Over time, children can develop spinal problems just like adults; but unlike adults, the most common vertebral problems in children do not cause pain.
Often these vertebral problems can be the cause of other problems most commonly associated with children. And more often than you think, unfortunately, the link between the spine and the symptom does not occur, thus leaving the underlying cause of the problem unclear. These hidden problems are often the cause of early degeneration in adults and for this reason I will never stop reiterating that child prevention is fundamental for a healthy future back.
The primary cause of vertebral problems in children is pediatric spinal subluxation. To better understand this subluxation, however, we must examine its cause and effect and understand how it resolves.
Pediatric vertebral subluxation is potentially the most harmful and ignored cause of recurrent health problems in children today. However, the identification of these problems occurs only if a detailed examination of the child’s spine is made.
Some of the subtle symptoms that may indicate the presence of vertebral subluxation in children are:
Little urge to move or restriction in neck or back movements
A posture where the neck or body is tended to be kept in one position, one shoulder taller than the other, one hip longer than the other, one leg longer than the other.
Pain, crying or reflex to move away when touched at certain points in the spine.
How does a subluxation occur?
Trauma is the most obvious cause. However, many people under the trauma category do not include childbirth which is probably one of the biggest traumas of our lives, especially if it is a birth with complications. But let’s define the word trauma:
Trauma: Greek word meaning “wound – laceration”. The term is used in somatic medicine where it indicates the injuries caused by mechanical agents whose strength is greater than the resistance of the skin tissues or organs that they encounter.
Increasingly this happens with the use of forceps and suction cups. Biedermann has identified that in a group of 114 infants with vertebral subluxations, 38 had a prolonged delivery. Lierse, a doctor, says that there are so many birth problems that “the vaginal canal is the biggest obstacle that a human being must ever overcome”. Siefert examined 1000 newborns concluding that 12% of them had vertebral subluxations.
However, we must bear in mind that trauma to the spine can also occur before delivery. In fact, some subluxations may be due to the position of the fetus in the mother’s womb especially if the space is restricted or if the occupants are more than one, as in the case of twins.
Other subluxations are caused by actual physical trauma. In fact, some children fall continuously. You want because they are reckless, unconscious, adventurous, clumsy … just look “paperissima” to realize how many traumas children can suffer without complaining too much. Subluxation can be caused by falling off the bed, tripping over a step, learning to walk. But as good parents most of the time we worry more about consoling tears than anything else, thinking that if the baby doesn’t cry it means that he is fine. Traveling by car can also be a source of trauma. Yes we tie them and they are sitting well, but the neck? Abrupt braking, a sudden change of direction all of this in a child’s neck can cause and cause future problems.
Also for this reason, I would like to remind you that a child in a car seat should be placed with his gaze against the seat and not towards the road until he is at least one year old and weighs a minimum of approximately 9 kilograms. Some seats allow you to stay in this position until the child weighs approximately 13 kilograms (more or less 2 years) which is much better because it is closer to the age at which the vertebrae merge. This will greatly reduce the strain on his non-fused vertebrae and decrease the risk of trauma to the spinal cord in the event of an accident or a sudden blow.
Mental stress – Stress in adults can certainly cause vertebral subluxations and the same can happen in children. Even children can in fact be stressed: school, exams, social life, bullying, pressure from classmates, family quarrels, divorces. All this tension can cause emotional stress which is reflected in physical stress by increasing muscle tension and consequently causing vertebral subluxations.
Toxins and sports – Let us also remember that we are what we eat. Getting your children used to eating lots of fruit and vegetables and eating a little bit of everything even if it may seem like a big deal will certainly prove positive when they are older. Avoid giving them foods that contain a lot of sugar such as fizzy drinks, candies and lots of chocolate.
Also remember to have sports done to your children. Very often, at the beginning of the school year, especially if the student is facing the unknown factor of a new cycle of studies – as happens for example in the transition from elementary to lower middle school, or from the latter to high school – or if he is back from a didactically “difficult” year, it may happen that the family renounces the regular practice of a sport, seen above all as a distraction from study commitments.
In doing so, however, if on the one hand some additional hours are made available during the week to spend on the books – it is admitted and not granted that they then actually go in favor of the study, and are not wasted for example in front of the television or with video games – on the other hand, the considerable advantages that sports practice can bring to a student are waived.
Warning: I am not referring only to the undoubted advantages that physical activity generates from a physical point of view, but also and above all to psychological and mental ones, certainly less known and considered, but not for this reason of little importance.
Few parents know, for example, that recent scientific research has highlighted positive repercussions on the character of children, directly proportional to their ability to coordinate: feeling able to manage and control their body’s actions very well increases self-control, ensuring greater security and determination in dealing with any situation (for example: a question at school).
This belief in having adequate means derives from the harmony between the physical and psychic sphere of the person, who act in perfect harmony.
A clear demonstration of how true this is in reality is obtained by observing the so-called body language and the attitudes of a subject who is uncomfortable, hesitant, in difficulty: tends to stay with his head bowed, does not know where to put or what to do with his hands, mumbles in a low voice…
Sports also have a formidable ability to relieve nervous tensions which, especially in the adolescent period, represent a far from negligible problem, and allow you to vent, by channeling them, the excesses of aggression, which certainly do not benefit those who must apply to study and conduct well in school.
The different weekly hours dedicated to a sport, especially if practiced in an organized form, are not wasted time for school performance, because they contribute to:
improve attention span (useful for following explanations in the classroom); develop a habit of concentration (essential for any student);
increase the spirit of initiative (always appreciated by teachers);
increase self-esteem (very important in the individual’s growth path);
train to control emotions (very useful during interrogation or examination).
Finally, when the sport practiced involves the mnemonic learning of schemes (this occurs above all in team games such as volleyball, basketball, football, water polo, etc …) or precise motor sequences (for example in artistic gymnastics or dance) for the the execution of an exercise, the memorization capacity is trained and stimulated in a pleasant way, obviously a precious gift for any student.