Back to School
Premier Chiropractic - Dr DeeDee Wampfler
Getting back to school is a great time to schedule a chiropractic appointment for your kids along with a spinal X-ray to make sure their spine is growing in proper alignment and assess any recent or longstanding spinal damage so that correction can be made before long-term damage has set in.
Scoliosis is a condition in which the spine develops abnormal bends or curvatures. It is easily missed by the eye during school health examinations and so spinal examinations should be done by a chiropractor who is trained in scoliosis detection and correction. X-rays are a must because even the most well-trained eye is guessing as it does not have X-ray vision to be able to see what the spine really looks like.
The spine should be straight up and down when viewed from the front or back of someone. When viewing the spine from the side view of a person, there should be three separate and distinct curves – a circular curve for the neck, one in reverse for the mid-upper back where the ribs attach, and an elliptical curve in the low back besides the reverse curve in the sacrum and coccyx.
Scoliosis, the development of abnormal side spinal curvatures, occurs more often in young girls than it does in boys, however, neither are immune to developing this abnormal curvature. It can progress quickly in children as they grow during adolescence and often goes unrecognized until problems arise in the later teen years or adulthood. Sometimes the condition is known, but because few know where to turn for correction, it is often left to worsen as time goes on.
Most abnormal curvatures can be corrected by a chiropractor trained in spinal correction and will involve multiple visits along with specific spinal traction that works to remold the strong ligaments that hold the spine in alignment. The child will also be prescribed specific mirror-image exercises to help lengthen muscles that have shortened due to the condition and strengthen specific weakened muscles involved. It is important to see a chiropractor who has specialized training in this condition because it may require additional bracing that is much more advanced, specific, and comfortable than the old hard plastic medical bracing that children use to have to wear over their clothing.
Certain people may be more predisposed to developing abnormal spinal curvatures. This includes genetic predisposition, those who have been involved in accidents, those who have taken hard falls, injuries, and blows to one side during impact, as well as those who have a very straight upper back. When the normal reverse curve of the upper back is lost, the spine is more susceptible to developing abnormal curvatures especially when carrying unevenly distributed loads like a heavy backpack on only one shoulder or only using the strong side for heavy load lifting.
The bottom line is this; we don’t know what the spine looks like for sure without a proper spinal X-ray and we often don’t know all the injuries kids have had. It’s easy for a child to take a hard blow on the bottom during the toddler years when going down a steep fast slide, or to have taken a roll on a 4-wheeler that they don’t want you to know about, or a hard hit during a sporting event that they’ve moved on without much thought other than it hurt for a time and many other things. With the spine being so important to your child’s health, a back-to-school spinal exam and X-ray is the only way to know for sure the shape and condition of your child’s spine and should be a part of your routine.