Chiropractic Care For Teenagers

I blinked and my baby grew up

The teenage years are a time of growth both emotionally and physically as the brain and body matures. This is the second most intense growth phase in your child’s life. During this time, the spine can grow at about 10cms per year. For boys this tends to be between ages 14 and 15 and for girls between 12 and 13. The teenage growth spurt ends around age 20 for boys and 18 for girls.

As their body grows, the brain is trying its best to keep up with understanding the new version of itself. Not everything grows at the same time at the same rate. This makes teenagers feel quite foreign in their own body. Their centre of gravity lifts and movement can become uneasy and often clumsy.

During the teenage years there are several environmental elements that can place further stress on the spine.

• The daily use of devices
• Sport, training and poor stretching and cool down
• The weight of School Bags

 

Complimentary Phone 
Consultations Available

Not quite sure if chiropractic is right for your teenager? Our practice director Dr Jacey Pryjma offers 15 min complimentary phone consultations for new families.

Take the opportunity to ask the questions you have before making an appointment. Find out if chiropractic and Australian Children's Chiropractic Centre may be just what you have been searching for.

To book a complimentary phone consultation with Dr Jacey please click below to contact us or book online.

 

Devices & Posture Strain

Whether it be computer work for school, mobile phone use or recreational use of tablets and gaming, there is no denying screen time creates sedentary behaviours and stressed postures.

With the overall decrease in outdoor play and movement in the younger years, more and more children and not developing core strength and tone to support optimal postural strength development.

This can place the child at a higher risk of posture strain from sustained postures like those often seen when technology is in use.

Technology connects our world, but can be detrimental to growing bodies

Our chiropractors measure and monitor posture and also actively educate and work with teenagers to learn better habits to support their spinal health long term.

Sport injuries and strain on a growing body

Participating in sport brings so many benefits to growing minds and bodies. As teens engage in higher contact sports, faster sports and playing with other growing teens, injuries can often occur.

With increased skills and agility, injuries can often be more serious when they occur.

Supporting your teens to keep doing what they love

Our chiropractors not only support you and your teen to understand what is happening in acute scenarios, they also will do a full posture, orthopaedic, muscular and neurological assessment to look at the body is a holistic manner to understand the different elements at play that may be leading to concerns or preventing optimal performance.

 

 

School Bags - Heavy & Worn Incorrectly

The teenage years also coincide with an increase in school bag weight. Research has shown a relationship between puberty and back pain, and school bags are thought to further exacerbate the stress load experienced by teenagers.

Heavy school bags change posture

Increased weight adds loading through the spine. When bags are quite heavy, they can make it difficult for your teen to stand properly. Heavy bags lead to compensation patters like rolled forward shoulders, forward head carriage and bending forward at the waist. 

Our chiropractors will show your teen how to fit a school bag correctly as part of their care.

Puberty & Back Pain

There is emerging evidence that link between back pain and puberty. The literature describes a steady increase in idiopathic adolescent spinal pain (IASP) with age and approximate adult levels around age of 18 years.

Research has also shown that teenagers who experience back pain are more likely to be adults who experience back pain. Our Chiropractors are trained to understand the biomechanics of the spine during this time of rapid growth and address the reasons why your child may be experiencing discomfort.