With summer now winding down, many of us with children are beginning to turn our attention to the upcoming school year. Along with getting the necessary school supplies, clothes, and shoes, it’s also a good time to reconnect with your children’s health. School is very important in your child’s development but certain things that come along with attending school can be hard on the body. Things like, sitting all day, carrying a heavy backpack and high-impact sports all can contribute to aches and pains. A big part of that means ensuring their health – not just because school is a giant petri dish that breeds sniffling, sick children, but also because there are habits my children need to learn now to protect their spinal health as well as their overall health for the rest of their lives. One part starts at the chiropractor, but the rest are found in these suggestions to keep their little spines healthy and happy all year long!
As kids go back to school, their bodies are put under a lot of stress and weight from all the text books and supplies they need each day to being involved in sports causing injuries. This often times results in pain, whether it be low back pain, shoulder pain, neck or headaches. As humans, we want to avoid being in pain. It’s especially important to find the cause of pain when it involves children as they are growing.
First things first, check the weight of your child’s backpack on a regular basis. The total weight of the bag needs to be no more than 10-15% of their body weight. Any more than that and it can cause harmful effects on their spine and joints. Sure, your child may love that Frozen backpack or want that awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack, but is it really the right backpack for them? You have to find a backpack that will fit your child and be kind to their little spine. Here are a few tips to keep in mind for your children to keep them healthy as they head back to school this fall and anytime they are carrying an extra load.
- it’s lightweight and fits snugly against the body.
- If your child has to carry a heavy load, make sure the heaviest items are packed closest to the body.
- Encourage your child to use both of the shoulder straps.
- Make sure that bottom of the bag falls right at their hip level. What you don’t want is the bottom of the backpack too far down their legs and body.
- From the side view, you want their ear to be over their shoulder and their shoulders directly in line with the hips and feet.
School sports-related injuries have become increasingly common. This certainly includes broken bones due to contact sports such as football and basketball. However, soft tissue injuries affecting muscles, tendons, and ligaments are happening more frequently as children are increasingly participating in competitive sports and at a younger age. While some of these injuries will heal on their own by taking the RICE approach of Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, others will be more serious requiring the care of a doctor with special training in these types of injuries.
If your child is a sports enthusiast who took a break over the summer, they will need to remember to slowly condition themselves to get back into the game. Children have this crazy idea that they have no limitations. Though their bodies do tend to be a bit more flexible than an adult’s, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t take the time to ease back into physical activities . Without a doubt, school sports can help children gain confidence and self- esteem, and also help promote long-term health and fitness.
By taking a proactive approach when sports-related injuries and proper backpack wearing, you can help your child heal quicker while also minimizing the chance of chronic or permanent injuries. Of course, your chiropractor is always ready and willing to help your child be successful both at school and on the playing field, so if you have questions or concerns, you may want to bring them up during your next visit to Bettendorf Chiropractic Wellness Center. Here’s to a healthy, happy start to the 2018 school year.