Being proactive about your child’s spine health is proven to be imperative to their overall wellbeing, focus, and academic performance. Dr. Francisco Colón, a parent and doctor in West Palm Beach, says that getting regular scoliosis checks before complaints begin help ensure that your child doesn’t suffer from misalignment issues. These issues typically go undiagnosed until they begin to cause pain which is often times long-term and more difficult to treat.
Things that contribute to issues throughout the school year:
- Heavy and/or poorly secured backpack
- Poor desk posture
- Excessive use of electronics
Best Practices
Dr. Sebastian Colón of Midtown Chiropractic in Lake Worth, points out that The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a back pack be no more than 10% of a child’s body weight. He recommends a padded book bag with comfortable straps that don’t cut into shoulders and encourages kids to wear the back pack adequately and use both straps as opposed to just one. Furthermore, a waist strap helps to stabilize the bag.
A few small ways to protect your child are to implement the following…
- Yearly scoliosis checks
- Padded book bag with wide padded straps
- Adjustable waist strap on the book bag
How we can help
By correcting this early, we can minimize risk of injury and adult conditions that include herniated/bulging discs, headaches, as well as nerve pinching with weakness and numbness into the arms.
Bring your child in for a chiropractic exam that includes a more in-depth posture assessment/scoliosis check. Often times, the checks done at schools will only find severe spinal issues. Mild and moderate scoliosis can be tough to diagnose using the naked eye. Having x-ray equipment ensures that we don’t miss the important stuff!