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Kid's
Health...Fitness...and Wellness
In
recent years there has been a trend of computers, electronic games
and increased access to television. As a result our children rarely
experience the activity filled games like hide and seek, chase, tag,
red rover, British bulldog, scrub, tin can, cricket, double dutch,
hop scotch...you fill in the game but the point is unless activities
are organized there is not as much involvement for our young people.
This trend, along with fast foods and nutritionally void
foods, consequently has had a propensity in our society to promote
obesity. What is a parent to do?
The
first step is to promote some form of physical activity a minimum of
three times weekly for a period of at least thirty minutes. That
will provide the cardiovascular system with the basics of work.
Nutritionally try to limit the consumption of fast and processed
foods while making sure the body is getting the necessary
supplements to thrive.
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For years ill informed health advocates touted the low fat diet.
Recent research indicates that low fat diets are not the answer -
the New York Times (www.nytimes.com)
has a great article by Gray Taubes reviewing the latest info.
Proper nutrition along
with adequate exercise makes up two of the five pillars of health
and wellness. Another key element is a properly functioning nervous
system free of vertebral subluxations (spinal misalignments that can
interfere with the body functions).
Learn
more about these and other pillars of health and wellness at one of
our upcoming patient empowerment workshops where we would be happy
to answer any of your questions Other workshops will cover:
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Backpack
Safety and your child...
Never before have there been more children carrying backpacks to
school and other functions (I am not naive enough to not know why
the teenagers have them on a Friday or Saturday night). It seems to
be a popular trend in school fashion.
In the past few years I have seen dozens of cases of spinal injury
and imbalance that I attribute directly to the use of backpacks.
Much of this can be attributed to two basic reasons. The first and
most obvious is the fact that these is no conscious effort to make
sure that the load on the spine is evenly distributed.
Recently scientists have begun to examine the effects of carrying
heavy backpacks full of books. What they have discovered is that
carrying heavy backpacks may pose a serious threat to your child's
spinal development. A team of researchers at Auburn University has
studied 421 students and found that backpacks carried with one-strap
promoted lateral spinal bending and shoulder elevation.
Additionally, they noted carrying a backpack promoted significant
forward lean of head and trunk.
The
scientists state the average backpack represented 17% of the child's
body weight. If we apply this standard to adults, it would be the
equivalent of the average 150 pound adult carrying a 26-pound
backpack. This would explain why 67.2% of the subjects suffered
muscle soreness, 50.8% suffered back pain, 24.5% suffered numbness,
and 14.7% suffered shoulder pain. The researchers went on to
conclude that the daily physical stresses associated with carrying a
backpack on one shoulder significantly alters the posture and gait
of the youth. Sanders reports that Orthopedists are of the opinion
that continual exposure to carrying weighted loads can promote
damage accredited to the imposed postural problems caused by
carrying the loads. |
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The authors of the
Auburn study also state that the effects of weight bearing induced
stress is a serious issue when considering children and youths whoa
re experience physical growth and motor development. If your child
does use backpacks to carry books there are things that you can do
to reduce the physical stress associated with carry backpacks.
- Make sure that the
weight of the book bag does not exceed more the 10% of the child's
total body weight. This is especially important for children in
grades 1-4.
- Avoid using
backpacks or athletic bags that have only one strap.
- Ensure that
children wear both straps on their shoulder's to distribute weight
evenly. This will significantly reduce book bag carrying stresses.
- Have your child
examined regularly by a chiropractor so that any potential spinal
or postural, problems can be addressed and corrected.
It is important to
remember that children and adolescent youths need backpack
limitations that are sensitive to their age, weight, stage of spinal
development, growth pattern and fitness level. Only by exercising
prudent care can we safe guard our children's health.
References:
- Pascoe DD; Pascoe
DE; Wang YT; Kim CK. Influence of carrying book bags on gait and
posture of youths. Ergonomics 1997; 40(6):631-41
- Sander M. Weight
of schoolbags in a Freibug elementary school. Recommendations to
parents and teachers. Offent1 Gesundheitswes 1979; 41(5)251-3
- Voll HJ; Klimt F.
Strin in children caused by carrying schoolbags. Offent1
Gesundheitswes 1977; 39(7):369-78
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