Blog Lansing - NEW PATIENT SPECIAL

Back Problems in Teens

Will a chiropractor ever treat an adolescent during his professional career? Junior took a baseball right in the back. Julie fell off the human pyramid during cheerleading practice and landed on her back. Needless to say, parents of athletic adolescents are usually first in line at the chiropractic office.

Can Teens Suffer from Back Problems?

While back problems are more common in adults, they are a rarity in teens since the latter is more flexible and agile. That is why any backaches that accompany any athletic event (such as contact sports) should be immediately checked by a chiropractor.

Back Conditions in Teens

Back conditions that can affect teens or kids include –

Any pain that worsens by performing gymnastic activities such as handsprings or the butterfly stroke in swimming may be indicative of spinal conditions such as Spondylolysis. Younger athletes have more chances of developing the condition than older kids who take part in sporting activities. The condition is often caused by over-use that causes constant trauma and is one of the most common causes of back pain in kids.
This is also why the condition has more chances of occurring during a teen’s growth spurt, which is also why it is more common in boys rather than girls. A chiropractor might diagnose Spondylolysis in teens who are aged between 15 and 16.
Any type of backache that causes compromises a teen’s balance or coordination may be caused by a problem in the spinal cord.

Adolescents and teens might put themselves in dangerous situations more than the average five year old, but the fact remains that they are still kids. In other words, they tend to be more aggressive in their activities than younger children. A four year old will probably not stick his hand in a light socket if he has been electrocuted once. However an adolescent will have to keep stressing his back especially if he is pressured to make a tackle or prevent a touchdown in order for his team to win.

Parents cannot stop commercial advertising or peer pressure that expects their kids to push the envelope, but they can educate on taking better care of themselves. A teenager can always be grounded if he/she doesn’t comply to the rules, but parents will be helpless if a backache worsens or worse, ends up paralyzing their child.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Heelstretch Pyramid.jpg

Chiropractor Lansing shares shoulder exercises for beginners.

Body: Here is a simple exercise that you can do at home with no equipment.

It works the areas related to the shoulder such as deltoid – anterior, deltoid – lateral, pec major – clavical head, and coracobrachialis muscles.

The purpose of this exercise is to Increase shoulder strength and muscular endurance. By doing this exercise you can have the benefits of Improved stability, functional strength and injury p

Begin on floor on hands and knees.

Hips should be above knees and shoulders above hands. Attain a straight spine position.

Activate core muscles. While maintaining a straight spine, reach forward until arm is at shoulder level. Slowly return to start position.

Repeat for prescribed repetitions and sets.

5 Common Symptoms of Poor Posture and How to Treat Them with Exercise

Good posture is very important when it comes to a healthy way of living. Chiropractors help you maintaining one. A lot of people don’t comprehend the importance of a good posture. Some experience varying degrees of pain all over the body that gradually turns into major complications. What people fail to realize is that the root of many of the simplest and even the complex of all health issues are usually linked to the body posture, in one way or another.

If someone is experiencing anything from the following symptoms, it would be a wise idea to get their posture evaluated to see if that is causing any of the complications. Fortunately, a few relatively simple exercises can help in restoring the body posture and eliminate any problems associated with it.

1. HEAD

Following symptoms may be felt in the head due to incorrect postures:

The person may have frequent headaches, including the ‘throbbing’ feeling
It feels that the head may split open
It feels as if something is pounding inside the head
The individual may suffer from dizziness and a loss of sense of balance
The sounds around them may seem way too loud to them along with a ringing sound in the ears

2. EYES

The eyes may be subjected to the following:

The eye-sockets are painful and cause the eyes to feel sore
Rolling the eyes causes pain
Eyes lose their natural wetness
The vision starts to get blurry

3. NECK

The neck is a quite sensitive area due to the passing spinal cord and is almost always affected by a bad posture.

Shooting neck pain
Muscle spasms occur regularly
The neck feels stiff

4. JAW

The jaw bone is also affected by bad posture in the following way:

The individual may start experiencing TMJ pain
It gets painful to chew, and a popping sound is heard
The cheek muscles start to hurt
Shoulders are also significantly affected:
The person may feel pain in the socket
It may become difficult to raise arm or when trying to scratch the back

5. SHOULDER

Exercise

Fortunately, before any complicated problems start happening, a chiropractor can prescribe exercises that are aimed at strengthening muscles and bones and help in restoring a proper body posture. Many of the exercises are easy to do at home and are designed to relax stiff muscles, keep the spinal column in a correct shape and thereby improve the overall lifestyle.

Exercise is also a great way to avoid heart diseases, high blood pressures, diabetes and scores of other diseases that result from