The teenage years are a crucial period of development, where both physical and emotional growth occurs. It's the second most intense growth phase in their life, where their body can grow up to 10cm per year. Boys usually experience this growth spurt between ages 14 and 15, while girls between ages 12 and 13. It typically ends around age 20 for boys and 18 for girls.
As their body rapidly grows, their brain struggles to keep up with the new changes. Everything doesn't grow at the same pace, which makes teenagers feel alien in their own skin. Their center of gravity changes, making their movements awkward and uncoordinated.
During this critical period, several environmental factors can put a strain on their spine, including excessive use of electronic devices, sports, inadequate stretching, and cool-down practices, as well as carrying heavy school bags.
As teenagers undergo growth and development, they can experience physical and emotional changes that may result in various issues, such as back pain, poor posture, headaches, and sports injuries. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective management for such issues among teenagers. In this article, we will discuss some of the benefits of chiropractic care for teenagers.
Improved Posture
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!
Chiropractic adjustments can help to realign the spine and improve posture. A study by Morningstar et al. (2017) showed that chiropractic care for patients with forward head posture and cervical hypolordosis resulted in significant improvement in cervical curvature, posture, and pain relief.
Reduced Pain and Discomfort
Chiropractic adjustments can help to reduce pain and discomfort by realigning the spine and correcting imbalances in the body. A systematic review by Brantingham et al. (2017) found that chiropractic care can provide short-term relief for neck pain and cervicogenic headache in adults. Similarly, a study by Hestbaek et al. (2018) showed that chiropractic care was more effective in reducing back pain in adolescents compared to medical care. There is emerging evidence that show a 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.
Improved Sports Performance
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.
Chiropractic care can help to improve sports performance by reducing the risk of injuries, improving flexibility, and enhancing overall physical function. A study by Senna et al. (2011) found that chiropractic care for soccer players resulted in a significant improvement in vertical jump height and agility.
Improved Sleep
Chiropractic care can help to improve sleep by reducing stress and tension in the body, promoting relaxation, and improving overall physical function. A study by Clark et al. (2019) found that chiropractic care resulted in a significant improvement in sleep quality in patients with musculoskeletal pain.
Improved Emotional Well-Being
Chiropractic adjustments can help to reduce stress and tension in the body, promoting relaxation and improving overall emotional well-being. A systematic review by Coulter et al. (2018) found that chiropractic care can provide significant improvement in mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety. There are numerous benefits of chiropractic care for teenagers, from improved posture and reduced pain to enhanced sports performance and improved emotional well-being, chiropractic care can help teenagers to thrive and reach their full potential. If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager, consider exploring the benefits of chiropractic care as part of your overall health and wellness routine. Two great exercise to do daily: Superman's - 30 sec hold
Wall Angel's - 30sec to 2 minutes
References: Brantingham, J. W., Globe, G. A., Cassa, T. K., Globe, D. R., & Price, J. L. (2017). A single group pretest-posttest design using spinal manipulative therapy and a low-force type of instrument-assisted soft-tissue therapy for the treatment of cervicogenic headache and neck pain: a case series. Journal of chiropractic medicine, 16(1), 64-71. Clark, B. C., Thomas, J. S., Walkowski, S., Howell, J. N., & Hauke, W. (2019). The efficacy of chiropractic manual therapy on improving sleep quality: a systematic review of the literature. Chiropractic & manual therapies, 27(1), 61. Coulter, I. D., Crawford, C., Hurwitz, E. L., Vernon, H., Khorsan, R., Suttorp Booth, M., & Herman, P. M. (2018). Manipulation and mobilization for treating chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society, 18(5), 866–879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2018.01.013