reported flawed flexion of their back and neck while studying and/or using smartphones and tablets. Eye symptoms were reported in 21% of the cases, and parents of most participants (82%) reported a change in the psychological and social behavior of their children.
Musculoskeletal neck pain is an important disease in children and adolescents with numerous risk factors contributing to its development. Increased stresses regarding the cervical spine may lead to cervical degeneration along with other developmental, medical, psychological, and social complications.
颈部疼痛是一个重大的公共卫生问题，在成年人中已得到广泛研究，但在儿童和青少年中尚未有相关研究。因此，本文旨在探讨儿童和青少年的肌肉骨骼性颈部疼痛，并讨论其可能的危险因素和并发症。
研究对象为2015年到诊所（黎巴嫩贝鲁特）就诊的18岁以下非特异性颈部疼痛患者。对他们进行检查，并要求其评估疼痛情况并指出疼痛部位。探究了各种活动期间的颈部姿势以及其他并发症。排除报告疼痛与先天性或全身性疾病及骨折相关的患者。
207名儿童和青少年出现非特异性颈部疼痛。180名患者（=180）被诊断为伴有痉挛的肌肉骨骼性颈部疼痛。参与者在体格检查和放射学检查中未发现任何异常，且无合并症。受影响的女性（57%）多于男性（43%），青少年（60%）多于儿童（40%）。所有180名参与者（100%）均报告在学习和/或使用智能手机和平板电脑时背部和颈部弯曲存在缺陷。21%的病例报告有眼部症状，大多数参与者（82%）的父母报告其子女的心理和社会行为发生了变化。
肌肉骨骼性颈部疼痛在儿童和青少年中是一种重要疾病，有多种危险因素促成其发生。颈椎压力增加可能导致颈椎退变以及其他发育、医学、心理和社会方面的并发症。
