Mountain Island Chiropractic: August 2017

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Backpack Safety

It's back to school time! One important thing parents often overlook is their child's spinal hygiene. The changes of a new routine that they encounter can impact their health. A backpack is not usually thought more than just a way to carry things to school, with children often picking their bags based on the color, design, etc. However, it is important to help your child choose a backpack that best supports healthy spinal posture.

Did you know that the MAXIMUM healthy backpack weight is 10-15% of your child's weight? For most elementary aged kids this equals about 1-2 textbooks. The reason that this is important is your child's developing and growing spinal joints. Stress to these joints causes subluxations in the neck and back, leading to pain. Adding extra weight to the backpack increases this stress placed on the nervous system.

Fit is also important when choosing a backpack. The bag should not sit lower than the waist as this increases tension load on the shoulders and drives the shoulders back while pushing the neck forward. Also, if possible, buy a back pack with added straps at the waist and/or shoulders across the chest as this helps distribute the weight more evenly. And as always, get your child adjusted! Chiropractic kids are proven to miss less school days than children who do not get adjusted regularly! Have a happy and healthy school year!

Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson

Owner/Doctor

MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101

Charlotte, NC 28214

Tel (704) 394-8556

Fax (704) 395-8556

mtnislandchiro.com

"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." JV

Lavigne, V. (2014). Weight limit recommendations in backpack use for school-aged children. J Clin Chiropr Pediatr., 14(2):1156-1159.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Can Chiropractic Save You Money?$?$?$?$

Our current healthcare system can change by the day. With the amount of people in the country with a chronic illness, and the rising costs of healthcare to manage those chronic conditions, many people are finding it unaffordable to manage their health. Traditionally, medical management of pain and chronic conditions require a lot of time, money, repeated prescription drugs, referrals to several doctors and specialists, diagnostic testing, diagnostic imaging, and that doesn't include the insane costs of a hospital stay. In 1995, it was shown that 75% of people aged over 55 years had at least one chronic condition to manage.

According to a researcher at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Pran Manga, chiropractic care has benefits to your bank account. He suggested that the "poor or worrisome health outcomes of medically managed diseases, illnesses, or injuries" have not yielded the optimal results that one often finds with chiropractic care, and the cost of mismanagement of these issues are over double than when seeking chiropractic.

Over DOUBLE! The majority opinion would say the cost of medical vs chiropractic care of an issue of back pain would be more than double, if not quadrupled!! Imagine, coming to one office for your treatment, instead of the above mentioned route of doctor, x-rays, lab, pharmacy, physical therapy, etc. Plus, when you consider the preventative benefits of chiropractic adjustments, when you seek to treat the cause of the problem, not treat the symptoms after the problem has occurred, chiropractic is the safe, gentle, and COST-EFFECTIVE choice!

Manga, P. (2000). Economic case for the integration of chiropractic services into the healthcare system. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 23(2), 118-122.

Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson