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?

Q: Are chiropractors allowed to practice in hospitals or use medical outpatient facilities?

A: Chiropractors are being recognized to admit and treat patients in hospitals in some states, and to use outpatient clinical facilities (such as labs, x-rays, etc.) for their non-hospitalized patients. Hospital privileges were first granted in 1983.
Q: Do insurance plans cover chiropractic?

Q: What conditions do chiropractors treat?

A: Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) care for patients of all ages, with a variety of health conditions. DCs are especially well known for their expertise in caring for patients with back pain, neck pain and headaches, particularly with their highly skilled manipulations or chiropractic adjustments. They also care for patients with a wide range of injuries and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, involving the muscles, ligaments and joints. These painful conditions often involve or impact the nervous system, which can cause referred pain and dysfunction distant to the region of injury. The benefits of chiropractic care extend to general health issues, as well, since our body structure affects our overall function. DCs also counsel patients on diet, nutrition, exercise, healthy habits, and occupational and lifestyle modification.

Chiropractic services are an important first line of defense against pain and, in some cases, can lessen a patient’s reliance on addictive painkillers or prevent their use altogether. It makes sense to exhaust conservative forms of treatment such as chiropractic before moving on to riskier, potentially addictive pain medications.