Parties. Gift shopping. Family gatherings. Curling up to watch a favorite movie on the couch…. The holiday season is full of reasons for good cheer. And yet, according to the American Physical Therapy Association, it is also prime time for Americans to suffer from back and neck pain.


For one thing, the stress associated with extra obligations during the holidays can increase muscle tension, aggravating any existing condition. But there are also a number of common seasonal activities— such as entertaining, shopping, and wrapping gifts— that can lead directly to back and neck pain. Here are a few tips from the American Chiropractic Association to help you stay pain free this holiday season.


At home (or visiting a friend or relative’s home):
Sit in a firm but comfortable chair, and pay attention to posture while entertaining friends and family or watching television. Spending hours on too-soft sofas in poor posture can cause imbalances along the spine. Don’t cook, clean, and talk on the phone all at once— unless you have a headset. Cradling the phone between your ear and shoulder can lead to muscle tension and neck pain.


While shopping:
Make yourself comfortable. Prevent unnecessary body tension by wearing supportive shoes and non-restrictive clothing. Leave your overstuffed purse at home. Instead, wear a fanny pack or take a small wallet containing only the essentials— credit card, driver’s license, and your gift list of course.


Don’t try to carry too much at once. Make frequent visits to your car to unload bags, if necessary. For larger items, don’t be shy— ask your sales clerk for help! Remember, shopping can be an endurance sport, so treat yourself right after a long day of shopping. Stretch your muscles and take a hot shower or bath to release tension that may have accumulated during the day.


Wrapping gifts:
Wrap presents at a table. While spreading out on the floor may be fun and convenient, it encourages poor posture and tension. Sticking to a routine of physical activity, getting adequate rest, and eating well will also help relieve stress and tension during the holidays. Above all, relax! It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself, your family, and your back. And if you do experience neck or back pain, be sure to fit an appointment with your doctor of chiropractic into your busy schedule.

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The American Chiropractic Association states that backpacks are a leading cause of back and shoulder pain for millions of children and adolescents. Even more serious than the threat of back and shoulder pain is the developmental damage that can be done to the child’s growing spinal column. The ages of 11 to 18 are primary growth years. Children and adolescents often experience growth spurts, growing several inches in a single year. During these periods of rapid growth, the spinal column is more vulnerable to stress and strain. Scoliosis, a lateral curvature of the spine, can develop during these growth periods. Consistent overloading of the developing spinal column can cause disc weakening or other types of spinal joint strain. Symptoms of these problems may not show up until additional strain is placed on the spine. This strain may come with college studies or work-related stress. The beginning of lifelong back problems, which are extremely common, may be due to five or six years of carrying a heavy backpack in middle and high school.

The maximum weight of the loaded backpack should not exceed 15 % of your body weight, so pack only what is needed. If the backpack forces the wearer to move forward to carry, it’s overloaded.

Choosing the right size backpack is the most important step to safe backpack use. The backpack should never be wider or longer than your child’s torso and the pack should not hang more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing your child to lean forward when walking.

The shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack can be fitted to your child’s body. The backpack should be evenly centered in the middle of your child’s back. Your child should not sling the pack over one shoulder.

A backpack with individualized compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively. Make sure that pointy or bulky objects are packed away from the area that will rest on your child’s back.

If the backpack is still too heavy, you need to talk to your child’s teacher. Ask if your child could leave the heaviest books at school, and bring home only lighter hand-out materials or workbooks. This issue is a serious one. The health of your child’s spine is at stake. If you or your child experiences any pain or discomfort resulting from backpack use, call your doctor of chiropractic. Doctors of chiropractic are licensed and trained to diagnose and treat patients of all ages and will use a gentler type of treatment for children. In addition, doctors of chiropractic can also prescribe exercises designed to help children develop strong muscles, along with instruction in good nutrition, posture and sleeping habits.

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In order to understand the importance of why posture is so important one must understand what your spine is protecting. According to Gray’s anatomy the nervous system controls every cell, tissue and organ in the body. Nothing can happen without the nerves telling your body what to do. The normal spine is quite flexible, structurally strong and reflects the dynamic movement of the human body. It not only supports the body and all its organs, it also protects the spinal cord and nerves that carry messages between your brain and the rest of the body. Every activity, even breathing, demands movement of the spine, ribs and attachments. A healthy spine can continue to support your weight and protect your nerves, while letting innate messages travel freely from your brain to your body and allowing you to move easily throughout your day. The human body, like a machine, is subject to balance, rhythm, timing and coordinated actions of all its components. For this reason, correct posture enables the body to function more efficiently, allowing for proper development. Your body must adapt to the constant stress of gravity in order to maintain its balance, and poor posture is a common result. For every inch that the head moves forward in posture, it increases the weight of the head on the neck by 10 pounds! Imagine carrying an additional ten pounds or more around all day long!


Poor posture can have adverse effects on your health. For example, poor posture compromises the movements of the rib cage and does not allow the lungs to function at maximum efficiency. This reduces incoming oxygen to the tissues and the elimination of carbon dioxide wastes. Poor posture also restricts other vital organs of the body, producing additional stress. This stress on the body causes an increased demand for more energy. This increased demand for more energy causes your body to be stuck in the fight or flight physiology. Being in this mode leads to increased heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. Your heart will pump more blood to the muscles, supplying more oxygen. This also increases sugar rates in the blood. Increased blood supply to the motor and basic-function regions in the brain; decreased blood supply to digestive system and irrelevant brain regions. Secretion of adrenaline and other stress hormones increase in the response and strengthen relevant systems. There is also secretion of endorphins – natural painkillers, providing an instant defense against pain. With this system constantly in the on position you run into adrenal fatigue. This then ultimately causes you to run out of energy. Most people are stuck in this type of physiology and don’t even know it. We then look to supplement our case with outside stimulants. These stimulants only cause our bodies to fight harder and further our fatigue.


Poor posture not only has an adverse effect on our musculoskeletal system, bringing soft tissue pain and joint dysfunction, but also to other areas. The Endocrine (Hormone) system can be affected because poor posture creates unnecessary physical stress on the musculoskeletal structure where, quite simply, our muscles have to work harder to keep us upright. This causes disruption to the release and concentration of stress hormones within the body and in turn unbalances the rest of the hormone (Endocrine) system. Because hormones play such an important part in the health of our body, many health problems can result from simply the increase in physical stress caused by poor posture, sometimes even before we feel the physical pain within the muscles or joints. Poor posture also affects the digestive system – poor posture disrupts the physical positioning of the internal organs within the torso, causing these organs to work in adaptive ways. In addition, the effects on the endocrine and nervous systems can cause changes to the way in which we digest food and the levels and types of nutrients we are capable of retrieving and using from our food. Changes in the physical positioning of the body and tone and tension of the muscles can impede the efficiency of movement of blood through the system, causing us to feel unusually hot or cold. A particularly common example is cold extremities such as hands and feet.


Improving posture doesn’t have to be going to a gym. Just simply practicing good types of posture may all that is required. It is important to maintain proper posture for general health, but also while performing different tasks throughout your day. When lifting, bend from your knees, keep your back straight, feet shoulder-width apart, and one foot slightly forward for balance. Hold the load close to your body, then stand and lift with the strong muscles of your legs, not with your back muscles. When standing, rest your foot on a stool, occasionally alternating your feet. When sitting, raise your viewing surface (i.e. computer terminal) to eye level. Use a chair that provides good support for the curves in your back and neck. Take frequent breaks to stretch and revive. When sleeping, use a firm mattress and sleep on your side or your back with a supportive pillow for your neck. You can check the status of your posture by standing up against a flat surface. Place your heels, butt, flatten shoulder blades and retract your head against the wall. Stand there for 20-30 seconds to fire off the proper muscles and then step away. This may feel awkward at first, but with repetition will feel normal. In a seated position your feet should be flat on the floor. Your back should be pressed against the back of the chair. Arms should be bent to 90 degrees with the shoulders relaxed.


Good posture does more than just make you look good, it makes you feel good. When you stand tall, walk tall, and sit tall, your body works most efficiently. You have better balance and control over your limbs and you have a better outlook on life. Posture not only has a direct bearing on comfort and work efficiency, it also has a factor which determines resistance to disease and disability. In order for health to be attained you must also make good choices in the six essential of life ie: what you eat, what you drink, how you exercise, how you rest, how you breathe and most importantly how you think. Doctors of Chiropractic recognize the importance of spinal integrity and body mechanics for good health, and research has shown that chiropractic adjustments are highly effective. While the effects of poor posture can be serious, many problems can be corrected. If you or a member of your family has what appears to be a postural problem, you should seek advice of a Doctor of Chiropractic. Unless there is a structural deformity or disease-caused disturbance, the chances for correction are excellent. Regular spinal adjustments are part of your body’s defense against illness. The effectiveness of chiropractic health care is measured by benefits realized for a lifetime. Today, the public has become more aware of the benefits of this approach to health care and millions are now maintaining their health with regular chiropractic adjustments.

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Possible Side Effects: Decreased pain, decreased inflammation, increased circulation, increased blood/nutrient flow, increased energy, quicker reaction time, decreased numbness/tingling, increased range of motion, increased adaptability to stress, better sleep, decreased tightness/soreness, decreased muscle spasms, increased cell function, etc………


These and much more are possible “Side Effects” of an adjustment. How is it that a person with low back pain experiences less pain in the lower back after getting adjusted a few times. But a person who experiences intestinal problems also gets their lower back adjusted and achieves better bowel function. Or a child with enuresis (problems with bed wetting), gets the same adjustments to the lower back and now is able to control bladder function? In each case, the lower back or lumbar region is being examined for subluxations and is adjusted appropriately.


When you receive an adjustment, there are many neurologic & physiologic changes which occur in the body. There are synaptic patterns which are getting activated through the nerves, up the spinal cord to the brain. Once that information arrives at the brain, IT then decides what needs to be addressed and corrected. Then the brain sends the correct information down the spinal cord through appropriate nerves to carry out the changes that are necessary to the bowels, or the lower back muscles, or to the bladder, etc.


This is how a chiropractic adjustment allows the body to function better and allows the body to essentially heal itself. Each adjustment is “waking up” the body in certain areas of subluxation. Once the body is awake and the power is flowing, only your body knows EXACTLY what it needs. And only your body will decide what needs to be fixed or addressed first.


Sometimes you may believe that the pain in the lower back is number one on your list of “To Be Fixed” priorities. However, your body may know that there is hormonal imbalance that is creating more disruption in overall health so it addresses that first. Or that toxicity is building up in the intestinal system and leaking slowly into your body, so it fixes that first. Or that there are free radical cancer cells that are accumulating, so it addresses that situation first. Meanwhile it leaves you to deal with a couple more weeks of pain and discomfort in the muscles while it “fixes” these more important things first.
I trust that your body will always do the perfect thing. My job is to locate and correct the subluxation process which is creating interference in the body. The adjustment is to free up this interference and increase communication from the brain to the body and back. Your body will do exactly what it needs to do in order to heal.

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Caution: Side Effects Of An Adjustment – by Dr Helen Lee
Is your Posture Causing Fatigue? – by Jim Claussen, D.C.
Backpack Safety – by by Dr James Claussen, DC
Holiday Guide To Back Care – by by Dr Jim Claussen
Children Addicted To TV Run Higher Risk Of Spinal Problems – by Dr Helen Lee