Think for a moment about all the strain on your child’s body from daily schooling activities: the pressure of improperly worn backpacks, neck strain from reading at desks, poor posture, falls in sports and play, and long bouts of sitting. These stresses can have a damaging impact on your child’s spine and nervous system. For example, it has been recorded that more than 2 hours of sitting per day can cause spinal strains. Poor posture inhibits oxygen flow to the body’s tissues, including the brain, which can actually affect concentration. Childhood aches and pains, typically known as “growing pains,” are warning signals. They are not “normal” and should not be dismissed. Too often in medical practice doctors minimize these childhood complaints and prescribe drugs to mask symptoms. Sound familiar? No cause is sought. No consideration is given to dangerous side-effects, especially damaging in critical developmental stages. Pain of any kind is a sign that there is an underlying problem. Often these pains are the result of spinal pressure on the nerves, which can happen because of all the reasons listed above.
Posture is the window into the spine, and an easy way to detect potential spinal misalignments in children is by looking at their posture.
- Is one shoulder higher than the other?
- Is one hip higher or rotated?
- Does your child have a head tilt ?
- Is your child’s head too far in front of their shoulders ?
Does your child complain of headaches, neck pain, pain between the shoulders, arm or leg pain , etc? Has the cause been sought? Are medications masking the symptoms ?
These imbalances, especially when combined with any pain, may need further assessment by a qualified Doctor of Chiropractic who knows how to help.