Tag: Children

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Back to School Health Essentials

With children across America gearing up to begin the school year, what better time to explore some ideas to help ensure your child starts the school year healthy and happy. The following are 3 Ways to Start the School Year Healthy:

1. Backpack Safety 101

When people think Chiropractic and back to school, the first thing that usually comes up is backpacks. Here’s what you need to know – most backpack problems occur from excessive weight, inappropriate fit, and incorrect wearing of the pack. Your child should carry no more than 10-15% of their body weight in their school bags. When a heavy weight (such as a book-stuffed backpack) is incorrectly placed on the shoulders, the weight’s force can pull a child backwards. To compensate a child may bend forward at the hips or arch the back which can cause the spine to compress unnaturally.

If your child uses the traditional backpack – urge them to wear both straps (Here’s what to look for when picking a backpack: two wide, padded shoulder straps / padded back / waist belt / multiple compartments). Although it’s worth noting that messenger bags or purses – despite potential problems – are usually the better choice for children. When used correctly, the strongest muscles in the body, the back and abdominal muscles, support the weight of the packs. If not too heavy and if they are used correctly the weight is then evenly distributed across the body. Continue reading “Back to School Health Essentials”

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Are Baby Carriers Good for the Spine?

Many new parents are unsure when it comes to carrying their newborn, especially when it comes to how it may affect their baby’s development. As a Structural Chiropractor, the way I look at babywearing may be a little bit different – my focus is on how it may affect the baby’s developing spine and nervous system.

Lets start with the anatomy of a newborn. As you can see in the illustration below – the spine of an infant is c-shaped – this is natural until the baby begins to hold their head up, crawl and stand which will help develop the curves we have as adults.  One of the first options parents encounter for carrying their baby is (not surprisingly) the car seat.

Research by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) shows that car seats result in  “restricted postural options which can impact your baby’s developing cranium and spine”. It seems that by keeping the spine in a c-shaped configuration, car seats can actually prevent and inhibit the natural curves from forming. In additon, babies can have a hard time acquiring adequate muscle strength to hold their heads up if they don’t get much of a chance to deal with gravity in an upright position. .Bottom line on car seats: an ergonomic carrier is superior to using a car seat when the baby is not in the car. Continue reading “Are Baby Carriers Good for the Spine?”

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Why It’s More Than a Back “Crack”

I must admit I cringe a bit every time I introduce myself as a Chiropractor and someone says “I love getting my back cracked”. The reason it is so disappointing is that “joint mobilization” (aka cracking) is the most insignificant part of what we do. In fact the only reason that anyone should receive a chiropractic adjustment is if there is pressure on their nerve system. Why? Because the nervous system controls and coordinates every aspect of your body. The millions of messages are transported from your brain down your spine, out to your organs, tissues and cells. The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to clear any interference in that pathway.

Just this month, we have had reports of an infertile couple conceiving, depression lifting, pain killers being thrown out, better sleep, numbness and tingling gone, sinus infections eliminated, improved digestion and better breathing. This doesn’t happen by “cracking a back”. This only happens when pressure comes off the central nervous system and the body begins to heal itself. Continue reading “Why It’s More Than a Back “Crack””
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The Truth About Sunscreen

While we know that sunscreens prevent sunburns, beyond that simple fact surprisingly little is known about their safety and efficacy. The letters SPF mean “sun protection factor” and refer only to protection against UVB radiation, which burns the skin. It has nothing to do with UVA radiation that penetrates deep into the skin, accelerates skin aging and may cause skin cancer. 

It’s also important to note that no SPF (not even 100 SPF) offers 100 percent protection. The difference in UVB protection between an SPF 100 and SPF 50 is marginal (SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent). A sunscreen’s SPF number is calculated by comparing the time needed for a person to burn unprotected with how long it takes for that person to burn wearing sunscreen. So a person who turns red after 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure is theoretically protected 15 times longer if they adequately apply SPF 15. 

So, what’s the problem with sunscreen? As a society we have been taught to avoid the sun -which helps our bodies naturally produce Vitamin D- and instead put chemical laden lotions on in hopes of reducing one type of cancer (skin) that is not commonly fatal. As a result, Americans are now vitamin D deficient which can lead to a multitude of health problems. Continue reading “The Truth About Sunscreen”

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Breastfeeding Is ‘Health, Not Lifestyle’ Choice

New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics presented in the March 2012 issue of the journal Pediatrics say that every infant should begin life with six months of exclusive breastfeeding, followed by a minimum of another six months with other foods being gradually added to the child’s diet.

“Recently, published evidence-based studies have confirmed and quantitated the risks of not breastfeeding,” the authors stated.

“Thus, infant feeding should not be considered as a lifestyle choice, but rather as a basic health issue. As such, the pediatrician’s role in advocating and supporting proper breastfeeding practices is essential and vital for the achievement of this preferred public health goal.”

Estimates have suggested that more than 900 infant deaths per year in the United States could be prevented if 90% of mothers breastfeed exclusively for six months, the authors wrote. Other positive outcomes linked to breastfeeding include: Continue reading “Breastfeeding Is ‘Health, Not Lifestyle’ Choice”