Between the ages of 0 or infant to roughly the 20’s, the body is still developing and what’s called ossifying, which is the body creating bone and growing to full development. A big factor has to do with Wolff’s Law in that the body adapts to the stress placed on the body. When considering kids health, they are constantly running all day or sitting all day in school, these 2 activities will have a different developmental effect on the body. The body will adapt to those activities. As they develop, it will have a big effect on where they will be when they get older. When talking about spine health, I see a lot of people around town and in my office hunched over looking down at a phone or just hunched over and people will do it for hours and hours. For example, the thoracic spine is the upper part of your back and the vertebra are pretty much square shaped. As kids develop, if they are always hunched forward the body will adapt to that position and sometimes the bone will even change shape, and once bone is placed in a scenario like this it will not grow back. These bones are adapting to the stress placed on them. This can happen at any age but is important among kids because they are still growing. Make sure your kids get a chance to go out and run, play, be active and not just sitting hunched over their phones or sitting hunched over all day in class. Again, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT POSTURE. No matter if you sit or stand for long periods, it is not good for your body. Our bodies are meant to move and that is even amplified for kids. They should be moving and getting stronger so that they will be able to function as they get older.
As for back to school season and backpacks, if your kids are wearing backpacks and they are hunching over or leaning back too far, there is potential problems with either of those positions, especially if you are loading it with more than the recommended weight. Whatever the case, keep moving. Movement on its own can be medicine. Movement is going to keep them healthy, keep them feeling better, and prepare them for future activities.
Watch our previous video about backpack health
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