Pars Defects in Adolescents

A child's mission in life is to play. Pain that interferes with play should always be investigated, particularly when the complaint is of long duration. This is particularly the case with back pain, an unusual complaint in children that is associated with organic disease in 85% of cases.1 Contrast that with back pain in adults, a common condition that is usually the result of nonspecific musculoskeletal pain. Adolescents, on the cusp of these 2 populations, can have back pain that is the result of either organic or functional conditions, and investigation of this concern must be thorough and cautious.