Mind Your Posture (Part 1)

Are you a frustrated parent who doesn't quite know what to do about your child's posture? Don't worry because you are not alone.

Many parents on the verge of going crazy having to remind their children to stand or sit up straight. Although it takes effort in educating the child and retraining weak back muscles, there is still hope. Here are some frequently asked questions pertaining slouching and poor posture.

Why is this happening to the younger generation?

It is most certainly related to the day a child starts school, when children are obliged to sit at a desk for several hours per day and begin to suffer from the stresess of life. If this behaviour persists, we would see a future of chronic back and neck pain sufferers.

What can be done for our children to prevent adult back pain and poor posture?

Luckily for some children, there are regular health check ups in school, where back problems are detected early.Young females are prone to postural conditions such as scoliosis - a lateral curve of the spine.

Fortunately, scoliosis can be recognized early and treated. Young males, however, often suffer from obvious hunching which should be detected early and treated before it becomes a cosmetic deformation.

Hunching can result from many reasons such as muscular weakness, habitual bad posture, emotional depression, lack of self-confidence, or a spinal condition called Scheurmann's disease which causes a disfiguring hunch.

If you are unsure which of these factors are the cause of your child's bad postur, the best thing to do is obtain advice from a trained practitioner.

- to be continue -