Back to school, not back in pain

Back to school should not mean a pain in the back. As the parent of an 8 year old, I am often amazed at how much stuff she can fit in her backpack. The weight of the pack seems to increase yearly. The big question is - How much is too much?
The weight of the pack should not be more than 15% of the child's body weight. So multiply your child's weight by .15. That means a 60 lb child should not carry more than 9 lbs. The incidence of low back pain in children is on the rise, and this looks to be one major factor. I know my daughter has considerably more homework than I had at her age. Her pack is filled with completed projects, notebooks, shoes, etc.
It is wise to consider a few more things than total weight, however:
-Foremost, make sure they wear both straps. Wearing only one strap will obviously create an unbalanced body.
-Keep the heaviest objects closest to the part of the bag touching the child's back. This ensures best weight distribution in carrying the load.
-The bottom of the bag should not pass the child's waist. If it does, the child will need to lean forward too much.
-A bag with a waist strap keeps the load closest to the body. Again this means the lightest effective load and less strain for your child.
Lastly, consider cleaning out the backpack weekly. Not only will your child have a lighter load, you may come across a few permission slips or upcoming projects that your child may have forgotten to mention to you. (If your child is anything like mine.)

Shoulder Rotator Cuff Injury Due to Poor Posture?

Yes. Posture has a profound affect on how you use, or overuse your body. And yes, posture is often the biggest reason why people develop shoulder rotator cuff injuries. The proof is simple. Let's look at the most commonly given exercise for the supraspinatus muscle. This muscle is one of the rotator cuff muscles, and helps hold the humerus head in the socket of the shoulder joint.

Note the angle that this person's shoulder is in. It is slightly forward, as if he is slouching.

Not surprisingly, the shoulder joint works best when you are in an upright position. In this position, the deltoid and the upper trapezius muscles do the heavy lifting.

With the body in a slightly forward slouched position, the heavy lifting is now done by the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles. Why is this bad? These muscles are much smaller than the heavy lifters. That is why they fatigue more quickly. It is a simple case of muscle strain due to poor body mechanics. Certainly not all cases of rotator cuff damage occurs this way. Repetitive stress can occur with or without poor posture, as can traumatic accident. Most cases in which I have observed rotator cuff injury, the patient does not have any accident or trauma to report, nor any reason why they shoulder be having shoulder pain. If this sounds like you, try standing up straight. If that doesn't help, call a good chiropractor. Posture coaching, shoulder, neck, and upper back adjustments, and rehabilitative exercises will get you on your way to being pain free.

Malicious Migraines

The term migraine is often mistakenly used to describe a severe headache. Although not all severe headaches are migraines, most migraines are severe. As the diagram shows, the typical pattern of pain is felt above, near, or behind one eye. Half of the face is usually affected. Most of those affected will also have abnormal visual disturbances without any other explanation. These "aura" can take many forms (see Table 2).

The aura is often preceded by light sensitivity, loss of appetite, dizziness, or depression. During the migraine, continued nausea and light and sound sensitivity is also common. The interesting part is that these symptoms occur in slightly more than half of migraine sufferers, but not all. Even the location of pain is not 100% consistent. There is no definitive diagnostic test to confirm or deny the presence of a migraine. This means we still know very little about why they happen, and what makes them different from other headaches.

What we do know, however, is what typically triggers a migraine. Allergies, stress and abnormal hormone levels are the most common triggers. Allergies can be food (chocolate, red wine and MSG are the most common), or seasonal (mold, pollen, grass). Just like with sinus headaches, an air purifier in the bedroom can be of great benefit. Steering clear of perfumes, scented laundry products, and and scented soap will help prevent chemical triggers.

Stress triggers may come in the form of biomechanical (excessive physical exertion, spinal misalignment and poor posture), emotional (loss of a loved one, life changes), or mental (work/other). Fluctuations in hormones during the menstrual cycle is a very common trigger for females, and is usually the most difficult to overcome. With all of these possible triggers, one can see the benefit of keeping a migraine journal. This often helps identify patterns and point the migraine sufferer to the source.

From the chiropractic perspective, spinal adjustments can help decrease biomechanical stress. Improving posture and relieving nerve pressure will decrease migraine severity by 50% on average. To a migraine sufferer this is an enormous improvement. For emotional and mental stress, meditation is most helpful.

In summary, if you really have a migraine, it may take a while to find your triggers, but it is well worth the effort.