Winter recreational activities can pose painful problems for the outdoor enthusiast who is not in the best condition. Preparing your body before participating in winter sports such as snowboarding, skiing or ice-skating decreases the potential for spasms, strains and sprains, according to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

Injury Prevention

To prevent injury when using a backpack, do the following:
• If possible, leave unnecessary books at home or school.
• If carrying a water bottle, choose a smaller bottle that will not be as heavy when it is full.
• If bringing sports gear to school, pack it in a separate bag that can be stored in a locker during the school day.
• consider using a crossbody bag as a good alternative for carrying books and supplies.

Tips for Parents

Healthy Habits for Backpack Wearing: Bend at the hips and knees when lifting a backpack. Pick the backpack up before threading the shoulders through the straps. when possible, place the backpack on a desk or whatever is near you, then turn around and thread the shoulders through the straps. Always wear both straps. Fill up water bottles at school rather than at home to reduce the weight of the backpack. Take breaks from carrying by removing the backpack when waiting at the bus stop or in the hallway. monitor contents nightly and remove what isn’t needed. organize contents for school-day rotation and unload unneeded items into a locker when possible.

Carrying a backpack to school is common for school-age children, but when not done properly, backpack-wearing can impact physical health. Improper backpack-wearing can cause discomfort, musculoskeletal issues, and fatigue. However, there are ways to properly pack and wear a backpack to reduce biomechanical strain. Choosing a backpack and wearing it correctly can help children start to develop responsibility for their own health and wellness and become aware of making healthy choices that will have a positive impact.

Choosing a Backpack

Spine injections should not be given to adults with chronic back pain because they provide little or no pain relief compared with sham injections, say a panel of international experts in the BMJ. After careful consideration, the panel concluded that there was no high certainty evidence for any procedure or combination of procedures, and all low and moderate certainty evidence suggests no meaningful relief for either axial pain (in a specific area of the spine) or radicular pain (radiating from the spine to the arms or legs) for spine injections compared with sham procedures.

Spine injections should not be given to adults with chronic back pain because they provide little or no pain relief compared with sham injections, say a panel of international experts in the BMJ. Their strong recommendations apply to procedures such as epidural steroid injections and nerve blocks for people living with chronic back pain (lasting at least 3 months) that is not associated with cancer, infection or inflammatory arthritis.

Many patients live with low back pain that radiates to the buttock, groin, thigh, and even knees. The challenge for patients is determining the origin of the pain — the hip, the spine, or both. A new article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (JAAOs) outlines the identical symptoms associated with hip and spine pain and discusses the diagnostic steps and tests required to treat them appropriately.

While some lower back pain needs to be treated by a specialist, chiropractors can help children and adolescents prevent and manage lower back pain. Most pain with no specific cause responds to rest, rehabilitation and identification of predisposing risk factors.

Low back pain in school-aged children is a common occurrence, and the prevalence of low back pain increases once children reach school age — one percent at age seven years; six percent at age 10 years; and 18 percent at ages 14-16 years, yet only seven percent of adolescents with lower back pain will seek medical care.

Q: Does chiropractic treatment require a referral from an MD?

A: A referral is usually not needed to see a doctor of chiropractic (DC); however, your health plan may have specific referral requirements. You may want to contact your employer’s human resources department — or the insurance plan directly — to find out if there are any referral requirements. Most plans allow you to just call and schedule an appointment with a DC.
Q: Is chiropractic treatment ongoing?