Children in general are at greater risk because of their high activity levels. Children that have risk-prone behaviors are at even greater risk.

Over 2.5 million child abuse and neglect cases are reported every year, and thirty-five out of every hundred cases are physical abuse cases. Bone fractures are sometimes part of the physical abuse of children; knowing the symptoms of bone fractures in physical abuse and recognizing the actual risks in physical abuse will help forward the prevention of future abuse and injuries. Astoundingly, these abuse fractures, if not dealt with correctly, have a potential to lead to the death of the child.

Fracture patterns in abuse fractures that are very common with abuse are fractures in the growing part of a long bone (between the shaft and the separated part of the bone), fractures of the humeral shaft (long bone between the shoulder and elbow), ribs, scapula, outer end of the clavicle, and vertebra. Multiple fractures of varying age, bilateral fractures, and complex skull fractures are also linked to abuse. Fractures of varying ages occur in about thirteen percent of all cases.

The cause of spondylolysis remains unknown, however many factors are thought to contribute to its development. The condition is present in up to 6% of the population, majority of which usually present asymptomatically. Research supports that there are hereditary and acquired risk factors that can make one more susceptible to the defect. The disorder is generally more prevalent in males compared to females, and tends to occur earlier in males due to their involvement in more strenuous activities at a younger age. In a young athlete, the spine is still growing which means there are many ossification centers, leaving points of weakness in the spine. This leaves young athletes at increased risk, particularly when involved in repetitive hyperextension and rotation across the lumbar spine. Spondylolysis is a common cause of low back pain in preadolescents and adolescent athletes, as it accounts for about 50% of all low back pain. It is believed that both repetitive trauma and an inherent genetic weakness can make an individual more susceptible to spondylolysis.

Anterolisthesis location includes which vertebrae are involved, and may also specify which parts of the vertebrae are affected.

"Isthmic" anterolisthesis is where there is a defect in the pars interarticularis. It is the most common form of spondylolisthesis; also called spondylolytic spondylolisthesis, it occurs with a reported prevalence of 5–7 percent in the US population. A slip or fracture of the intravertebral joint is usually acquired between the ages of 6 and 16 years, but remains unnoticed until adulthood. Roughly 90 percent of these isthmic slips are low-grade (less than 50 percent slip) and 10 percent are high-grade (greater than 50 percent slip). It is divided into three subtypes:

- A: pars fatigue fracture

- B: pars elongation due to multiple healed stress effects

- C: pars acute fracture

The risk of serious complications from spinal fusion surgery for kyphosis is estimated to be 5%, similar to the risks of surgery for scoliosis. Possible complications include inflammation of the soft tissue or deep inflammatory processes, breathing impairments, bleeding, and nerve injuries. According to the latest evidence, the actual rate of complications may be substantially higher. Even among those who do not suffer from serious complications, 5% of patients require reoperation within five years of the procedure, and in general it is not yet clear what one would expect from spine surgery during the long-term. Taking into account that signs and symptoms of spinal deformity cannot be changed by surgical intervention, surgery remains to be a cosmetic indication. Unfortunately, the cosmetic effects of surgery are not necessarily stable.

Sports involving repetitive or forceful hyperextension of the spine, especially when combined with rotation are the main mechanism of injury for spondylolysis. The stress fracture of the pars interarticularis occurs on the side opposite to activity. For instance, for a right-handed player, the fracture occurs on the left side of the vertebrae.

Spondylolysis has a higher occurrence in the following activities:

- Baseball

- Tennis

- Diving

- Cheerleading

- Gymnastics

- Football

- Soccer

- Wrestling

- Weightlifting

- Roller Derby

- Cricket

- Pole Vault

- Rugby

- Volleyball

- Gym

- Ultimate Frisbee (especially during impact from laying out)

Although this condition can be caused by repetitive trauma to the lumbar spine in strenuous sports, other risk factors can also predispose individuals to spondylolsis. Males are more commonly affected by spondylolysis than females. In one study looking at youth athletes, it was found that the mean age of individuals with spondylolisthesis was 20 years of age. Spondylolysis also runs in families suggesting a hereditary component such as a predisposition to weaker vertebrae.

Scoliosis affects 2–3% of the United States population, which is equivalent to about 5 to 9 million cases. A scoliosis spinal column's curve of 10° or less affects 1.5% to 3% of individuals. The age of onset is usually between 10 years and 15 years (can occur at a younger age) in children and adolescents, making up to 85% of those diagnosed. This is seen to be due to rapid growth spurts occurring at puberty when spinal development is most relenting to genetic and environmental influences. Because female adolescents undergo growth spurts before postural musculoskeletal maturity, scoliosis is more prevalent among females. Although fewer cases are present today using Cobb angle analysis for diagnosis, scoliosis remains a prevailing condition, appearing in otherwise healthy children. Incidence of idiopathic scoliosis (IS) stops after puberty when skeletal maturity is reached, however, further curvature may proceed during late adulthood due to vertebral osteoporosis and weakened musculature.

Gibbus deformity is a form of structural kyphosis typically found in the upper lumbar and lower thoracic vertebrae, where one or more adjacent vertebrae become wedged. Gibbus deformity most often develops in young children as a result of spinal tuberculosis and is the result of collapse of vertebral bodies. This can in turn lead to spinal cord compression causing paraplegia.

In addition to tuberculosis, other possible causes of gibbus deformity include pathological diseases, hereditary and congenital conditions, and physical trauma to the spine that results in injury. Gibbus deformity may result from the sail vertebrae associated with cretinism (the childhood form of hypothyroidism), mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS), and certain congenital syndromes, including achondroplasia. Because most children with MPS I (Hurler Syndrome) also exhibit symptoms of a gibbus deformity, the latter can possibly be used to identify the former.

Gibbus deformity is included in a subset of structural kyphosis that is distinguished by a higher-degree angle in the spinal curve that is specific to these forms of kyphosis. Other conditions within this subset include Pott’s disease and Scheuermann kyphosis, but gibbus deformity is marked by an especially sharp angle. Viewed from behind, the resulting hunchback is more easily seen when bending forward. A kyphosis of >70° can be an indication of the need for surgery and these surgeries can be necessary for children as young as two years old, with a reported average of 8 years of age.

The cost of scoliosis involves both monetary losses and lifestyle limitations that increase with severity. Respiratory deficiencies may also arise from thoracic deformities and cause abnormal breathing. This directly affects exercise and work capacity, decreasing the overall quality of life.

In the health care system of the United States, the average hospital cost for cases involving surgical procedures was $30,000 to $60,000 per patient in 2010. As of 2006, the cost of bracing has been published as up to $5,000 during rapid growth periods, when braces must be consistently replaced across multiple follow-ups.

The cause is not currently known, and the condition appears to be multifactorial. Several candidate genes (such as FBN1, which has been associated with Marfan) have been proposed and excluded.

The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate, in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates has been replaced by a segmented series of bones—vertebrae separated by intervertebral discs. The vertebral column houses the spinal canal, a cavity that encloses and protects the spinal cord.

There are about 50,000 species of animals that have a vertebral column. The human vertebral column is one of the most-studied examples.

Jefferson fracture is often caused by an impact or load on the back of the head, and are frequently associated with diving into shallow water, impact against the roof of a vehicle and falls, and in children may occur due to falls from playground equipment. Less frequently, strong rotation of the head may also result in Jefferson fractures.

Jefferson fractures are extremely rare in children, but recovery is usually complete without surgery.

Smokers generally have lower bone density than non-smokers, so have a much higher risk of fractures. There also is evidence that smoking delays bone healing.

Anterolisthesis can be categorized by cause, location and severity.

Kyphosis (from Greek κυφός "kyphos", a hump) is an abnormally excessive convex "kyphotic" curvature of the spine as it occurs in the cervical, thoracic and sacral regions. (Abnormal inward concave "lordotic" curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis.) Kyphosis can be called roundback or Kelso's hunchback. It can result from degenerative diseases such as arthritis; developmental problems, most commonly Scheuermann's disease; osteoporosis with compression fractures of the vertebra; multiple myeloma or trauma. A normal thoracic spine extends from the 1st to the 12th vertebra and should have a slight kyphotic angle, ranging from 20° to 45°. When the "roundness" of the upper spine increases past 45° it is called kyphosis or "hyperkyphosis". Scheuermann's kyphosis is the most classic form of hyperkyphosis and is the result of wedged vertebrae that develop during adolescence. The cause is not currently known and the condition appears to be multifactorial and is seen more frequently in males than females.

In the sense of a deformity, it is the pathological curving of the spine, where parts of the spinal column lose some or all of their lordotic profile. This causes a bowing of the back, seen as a slouching posture.

While most cases of kyphosis are mild and only require routine monitoring, serious cases can be debilitating. High degrees of kyphosis can cause severe pain and discomfort, breathing and digestion difficulties, cardiovascular irregularities, neurological compromise and, in the more severe cases, significantly shortened life spans. These types of high-end curves typically do not respond well to conservative treatment and almost always warrant spinal fusion surgery, which can restore the body's natural degree of curvature.

Neck trauma, commonly by strangulation, athletic activities, and car accidents, is the cause of a hyoid bone fracture. Other causes include violent vomiting, gunshot wounds, and hanging.

Many with Scheuermann's disease often have an excessive lordotic curve in the lumbar spine; this is the body's natural way to compensate for the kyphotic curve above. Interestingly, many with Scheuermann's disease have very large lung capacities and males often have broad, barrel chests. Most people have forced vital capacity (FVC) scores above average. It has been proposed that this is the body's natural way to compensate for a loss of breathing depth.

Often patients have tight hamstrings, which, again, is related to the body compensating for excessive spinal curvature, though this is also debated (for example, some suggest the tightness of ligament is the initial cause of the growth abnormality). In addition to the common lordosis, it has been suggested that between 20–30% of patients with Scheuermann's Disease also have scoliosis, though most cases are negligible. In more serious cases, however, the combination is classified as a separate condition known as kyphoscoliosis.

Many vertebrates, especially reptiles, have cervical ribs as a normal part of their anatomy rather than a pathological condition. Some sauropods had exceptionally long cervical ribs; those of "Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis" were nearly 4 meters long.

In birds, the cervical ribs are small and completely fused to the vertebrae.

In mammals the ventral parts of the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae are the fused-on cervical ribs.

Recent studies have also found a high percent of cervical ribs in woolly mammoths. It is believed that the decline in mammoth numbers may have forced inbreeding within the species which in turn has increased the number of mammoths being born with cervical ribs. Cervical ribs have been connected with leukaemia in human children, so it has given scientists new evidence to believe that the mammoth's extinction was attributed to the condition.

In children, whose bones are still developing, there are risks of either a growth plate injury or a greenstick fracture.

- A greenstick fracture occurs due to mechanical failure on the tension side. That is, since the bone is not so brittle as it would be in an adult, it does not completely fracture, but rather exhibits bowing without complete disruption of the bone's cortex in the surface opposite the applied force.

- Growth plate injuries, as in Salter-Harris fractures, require careful treatment and accurate reduction to make sure that the bone continues to grow normally.

- Plastic deformation of the bone, in which the bone permanently bends, but does not break, also is possible in children. These injuries may require an osteotomy (bone cut) to realign the bone if it is fixed and cannot be realigned by closed methods.

- Certain fractures mainly occur in children, including fracture of the clavicle and supracondylar fracture of the humerus.

Hyoid bones fractures represent 0.002% of all fractures; they are rare because the hyoid bone is well-protected by its location in the neck behind the mandible and in front of the cervical spine, as well as its mobility. 91.3% of hyoid bone fractures occur in men.

Falling and colliding with other people in a contact sport can also cause this fracture. Falling causes the weight of the body to force hyperextension. In full-contact sports such as American football and Rugby, diving for the ball can lead a player to land on his head, forcing the neck into hyperextension. The further piling of players on top of an injured player adds more weight and can lead to further occurrences of this fracture.

A cervical rib in humans is an extra rib which arises from the seventh cervical vertebra. Sometimes known as "neck ribs", their presence is a congenital abnormality located above the normal first rib. A cervical rib is estimated to occur in 0.2% (1 in 500 people) to 0.5% of the population. People may have a cervical rib on the right, left or both sides.

Most cases of cervical ribs are not clinically relevant and do not have symptoms; cervical ribs are generally discovered incidentally. However, they vary widely in size and shape, and in rare cases, they may cause problems such as contributing to thoracic outlet syndrome, because of pressure on the nerves that may be caused by the presence of the rib.

A cervical rib represents a persistent ossification of the C7 lateral costal element. During early development, this ossified costal element typically becomes re-absorbed. Failure of this process results in a variably elongated transverse process or complete rib that can be anteriorly fused with the T1 first rib below.

On imaging, cervical ribs can be distinguished because their transverse processes are directed inferolaterally, whereas those of the adjacent thoracic spine are directed anterolaterally.

A retrolisthesis is a posterior displacement of one vertebral body with respect to the subjacent vertebra to a degree less than a luxation (dislocation). Clinically speaking, retrolisthesis is the opposite of spondylolisthesis (anterior displacement of one vertebral body on the subjacent vertebral body), and is also called retrospondylolisthesis. Retrolistheses are most easily diagnosed on lateral x-ray views of the spine. Views, where care has been taken to expose for a true lateral view without any rotation, offer the best diagnostic quality.

Retrolistheses are found most prominently in the cervical spine and lumbar region but can also be seen in the thoracic area.

Spondylosis is caused from years of constant abnormal pressure, from joint subluxation, sports, or poor posture, being placed on the vertebrae, and the discs between them. The abnormal stress causes the body to form new bone in order to compensate for the new weight distribution. This abnormal weight bearing from bone displacement will cause spondylosis to occur. Poor postures and loss of the normal spinal curves can lead to spondylosis as well. Spondylosis can affect a person at any age; however, older people are more susceptible.

Several risk factors of CMC OA of the thumb are known. Each of these risk factors does not cause CMC OA by itself, but acts as a predisposing factor influencing the process of OA in some way. Risk factors include: female gender, suffering from obesity, repetitive heavy manual labor, familial predisposition and hormonal changes, such as menopause.