What About the Kids?
With another new school year getting underway checking your child’s posture should become part of your routine. Poor posture is always something talked about with adults, but what about the kids? It has now become an epidemic and many don’t realize what kind of effects it can have on long-term health.
Poor Posture can be caused by heavy backpacks, looking down at a phone, slouching over an iPad, sinking into the couch playing video games, and sitting at a desk or table and doing homework for hours- just to name a few.
Poor posture in a child that is left untreated can lead to a lifetime of poor posture, aches, and pains. This can also lead to weakened abdominal and lower back musculature. More specifically here are a few health risks with poor posture:
Spinal Curves: Our bodies are created to have an “S” curve shape down the spine from front to back. As we sit in slouched positions with our heads hanging down and our shoulders rolled forward we remove this pattern and create misalignments/subluxations. When these misalignments occur, they place pressure on nerves and our body is no longer able to function at its best.
Neck and Back Pain: When our spine becomes misaligned the pressure placed on the nerves can create pain and muscle tightness. This makes it more difficult to correct posture because the body begins to see this as the “new normal.” Keep in mind that kids don’t always express pain the same as adults, so it might be harder to detect.
Organ Function: Our nervous system not only controls our muscles but our organs as well. When the misalignments from poor posture place pressure on the nerves they can’t supply the organs in a proper manor. An unhealthy shape of our spine can lead to unhealthy function of our organs.