What should you do if your kids come home from summer camp complaining of a sore and stiff neck or lower back, or an achy knee or shoulder (for example)?

In my last post I reviewed some first aid tips for parents and if you haven’t seen that yet, you can scroll down and check it out right here.

But is there anything else that you should do?

Well, it has been my experience that the answer to this question is a definite ‘yes’.

When it comes to spinal pain (neck or lower back), the wise thing to do is have their spines checked for misaligned vertebrae.

When these are left undetected and uncorrected, they can cause chronic pain, eventual posture distortions (a crooked spine) which in time will result in osteoarthritic degenerative changes in the spine itself.

Similarly, regarding the skeletal joints (shoulders, elbows, hips, knees etc.), misalignments here when left undetected and uncorrected will eventually cause osteoarthritic degenerative changes in these joints also.

It is very important to understand this; most problems that I see in adults can be traced back to childhood trauma’s that were never dealt with properly in the first place.

The good news is that I can help with these type of issues. This is my expertise. I have been helping adults and children with such problems for many years.

And I am always here to help you as well.

I am just a phone call away.

905 335 LIFE (5433).

Last time we covered a couple of important things if your kids participate in summer activities including summer camps.

If you have not seen that post yet, you can scroll down and check it out right here.

Today I am going to review a couple of important first aid tips for you.The first being head trauma.

If your child has suffered any type of head trauma, you have to keep your eyes open for any signs of concussion.

These being headache, confusion, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.

If any of these signs or symptoms are present, please get your child to emerg right away for a thorough assessment.

Secondly; sprains, strains, bumps and bruises: what is best …. heat or cold?

You never want to put heat on a fresh injury. There is already a lot of inflammation at the injury site so adding heat will only make the inflammation worse.

Ice is always the best and safest thing to do as it’s a natural anti-inflammatory. Twenty minutes on and 20 off until you can have their injury properly assessed by a health professional.

And you may need to lightly wrap and immobilize if it’s an arm or leg injury.

And finally, how can you tell the difference between a sprain and a break?

Typically a sprain is going to puff up real fast and be quite painful. A broken bone on the other hand won’t swell as much and the pain may not be as severe.

But the only way to differentiate and know for sure is with an xray.If you ever need a quick xray in a circumstance like this, I can help you out.

We can get you in and out of my X-Ray clinic right away so you don’t have to spend 6 to 8 hours waiting at emerg.

In the meantime, if you need me you can reach me at 905 335 LIFE (5433).I am always here to help.

Summer camps will be starting soon and if your kids do participate in these, I have three important tips for you today.

First of all is hydration. Please be sure that your kids get adequate hydration throughout the day and water is always your safest and best choice.

Stay away from sugary drinks including fruit juice and sports drinks. Sports drinks can contain a lot of sugar and they can also be very hard on the kidneys.

Secondly, make sure they fuel properly before any activities. Veggies (steamed or raw) with a serving of protein (chicken/fish) and a serving of quinoa or brown rice is ideal a few hours before any activity.

If it’s a morning activity, use eggs as a source of protein. Egg whites and oatmeal is also a good power- meal first thing in the morning.

Throughout the day, snacking on fresh fruit is the best way for the kids to keep their energy levels up.

And finally, make sure your kids warm-up properly before any activity. Warming up for baseball will be different than golf, which will be different than gymnastics, which will be different then swimming, which will be different than soccer etc.

Going in to an activity cold (no warm-up) is when they are most likely to suffer from sprain/strain type injuries.

The warm up should be the due diligence of the specific instructor.

Next time I will review some first aid tips with you on how to manage those inevitable bumps and bruises and sprain/strain injuries.

In the meantime, if you need me you can reach me at 905 335 LIFE (5433).I am always here to help.

First of all I would like to welcome all our new practice members who took advantage of our Posture Awareness Month promotion last month.

I very much look forward to working with you and your families.

So what’s going on out there right now?

Watery, itchy eyes, runny noses, sneezing; a lot of people are struggling with seasonal allergies.

And can chiropractic help this?
 
Well a lot of my practice members will tell you that is ‘sure can’.

But how can this happen?

A quick anatomy lesson is in order; the nerves form the upper neck/cervical spine innervate your eyes, ears, nose, throat and sinus tissues.

Spinal misalignments and posture distortions in this part of your anatomy will impair nerve function.

Hence your sinuses will not be able to cleanse themselves properly leading to those ugly symptoms.

Activate the nerves, activate the sinuses and then they will able to cleanse the way they were designed to.

Seasonal allergies are probably not because you are not taking enough allergy medication.

If you or your kids struggle with seasonal allergies, we may be able to help.

To know for sure, come on in for a complimentary consult and posture check.

 
The number to call to schedule an appointment for you and your family is 905 335 5433.

I have shared with you over the past few months some self-assessment tips on how you can check your posture and especially you kids posture right at home.

You can scroll down and check them out right here.

Here are 3 other indicators that your spinal alignment and posture are not aligned properly;

•The outer edge of the heels of your shoes wear unevenly. There should be minimal wear here (depending upon the age of the shoes) but most importantly the wear pattern should be equal side to side.

•When you walk, one foot flares out more the other. The toes of both feet should point straight ahead (the same) when walking.

•You suffer from heels spurs and/or plantar fasciitis (pain in the heel and/or along the bottom of the foot).

If you have even one of these things, chances are there are other issues with you postural alignment so a thorough posture check is in order.

May is Posture Awareness month here at Life Chiropractic Centre.

Posture Checks are complimentary for the entire month of May.

 
The number to call to schedule an appointment for you and your family is 905 335 5433.

The month of May is Posture Awareness Month and we are offering complimentary posture checks here at Life Chiropractic Centre.

And you may be asking yourself…”why would I need to have my posture checked?” Or…”why is good posture important?”

For one thing, you are going to look better.
 
Most people would prefer not to have humping of their back; the upper back especially.

Remember that other people look at your posture so you should too.

Your body will also move better.

Let’s say you love to play golf. Do you think you would have a smoother and better swing with a crooked posture or an upright, open and healthy posture?

I was just consulting with a patient recently. We were doing a progress examination to see how she has been doing. She cleans housing for a living and she mentioned to me that she now feels way more flexible, she no longer has backache or achy elbows at the end of her day and she has been able to increase her work load.

In other words, she can now generate more income for her and her family.

And you will most certainly feel better.

When you are hunched over, this kind of posture will rob you of the vital energy your body need throughout the day to function.

An upright posture on the other hand will energize you and keep you energized throughout your day.

After all, you rarely see anyone who has upright posture having to use a walker.

A posture check will let us know if your posture is healthy and if it’s not, we can discuss what you can do about it.

905 335 5433 is the number to call to schedule an appointment for you and your family.

The past two weeks we have talked about pediatric headaches.

If you haven’t seen those posts yet by the way, you can scroll down and check them out right here.

Another thing that can and does happen is lower back pain in kids.

One study showed that 65% of school-aged kids suffer from lower back pain and another study showed that kids as young as 10 years of age were already showing signs of early degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine (lower back).

This is a consequence of poor spinal alignment/posture distortions.

Have you ever seen your kids sitting cross-legged on their bed hunched over their cell phone, tablet, laptop or a video-game?

Not only does this over time cause forward head posture (tech neck) and humping of the upper back, but it is very stressful on the muscles, spinal joints and spinal nerve roots in the lower back area.

This can certainly cause lower back ache.

So parents, please remember to teach your kids to stand up straight and sit up straight both.

May is Posture Awareness Month at Life Chiropractic Centre.

Find out for sure how your posture and your kids posture measures up.Check-ups are No Charge.

Call 905 335 LIFE (5433) to schedule an appointment for you and your family. Your body will look better, move better and feel better with good posture

Continuing our discussions on pediatrics, one thing that can happen and does happen is pediatric headaches.

Aside from a medical issue, I’m to go over what are in my experience the most common causes of headaches in kids.

These are the amount of time interacting with technology (cell phones, tablets, computers), posture when interacting with technology, eyes strain and improper use of backpacks.

If your kids do complain of headaches (or even if they don’t for that matter), here is a checklist for all parents.

After all the homework is done, set a reasonable limit for how much time your kids spend on all devices for leisure/entertainment. Sixty or 90 minutes per day has been shown to be safe.

Remember that a lot of kids do not get enough exercise or enough greenspace time. This is what we covered in our last post and if you haven’t seen it yet, you can scroll down and check it out right here. They need more exercise and greenspace time, and less screen time.

Instruct your children to always be mindful of their posture when interacting with any form of technology.

Make sure they have eyes up, chin up and look straight ahead at whatever screen it may be. Looking down at screens for hours day after day is guaranteed to result in forward head posture/tech neck which we already know is not good for your health.

All screens emit what is called blue light which can be very irritating to the eyes and hyper- stimulate the brain tissue resulting in headaches. Blue blocker glasses are an effective and inexpensive way to prevent this from happening.

And improper use of a backpack; this one is a biggie.

Remember that backpacks should be worn evenly over both shoulders, the backpack itself should lie against the middle of your child’s back, should be secured around the waist with the waist strap and should not exceed 15% of your child’s body weight.

So, if your child weighs 100 pounds, the backpack when loaded should not exceed 15 pounds. And the heaviest items should be placed in first so that they lie directly against your child’s back.

We are going to dig a little deeper into this next time but I’d like to inform you that the month of May is Posture Awareness Month.

Life Chiropractic Centre will be offering complimentary posture checks for children and adults of all ages for the entire month of May.

There is no obligation on your part; the posture checks are to make you aware if there are any potential issues with you or any of your children. If you wish to proceed any further, the decision is totally up to you.

905 335 LIFE (5433) is the number to call to schedule an appointment for you and your family for a complimentary posture check.

Over the next few weeks we are going to talk about one of my favorite topics which is pediatrics.

Since it is officially springtime, we are going to learn about the many benefits of pediatric play.
Pediatric play is the best way to prevent 2 things; exercise deficit and nature deficit.

A lot of children these days do not get enough exercise or time in nature both of which can be very therapeutic for them.

At canfit, we recommend at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day.
Exercise should be playful and fun and with other kids.

Some of the benefits are skill acquisition, stress relief and development of social skills.

Exercise also aids in the maturation and development of the spine and posture system as humans were designed to be upright and active.

We were not designed to be sitting and slumped over a computer, cell phone or video game.
Regarding greenspace time (time in nature), our research at the American Posture Institute shows this should peak between 200 and 300 minutes every week.

With many kids, there is a huge imbalance between screen time and greenspace time.

Greenspace time has been shown to benefit mental, emotional and behavioral health.

Thus, this is especially important for kids who have ADD, ADHD or autism.

So parents, please make it a priority to make time to let the children play.

With an ipad we take 2 pictures of you in the upright/standing position; one from the side and one from the front.

We then add in your height and weight and the software will provide me with a detailed analysis of all 4 posture quadrants.

What are they?

Posture quadrant 1 …. your head and neck. The most important posture quadrant.
Posture quadrant 2 …. your thoracic spine, ribcage, shoulders and arms.
Posture quadrant 3 …. your lumbar spine and pelvis.
Posture quadrant 4 …. your legs from the hip joint to the foot.

This posture scan is an excellent screening tool for 2 things; scoliosis and forward head posture (tech neck).

Our last 2 posts were regarding scoliosis and if you haven’t seen them yet, you can scroll down and check them out right here.

Previous to the scoliosis posts, there are 3 or 4 posts regarding tech neck and its associated health conditions.

One reason why posture quadrant #1 is the most important quadrant is because postural collapse here if left undetected and uncorrected, will cause eventual collapse of posture quadrant #2 and #3 both.

So, the posture check is non-invasive, it’s highly informative and quite predictive of potential, future health issues.

Remember that we offer as a community service, complimentary posture checks here at Life Chiropractic Centre.

To make an appointment for you and your family here at Life Chiropractic, please call us at 905 335 LIFE (5433).