Sit in the car. Sit at the computer. Sit at a desk. Sit to play video games. Sit to watch a movie. Sit to watch TV. Southern New Hampshire kids (and some adults!) sit a lot. It’s the scourge of our modern society, but how can we ward off all that sitting from wounding our kids’ backs? We don’t want them to suffer back pain unnecessarily. New Hampshire Spine and Sport is here to help! Teaching Southern New Hampshire kids now to set some good habits when they do sit may well prevent back pain later.

First, just how much do Southern New Hampshire kids sit? In a 2007 study (1), kids spent 14 hours a week with TV/DVD and computer games and only 4 hours a week with sports activities. The 20% of the kids who didn’t do any sports activities were at a higher risk of poor posture. How many of our Southern New Hampshire children are non-activity kids? Poor posture is seen in 38.3% of children, more often in boys. Common posture linked injuries found are 

• protruding scapulae (shoulder blades) (50%).
• increased lumbar lordosis (32%).
• round back (31%).

New Hampshire Spine and Sport is pledged to working with parents to keep their kids’ spines in line!

Second, how does all this sitting affect the kids’ spines anatomically? New Hampshire Spine and Sport knows that it does! Well, a recent study of 11-13 year old kids who are certainly not much different from our own Southern New Hampshire kids pointed to some curious facts. One is that sitting results in a decreased angle of inclination of the thoracolumbar spine (lower mid spine to upper lower spine). The normal thoracic spine’s kyphotic curve and the lumbar spine’s lordotic curve are both lessened. And lastly the pelvis is uneven. (2) These aren’t good occurrences. Your Southern New Hampshire chiropractor likes to see curves where they belong and symmetry of the pelvises as is normal. Chiropractic care at New Hampshire Spine and Sport can help adjust these and educate our young patients to prevent these outcomes.

How? Posture education is a good start. Adults often attend “back wellness school”. It’s now time for children to have a back school of their own! During this back school the students could be shown what good posture is and how to sit with good posture. Children can be encouraged to maintain their normal spinal curves when sitting.  Talk with your Southern New Hampshire chiropractor about ways to help your school child with posture.

So contact New Hampshire Spine and Sport today. Make a Southern New Hampshire chiropractic appointment for your child to have a good spinal examination. That sets up a great opportunity for us to talk about posture in school and out of school, when sitting and when playing. Rely on your Southern New Hampshire chiropractor to be on your side and have your and your child’s back!

*picture from Microsoft