YOUR HEALTH: Chronic pain in kids: It’s not all physical

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. (IVANHOE NEWSWIRE) - More than 30% of America’s kids live with chronic physical pain every day, but the pain is often mental as well.

According to experts, the pandemic has made the problem worse.

“We’ve been seeing more children with chronic pain. I think the pandemic was a huge stressor that’s probably contributed to that in some ways,” said Dr. Aimee Hersh, a pediatric rheumatologist at the University of Utah Health/Primary Children’s Hospital.

Up to a third of all high school students said they were mentally and physically impacted by the pandemic.

“A lot of the ways that kids express the anxiety, or the stress, or even the depressive symptoms they’re feeling, is in their muscles and joints.” Dr. Hersh explained.

Hersh said it’s not uncommon for patients who have mental health conditions to experience chronic pain.

“I think sometimes that chronic pain piece is sometimes maybe downplayed and that there’s more of a focus on the mental health piece,” Dr. Hersh added.

Research shows that a parent’s reaction to their child’s pain is important. In fact, children whose parents became depressed over their child’s condition reported suffering more intense pain, more disability, and a poor quality of life.

By improving a child’s mental and physical health and working on their sleep, you can help ease your child’s pain. A study out of Seattle Children’s Research Institute showed that children who had less sleep leading up to surgery experienced more intense pain two weeks after their procedures.

Chronic pain is more common in girls than boys.

Studies also show that children with chronic pain who stay in school and participate in normal activities are less disabled in the long run.

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