Here are some simple guidelines to prevent any unnecessary backpack-related injuries to your child throughout the school year:

Good posture is the correct alignment of body parts supported by the right amount of muscle tension against gravity. Without posture and the muscles that control it, we would simply fall to the ground. Several muscle groups, including the hamstrings and large back muscles, are critically important in maintaining good posture. While the ligaments help to hold the skeleton together, these postural muscles, when functioning properly, prevent the forces of gravity from pushing us over forward.

Poor posture can lead to excessive strain on our postural muscles and may even cause them to lose tone when held in certain positions for long periods of time. For example, you can typically see this in people who bend forward at the waist for a prolonged time in the workplace. Their postural muscles are more prone to injury and back pain.

Chiropractic colleges accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) offer Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree programs. (CCE is the agency certified by the U.S. Department of education to accredit chiropractic colleges in the United States.) Admission to a chiropractic college requires a minimum of 90 semester hour credits of undergraduate study, mostly in the sciences.

Spinal adjustment/manipulation is a core treatment in chiropractic care, and it is synonymous with chiropractic treatment. Chiropractors commonly use other treatments in addition to spinal manipulation, and may combine the use of spinal adjustments and other manual therapies with several other treatments and approaches such as:

Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on the relationship between the body’s structure—mainly the spine—and its functioning. Although practitioners may use a variety of treatment approaches, they primarily perform adjustments (manipulations) to the spine or other parts of the body with the goal of correcting alignment problems, alleviating pain, improving function, and supporting the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Scientists have discovered that a majority of back-pain patients they tested who were taking opioid painkillers produced anti-opioid antibodies. These antibodies may contribute to some of the negative side effects of long-term opioid use.

A new study published in BMJ Open, an online publication of the British Medical Journal, examined the association of initial provider treatment with early and long-term opioid use in a national sample of patients with new-onset low back pain (LBP). The study evaluated outpatient and inpatient claims from patient visits, pharmacy claims and inpatient and outpatient procedures with initial providers seen for new-onset LBP.

When you push someone in a wheelchair, you may be hurting your back without knowing it. Researchers measured the forces on the spine caused by pushing a wheelchair, and discovered that people aren’t good at judging when they’re exerting forces strong enough to hurt their back. The study appears in the journal Ergonomics.

One of the best things you can do to prevent and/or eliminate back pain is to exercise. Both an inactive lifestyle and being overweight contribute to back pain. Exercise benefits you in so many ways, such as lowering blood pressure, helping you maintain a healthy weight, lowering your risk for diabetes, and the list goes on!

Orthotics can help you maintain a healthy spine by stabilizing the lower extremities and pelvis. Devices that you wear in your shoes, orthotics align all three arches of your foot to provide a balanced foundation for your spine and body.