My son is 12 years old and suffers from growing pain. On top
of that he carries a heavy backpack every day. He is pretty active, swimms and bikes. Can osteopathy help? Concerned mom
Dear loving mom,
Growing pain often occurs in the upper part of the legs as
well as behind the knees. The reasons for the growing pain are not really known. It may be muscular aches.
During the osteopathic treatment the muscles are stretched
and also the hips and the basin will be checked if some tensions there need to
be released there. It usually takes a few session.
For the heavy backpack: it is unfortunate that kids have to
carry such heavy load to school these days. In order to reduce the weight,
maybe it would be appropriate to check with your son daily what he really needs
in his back and what he can leave at home. Some schoolkids are a bit lazy and
they pack the bag for the whole year, kind of.
As a rule of thumb, the backpack should weight no more than
10 to 15 percent of your son’s body weight.
The spine is made of 33 vertebrae, cushioned by discs. The discs function as
shock absorbers. If the backpack is too heavy, you son may compensate by
bending the body back- or forwards, causing early wear and tear on the spine.
On top of that, compensatory discomfort may occur such as shoulder or back
pain. And the heavy load does certainly also not help with the growing pain.
Not only should the backpack only contain the most important
stuff, but it also should be carried on both shoulders. It is necessary to
avoid muscular imbalance. Btw, this does not only apply for kids but also for
adults.
Keep you kid active; it’s good!
Hope this helps!