Teenage bodies are under more load than most people realise.

Growth spurts. School bags carried on one shoulder. Hours of screen time in positions that would make a posture researcher wince. Sport four days a week. Rugby training on Monday, bouldering on Wednesday, PE on Friday. And somewhere in there, eight hours of sitting at a desk that was not designed for someone who grew six centimetres over the holidays.

I see a lot of teenagers in the clinic, and what strikes me every time is how many of them have been quietly putting up with something for weeks or months before anyone thinks to get it checked. Headaches, neck pain, back pain, shoulder niggles, knee pain. These get brushed off as “growing pains” or “just part of being a teenager.” Sometimes they are. But sometimes they are signals worth paying attention to.

Headaches and neck pain

This is one of the most common presentations I see in teens. Cervicogenic headaches (headaches driven by the neck, not the head) are extremely common in this age group. The pain typically starts at the base of the skull or upper neck and refers forward, often sitting behind one eye or across the forehead. Heavy schoolbag use, study posture, gaming, and phone use all contribute.

Tension headaches are the other big one. These tend to build through the day, peaking in the late afternoon, and sit like a band across the forehead or around the top of the head. Jaw clenching during sport and early-stage teeth grinding can add another layer that is surprisingly common and often missed.

If your teenager is getting headaches more than a couple of times a week, that is worth investigating rather than just medicating through.

Sports injuries and load

This is where things get really interesting in teenagers, because their bodies are growing and loading at the same time. And those two things do not always get along.

Rugby and contact sport: The rugby season is well and truly here, and I am seeing the usual wave of neck stiffness, upper back tightness, and shoulder complaints. Teenage bodies can handle a lot, but when training volumes jump quickly at the start of the season, after a quieter summer, the injury risk goes up fast. Load management matters just as much for a 15-year-old as it does for a professional athlete.

Bouldering and climbing shoulders: This is a newer trend I am seeing more of in the clinic. Bouldering puts enormous demand on the shoulder girdle, and teenagers who are still growing often do not have the rotator cuff and scapular stability to match their enthusiasm. The result is shoulder pain that niggles during climbing and aches afterwards. It is usually very manageable with the right assessment and some targeted rehab, but it does not tend to sort itself out without intervention.

Lower back pain: Teenage lower back pain is more common than most parents expect, and it is not always a simple muscle strain. In active kids, especially those doing sports that involve repeated flexion and extension (cricket, gymnastics, weightlifting, rowing), there is a specific concern around the growth plates in the spine.

Ring apophyseal injuries: This is one that a lot of people have not heard of, and it is worth knowing about. The vertebral endplates in a teenager’s spine have growth plates (ring apophyses) that have not fully fused yet. Under repeated or sudden load, these can be injured. It is more common than disc injuries in this age group, and it is one of the reasons that teenage back pain during sport should be assessed rather than assumed to be “just a muscle thing.” The good news is that with proper load management and the right care, these respond well.

Osgood-Schlatter and knee pain

For the sporty kids going through a growth spurt, Osgood-Schlatter disease is a classic. The quadriceps tendon pulls at its attachment point just below the kneecap, creating a painful lump on the front of the shin that flares up during and after sport. It is almost exclusively a growth-phase condition. Load modification is the key, not rest. Understanding how to train around it while it settles is much more useful than just sitting on the sidelines.

The school bag factor

This one sits across everything. Bags that are too heavy, or worn on one shoulder, create asymmetric loading on a spine that is still developing. The effect is cumulative, not dramatic. But over four or five years of secondary school, it adds up. Both straps, every time. The bag should sit snug against the back, not hanging low. And total weight should ideally be no more than 10 to 15 percent of your teenager’s body weight. Most kids exceed this regularly.

When to get it checked

Not every teenage ache needs a clinical assessment. But these are the patterns worth investigating:

• Headaches happening more than twice a week, or increasing in frequency
• Pain that wakes them from sleep
• Back pain during or after sport that does not settle within a day or two
• Shoulder pain that keeps coming back with climbing or overhead activity
• Knee pain that is limiting how much they can train
• Any pain that has not improved after two to three weeks of rest

Teenagers are actually one of the most responsive patient groups I see. Their tissues adapt well, they are usually pretty honest about what hurts, and they have a lot of time ahead of them for any changes to compound into real benefit. A teenager who understands how their body is loading and how to manage it is genuinely better off for life.

Not sure if it is worth looking at?

Bring them in and we will have a look. A clinical assessment for a teenager is straightforward, and it either identifies something useful or gives you the confidence that things are tracking fine. Either outcome is worth the appointment.

Book online or call 0404 717 488. We have Saturday morning appointments available.

Dr. Michael O’Doherty (Chiropractor 4220637H), Chiropractic Moves, 21 Agars St Paddington QLD 4064

Dr. Michael O'Doherty

Hi, I’m Michael; Chiropractor, Dad, science enthusiast, active weightlifter and keen sportsman. I work with busy and active people who are struggling with pain to find relief from their symptoms so that they can return to an active lifestyle, get through their work day and their workouts without having to pop a pill so that they can feel happier and healthier in their body.