For many parents, September brings a sigh of relief as the kids go back to school and sanity levels can finally return to normal. But with another term comes another few months of worrying if your child is staying healthy beyond those school gates. While you can’t escape a few scraped knees here and there, you can encourage good spine health in your child and prevent their risk of developing future back problems.
Here our Southend chiropractor reveals four easy tips to ensure your child’s back-to-school is a healthy one:
1: Invest in a Good Back Pack!
Your child’s backpack should be light, snug and comfortable to wear with two wide padded shoulder straps and a waist strap. But remember a back pack is only as good as the way it is packed. Make sure your child unloads any unnecessary items every evening after school and carries the heaviest items at the bottom of the bag.
2: Encourage Good Health at Homework Time
You encourage good spine health in your child by ensuring he/ she uses a book stand while studying or reading. This will help to keep your child’s books at eye level and reduce the amount of strain on the shoulders and neck. And of course, there’s also the added bonus of creating extra desk space!
3: Warm Up For the New Term
If the typical British weather has kept your child away from many sports over the summer holidays, he/ she may need extra time warming up before they jump back into their school physical activities.
Good warm up routines should last for a minimum of 10-15 minutes and should include movements that simulate the sport about to be played.
4: Teach Good Posture
You may be able to remind your child not to slouch at home, but do your words resonate in the classroom? Instead of simply telling your child to sit up straight, educate them on the importance of good posture. Tell your child that maintaining the correct posture will reduce the amount of strain on his/ her neck shoulders and lower back and make him/ her more attentive in class! The more your child understands the importance of good posture, the more likely they will be to practice it until it comes a natural way to sit. Encourage your child to sit with his/ her shoulders back and chin tucked in with a gentle “C curve” in the low back. You can check your child’s posture by seeing if his/ her ears, shoulders and hips follow a straight line.
Here’s to a term of A* back health!
Arif was interviewed by Radio Essex on Thursday morning about ‘Text Neck’.
The extra capability for playing games and browsing the internet on smartphones means that they are tending to be used for longer periods. And unlike laptops, tablet are often placed flat on the lap, meaning users crane their neck over to view the screen.
Arif reveals how to ease texting pain.
Answer: You can never have too many Chiropractors!
After a car accident in a taxi on our way to Gatwick Airport it made us think – do you know what you should do to help yourself following a car accident?
The new school term will soon be here and our daily routines (and sanity levels) can return to what they were before all chaos broke loose for 6 weeks.
We are very pleased to be able to introduce Carly our newest team member to you.
In April we launched our B2B (Back to Business) campaign at London Southend Airport. Next on the list is HMRC Southend where there are 1,200 staff, the majority of whom are deskbound and have an average age of 50.