Health practitioners of many disciplines are
increasingly concerned that the 21st century lifestyle is crippling
the next generation. At Pure Healthcare in Albany, our team of Chiropractors
focus on prevention as well as treatment.
The following article has suggestions about how to keep your kids from
suffering the negative outcomes of the habits that modern life is placing on
their health.
FIRST THE BAD NEWS – I promise, there is good
news coming
A major study[1] presented
at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
(AAOS), shows a significant increase in back pain, specifically lower back
pain, among children and adolescents between ages 10 and 18 years old. The
increase progresses linearly with age by about four percent for each year of
age. This is far more common than you think.
Ask your kids if they have back pain.
Particularly after long term standing, walking or sports activity. If the answer is yes, contact our admin team
at Pure Healthcare Albany to make an appointment to have your childs spinal and
extremity joints checked.
New
Zealand Chiropractors’ Association
(NZCA) spokesperson and chiropractor, Dr Cassandra Fairest, says: `Overladen
backpacks, a lack of active play, hours spent hunched over electronic devices,
and poorly designed and unsupportive beds are setting our children up for a
lifetime of pain and dysfunction. The
physical manifestation of these issues is just the tip of the iceberg; many
other issues are likely to appear over time,
such as a lack of confidence, anxiety, hormone imbalance as well as postural
imbalances – to name a few.[2]’ So you can see that the result of postural
stress is far reaching and goes beyond simple low back pain.
Dr. Jason Berry, father of 2 and Senior
Chiropractic Doctor at Pure Healthcare adds: ‘assessing kids with back pain
always includes a conversation about the position and fit of their
bookbag. A bag that is not fit well, or
is heavier than 10% of the childs body weight, is going to contribute to spinal
stress. These days we also must have a
conversation with the child and parents about what I call their “device
posture”. We review ways to minimize the
stress of using phones, tablets and computers.
I see kids with back pain due to postural stress every week. It is a real problem, however it is very
treatable and preventable’.
The Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ meeting was
told that 33.7 percent of study participants had experienced
back pain in the previous year, yet fewer than half (40.9
percent) had any form of healthcare to correct underlying issues. Of
those who did seek healthcare, just over a third sought chiropractic care (34.1
percent). Yes – over 30% of the parents who sought treatment for
their teenagers back pain, took their kids to see a Chiropractor. And, yes, kids need Chiropractic care just
like adults. However, appreciate that
the type of treatment and the techniques that are used with kids differs from
those that are used with adults. The
Chiropractic Doctors at Pure Healthcare have all been trained in how to modify
treatment for children so that it is safe and effective.
Dr. Berry says ‘little spines have similar
problems as adult spines, however we modify and adapt our treatment techniques
for the individual needs of the child based on age, health history, sport
activity and postural stress from various sources. Furthermore, we look for the underlying cause
of the pain. There is no sense in simply
providing treatment if the child is going out and aggravating their spine the
next day. We work with kids and their
parents to modify their use of backpacks, study posture, footwear, sleeping
posture, sports activities, etc. to help to heal the problem, and then to
prevent it from coming back’.
Dr. Fairest reminds us that…`We
know that many young people spend more than four hours a day reading or texting
on their smartphones and when they’re hunched over their phones, the effect of
the head’s weight can reach up to approx 25 kgs, which may lead to dysfunction
in the joints of the neck and/or early degeneration and herniated discs. On top
of this they will be sitting at a computer doing homework. Health of the spine also impacts the nervous
system, and the follow on to problems such as these are only starting to be
recognised, with learning difficulties and social anxiety becoming more
common.’
The Chiropractors at Pure Healthcare will have
several recommendations for parents and children about maintaining good posture
and avoiding low back pain and other musculoskeletal aches and pains. We want to encourage kids to do regular
exercise to minimise the effects of lifestyle choices on their spines. Regular
chiropractic check ups help support proper spine and nervous system integrity,
and simple devices such as in shoe foot orthotics (inner soles), a foam roller,
mobility ball or neck wedge can help to stretch overworked muscles and improve
posture.
Dr. Cherye Roche, the Gait Doctor and Principle
Chiropractor / Biomemechanist / and Postural Expert at Pure Healthcare also
stresses the vital roll that proper foot function plays as the base of support
for the entire body. Flat feet,
especially if they are asymmetrical (different right from left) is a major
contributor to muscle, tendon and joint pain in the legs and spine in children
– and is often missed by well meaning practitioners who focus on symptoms
rather than cause. A simple posture,
biomechanics and gait analysis using GaitScan® technology can identify otherwise
unidentified problems in your child’s standing posture and walking / running
gait, and will save the child and the parents a great deal of time, money and
pain that can occur with treating symptoms while missing underlying causes of
dysfunction like asymmetrical over-pronation of the feet. (collapsed arches)
Dr Cassandra
Fairest, says: `The best posture is your next posture. We should
be regularly moving rather than remaining primarily sedentary. Good, healthy posture is learned at a young age through physical activity. If healthy
physical activity, non-sedentary behaviour and good sleep habits are
established early in life, this helps shape habits through childhood,
adolescence and into adulthood. We have
developed a simple, 3 minute daily exercise regime to support good posture and
spinal health on our Straighten Up NZ website: https://www.straightenup.org.nz/’
So – what
is the next step for your family?
Make an appointment for a
Health/Posture screening appoint at Pure Healthcare. Our Chiropractors are
uniquely qualified to provide assessments and care that specifically focuses on
the health of your child’s spine, the biomechanical connection between the feet
and the rest of the body, the relationship between the spine and the nervous
system, and how this may impact on poor posture and the pain and dysfunction
that can result.
At Pure Healthcare in Albany, our Chiropractors
are taking the lead to inform, and inspire people to prevent pain and
disability by educating parents to have a greater understanding importance of
improving posture, addressing and preventing spinal problems, and engaging in
physical activity for a healthier lifestyle.
We hope to see you and your family
soon to help you create a more healthy future.
How to avoid poor posture:
- Encourage all children to use devices wisely; either prop up the
device so that it is at eye-level, or have the child lie on their stomach
with the device in their hands in front of them.
- Hold the device straight out from your face rather than drop your
head to look at it. Take breaks every 15 minutes, or don't use the device
for more than 30 minutes a time with an equal rest of 30 minutes.
- Limit usage for under 6-year-olds, less than one hour per day.
During rapid growth phases in older children and teens, less than two
hours per day.
- Have regular spinal health checkups with your NZCA chiropractor.
- View the map below for your local playgrounds, and encourage your
children to play outside.
Ends
Further Information:
Dr Cassandra Fairest, Chiropractor
021 242 3073 or cassandra.fairest@chiropractic.org.nz
Peter Boyes 027 554 0500 or
peter@boyespr.co.nz
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