Kids Need Chiropractic Too!
As adults we blame most of our back problems on poor posture, trauma, stress, sports injuries etc. Children deal with these same problems in a typical day at school. Slouching down in the hard plastic chairs, studying for a math test or participating in after school sports, their developing bodies must adapt to the daily stresses that they face. Until late adolescence their skeletal structures are in a continual growth state and can be greatly influenced by the stresses surrounding them. Besides sports injuries, one of the most common causes of back pain in children is the backpack they carry to and from school. Today’s children are carrying backpacks that weigh 10-30% of their body weight. This extra weight can cause distortion of the natural curves in the back, rounding of the shoulders and a tendency to lean forward. All of these instances result in muscular imbalances, causing muscle strain or spasm, as well as irritation to the joints of the spine and rib cage.
The extra weight can also pull on the neck muscles, contributing to headaches, neck pain and arm pain. Regular treatments with your chiropractor will help alleviate the skeletal and muscular imbalances that children face each day, and can help prevent further problems later in life.