How To Pick The Right Backpack For Your Child’s Back

We are approaching what some parents term, “ the most wonderful time of the year”, when the kids go back to school.

With this however is back to school shopping for paper, binders, pencil crayons and the inevitable backpack.

For some, the kindergartners this is their first one, the first time in their life they need to carry something.

For others, the tweens and teens it is fashion, popularity it needs to be this years “it” bag.

In all cases it is a bag to carry stuff to and from and around school and given that they will wear it for 10 months of the year it needs to work, it needs to fit and when you check some of the prices it needs to last.

Some simple rules of thumb, weight for the younger kids the kindergartners, the bag and its contents should not weigh more than 10% of their weight, for the older kids not more than 15%. Weigh the bag from time to time and go through it to edit accumulated junk.

The size of the bag should be proportional to the size of the child’s back, thus a teen’s bag is too big for a first grader.

Bags should have 2 well padded and adjustable straps, no messenger bags, ideally there will be some padding on the back of the bag that is in contact with the body and there are straps to fasten in the front either at the chest or the waist or both, and they should be encouraged to be used. The bag should be worn on both shoulders, and snug enough so that only a hand’s breadth can be slipped between the bag and the child’s back.

The bag should be loaded so that heavier items are closest to the body, and lighter or bulkier items to the front. Some bags have compression straps to tighten the load in the bag to keep it tighter to the body.

Lastly for younger children put the bag over both shoulders for them or have them place the bag on a table so they can put it on without stooping. Older kids remind them that if they want to be able to play their sports or participate in their extra-curricular activities, little things like not using the right muscles to pick up their bag might mean the difference between watching their team and playing with them.

To review:

  1. Pick an appropriate sized bag, made of good materials and have adjustable straps.
  2. Not more than 10-15% of the child’s body weight should be in the bag
  3. Load it properly
  4. Put it on properly

If your children are complaining of back pain after returning to school, drop in to the office I’m sure we can help. Contact us at https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca 905-831-3939, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

What does a Chiropractor do?

 

 

What does a chiropractor do?

What does a chiropractor do?

This is my second blog post, hopefully after the last one you have a bit better understanding of disc related back pain. So what does a chiropractor do?

The other night my 8 year old son asked for some help with a school project, “ what does your parent do”. So in describing what a chiropractor is and does I thought this would be a good blog topic. Perhaps it should have been the first post but here it is nonetheless.

A chiropractor is a doctor who’s area of specialization is with the joints, muscles and nerves of the body, primarily but not restricted to the spine. A chiropractor is a drugless healthcare provider, using a hands on manual therapy approach to restore function, reduce pain and improve quality of life for people having musculoskeletal problems, back pain, neck pain, headaches, sprains and strains etc.

Chiropractors attend a chiropractic college or university for 4 years after completing an undergraduate university degree. Courses in anatomy, physiology, pathology, biomechanics, microbiology, radiology, x-ray taking among others occur during their first 3 years. Don’t forget most importantly the hands on chiropractic care is intensely focussed on during these first three years. This is followed by a one year internship program treating patients under the supervision of a licensed chiropractor.

Chiropractors will then go on to  practice in a number of settings, solo, group, interdisciplinary(multiple different health care providers) , some will continue in research and the profession has 12 research chair professorships across the country. The federal government established research chairs in general to attract and create world class research centres in Canadian Universities. Others like myself will also teach at chiropractic colleges, something I do on  a part-time basis two days a week. In this role I instruct not only the hands on manual therapy chiropractors are known for but also diagnositic skills, symptom based diagnosis and case based simulation.

Stay tuned for more blogs at https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca

 

Disc Related Back Pain

What disc related back pain

What is Disc Related Back Pain?

This being my first blog, I wondered what to speak about, however today I saw someone who’s case while not uncommon gave me the motivation to talk today about low back pain related to a herniated intervertebral disc. What is disc related back pain?

What is disc related back pain?

Most back pain, close to 90% is what one would term, “mechanical low back  pain”, mechanical in the sense that it has as its cause a pain generator in  the muscles or joints of the lower back. This type of back pain while extremely painful and debilitating is uncomplicated and will resolve with treatment in less than 6 weeks in most cases.

Disc related back pain is another matter. The intervertebral (spinal bones) discs are located in between the bones of the spine, they allow for movement and if you imagine are like a jelly donut, firm on the outside and well jelly-like on the inside. In some cases with improper stresses, twisting while bending and lifting either in one event or repeated can cause a weakening of the outer wall of the disc and result in either a bulging outward of the disc or a rupture causing the jelly to come out.  Your body’s response to this injury will typically initially back pain, muscle spasm, you may look crooked, tipped off to one side, movement in any direction will be limited and painful. Days to a week or so later you may then start to have screaming leg pain down the back of one leg, this tends to be worse than the back pain.

Disc injuries can resolve on their own with conservative chiropractic treatment, the majority  in 12 weeks to a year. Your family physician may prescribe some anti-inflammatory medication and order a special test called a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) for a look at how the disc is impacting your nervous system. Regular x-rays  are of little use in a case like this.

Chiropractic treatment will help with pain control, muscle spasm and help to keep you moving. I will give you exercises to help with the pain as well. As a chiropractor I will also monitor your nervous system’s response to the injury and make the appropriate referral back to your family physician should the condition worsen.

Surgery is usually a last resort, but will help if the health of the nerve is compromised.

If you know of any one with back pain of any sort have them call for an appointment and get them some help.

Dr. Kevin Finn

For more blog topics go here

https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca