Are you constantly nagging your teen to stand up straight? Are you worried when your child looks down at their screen all day causing “text neck”?
Parents want their kids to be happy and healthy, and during the teen years, as children grow into more independent adults, it’s important to provide them with resources for good health. Chiropractic care can be an important part of that healthy lifestyle, from helping alleviate pain to improving lifestyle habits to ensure a healthier future.
At Foster Chiropractic we enjoy working with teenagers, many of whom come in for chiropractic care due to sports injuries or to keep their body in line for improved athletic performance. Here are a few other ways we can help teens in the Winston-Salem area improve their health and feel better through chiropractic care:
Posture
Most adults know poor posture can cause shoulder and neck pain. Over time bad posture can even lead to headaches and other issues. For kids, slouching and “text neck” might not make their bodies react with pain yet, but they’re setting habits that will follow them into adulthood, which makes it all the more important to focus on maintaining good posture.
It might be that a teenager hits a growth spurt before her friends, and self-conscious of her height she curves her shoulders in to feel more like her peers. Or hours spent crouched over a laptop or smartphone lead to slouching when not on devices. Regular chiropractic adjustments can help fix misalignments from poor posture and help promote better posture on a daily basis.
Back Pain
There’s a reason backpacks with wheels became a thing -- kids are packing way too much into their school backpacks every day. Books, notebooks, computers and lunchboxes all add up to heavy loads they lift up on their shoulders. Not only is the weight too much for a teenager to carry around for long periods of time, but often they have it swung on just one shoulder, which doesn’t allow for proper weight distribution. Chiropractic care can help ease the pain for kids suffering from back pain due to heavy backpacks, and help avoid having to turn to medication.
Stress
Anxiety in teens is on the rise, and according to the National Institutes of Health, nearly one-third of teens will experience an anxiety disorder. Chiropractic care can’t stop stress from coming, but a well functioning central nervous system adjustments can help alleviate some of the physical pain and discomfort related to the tension our bodies suffer when stressed out or anxious.
Creating Healthy Habits
Here at Foster Chiropractic, Sports & Wellness, we focus on whole body wellness. That means that in addition to adjustments, we also look at lifestyle of healthy habits that will not only help a teen feel better now but will last into adulthood.