Back-to-school Tips from Our Chiropractors in Santa Barbara
Half of all school children are hefting overweight backpacks to school and back everyday, in ways that might create acute or chronic spinal problems. Here at Advanced Chiropractic Group, our experienced chiropractic team is more than happy to treat younger patients -- but we would rather help them avoid the problems that require treatment, if possible. Now that school is back in session, let us look at some ways you can steer your child toward safer backpacking practices.
1. Lower the load. Heavy, bulky textbooks might seem like an inevitable issue for kids wearing backpacks -- but is it really? Think about some things you can suggest to the teachers and school districts that might lighten the load, not just for your child but for all the school's children. For instance, teachers might be able to hand out Xeroxed pages of the next day's required reading, allowing the kids to leave their textbooks in the classroom.
2. Balance the load. A heavy load need not be a debilitating or dangerous one, as long as it has been balanced properly on your child's back. Let the heavy items take up the bottom of the backpack, covering them with progressively lighter ones toward the top. This prevents unnecessary pulling on tugging on the neck and shou which might cause back pain, muscle strains and spinal misalignments.
3. Buy for functionality, not looks. Your kid may be in love with a fashionable single-strap backpack at the store, but even the coolest looking backpack will never see action if it causes pain. The traditional double shoulder strap offers the best balance and stability -- and if you can find a backpack that also has a waist strap, so much the better.
Natural Pain Relief for Kids
If your child develops neck pain, back pain, or shoulder pain from constant backpack use, remember that our chiropractors in Santa Barbara can provide prompt, drug-free pain relief. Until then -- take care!
Does your child wear a backpack? What kind?