by Dr. Haque on July 31, 2010
Did you know that more than 20,000 children suffer from backpack injuries each year?
These injuries range from contusions, to sprains and strains to the back and shoulders as well as fractures.
“Back pain in children is not so uncommon anymore,” according to John Purvis, MD, pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Orthopedic surgeons nationwide have seen an increase in children visiting their offices complaining of back and shoulder pain. If a child complains of back pain, parents should consider that it might be due to the backpack or perhaps something more serious. Back pain that persistently limits a child’s activities, requires medication or alters sleep patterns warrants investigation.”
While some experts disagree on whether heavy backpacks are the source of back pain in children, most agree that using good judgment when wearing one will reduce the risk of backpack-related injuries. It is important to partner with children on the selection, packing and caring of the backpack.
The golden rule in backpack safety is to make sure that the weight of the back pack does not exceed 20% of the child’s weight. For example, if the child weighs 80lbs, the weight of the backpack should not be more than 16lbs as it will risk more injury. It is also important, that when choosing a backpack, that both shoulder straps fit properly around the shoulders and snug around the back. This will ensure proper weight distribution.
As this month of August rolls in, have you children checked at our office in Livermore for backpack injuries and possible scoliosis with our complimentary evaluation August 16-20th. Avoid having your children grow up with spinal injuries by calling our office today!
by Dr. Haque on July 24, 2010
Haque Chiropractic dedicating August to scoliosis screenings for children in Livermore, CA
SCOLIOSIS often deprives people of the things they enjoy most in life as well as in some cases, the ability to learn and prosper. SCOLIOSIS is the unnatural sideward curvature of the spine that occurs quite often in children and young adults. The early detection and treatment of SCOLIOSIS during the formative years may help prevent it from worsening over time.
As the chiropractic focus is on spinal related conditions CHIROPRACTORS are highly qualified to diagnose and treat scoliosis.
Several patients in my office with chronic back, neck, or head complaints often have a diagnosis of scoliosis that was untreated as a child. In many of these cases their scoliosis was untreated due to it being hidden and never diagnosed and in other cases; the treatment modalities were not effective in managing and reducing the scoliotic curve. For this reason, we at Haque Chiropractic are devoting our efforts to decrease the serious effects of scoliosis by screening our children in the month of August for possible scoliosis.
In order to examine for scoliosis, a complete examination including postural tests, orthopedic tests, neurologic tests and chiropractic tests will be preformed. In addition, if any scoliosis is suspected on these tests, a spinal X-ray will complete the exam to diagnose the scoliotic curvature and its severity. Parents will then get the opportunity to see their x-rays and hear the findings and options that may be available for treatment.
These scoliosis examinations will be available to all school aged children at Haque Chiropractic complimentary during the week of August 16-20th. For more information or to schedule your child’s appointment, contact us or call us today at (925)960-1960.
