As children grow, the stresses they face evolve. In primary school, falls and accidents are common. Carrying a poorly adjusted and too heavy backpack inevitably affects the spine, and long hours in poor posture (whether at school or home) only make things worse.
From childhood, but especially in adolescence, young people experience significant growth spurts that can disrupt the muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems. For many young people, the most important thing is to have a 'COOL' backpack. However, they don't know how to choose it properly, load it, lift it, and carry it. Conditions like scoliosis can manifest. If diagnosed early, the negative impact of any issue affecting the nerves, bones, or muscles can often be significantly reduced.
Carrying a heavy and poorly adjusted backpack can lead to poor posture, misalign the spine, and even cause deformities. Walking with such a backpack every day can cause back, neck, and arm pain, muscle tension, headaches, and even damage to the nervous system. Carrying a heavy bag on one shoulder forces the muscles and spine to compensate for the uneven weight distribution. More than 50% of young people experience at least one episode of lower back pain before adolescence.
Hours of sitting put excessive pressure on the lower back. Sitting generates much more pressure on the lower back than lying down or standing. On top of that, the weight of the backpack often exceeds 10% of the child's body weight. Beyond school constraints, children often have many extracurricular activities. Their daily routines can lead to premature stress. Not to mention new technologies, which accelerate sedentary behavior: instead of playing outside, more and more young people prefer staying in front of their computers or screens. All of these factors can create tension in the spine. This affects the symmetrical development of the skeletal structure, creating imbalances and sometimes even scoliosis.
Given this situation, it is clear that parents must be informed about the importance of regularly assessing the spine. A healthy spine is the foundation upon which a child can grow in a harmonious and healthy manner. It's not just teeth that need regular checkups... the spine needs to be checked too, because it can't be replaced! Just like adults, children and teenagers can suffer from back pain, neck pain, jaw pain, headaches, shoulder, knee, and leg pain, as well as postural imbalances.
This is why it is important to ensure their proper growth and the development of their muscle coordination through a chiropractic examination. Chiropractic effectively treats these issues with gentle, natural, and age-appropriate joint and muscle therapies. Chiropractic can help!
Often, just a few treatments are enough to resolve the issue in a young person!