When taking a new patient case history, I often hear, “My mother had arthritis in her spine,” or “My father always had back pain.” Many practice members start chiropractic care because they don’t want to age the same way their parents did. They wonder whether or not they inherited their back problems from their parents, but few seem to think about if they are passing it on to their own children.
Nature or nurture? It is always a 50 cent question. Was it the genes that caused it, or did I learn my poor posture habits from watching my parents? After over 30 years of getting adjusted and sixteen years as a Doctor of Chiropractic I think it’s a mix of both. Which is why chiropractic care can be so helpful entered into at a younger age.
As a child, I didn’t have back pain, but my parents saw the value in having my spine checked for subluxations. I was an active dancer, gymnast and horseback rider. I tended to sit on the couch crooked and watch TV with my neck rotated to the left. I also carried a heavy backpack on one shoulder and poured over books with my head hung down. I walked with my left foot flared out like my father but I definitely had one hip higher than the other like my mother (no doubt I inherited both my mother AND father’s spinal traits.) I had regular chiropractic wellness adjustments from childhood on, and for the most part have avoided the issues my parents had in their older years. (But of course the real bonus for me was that my childhood chronic ear infections improved greatly after starting chiropractic care!)
There is nice family with a sweet young girl in our practice right now, who reminds me of the value in prevention. She had no pain symptoms, but upon evaluation of her spine I found shifts in her posture and areas of concern on her palpation exam. Her x-rays showed a definite scoliosis starting to develop. Compared side by side with her father’s x-rays, it was like looking at him as a child. As a chiropractor, it was eerie for me to look from hers to his, because it was like a fast forward into the future for her; an abnormal curve in the spine which caused stress to the joints and severe arthritis and disc degeneration as time passed. Thankfully we isolated the cause of her scoliosis, a short leg, and worked to balance that through a heel lift and corrective chiropractic adjustments. Her before and three-month progress x-rays literally brought tears to my eyes. The certainty of how we’ve changed her life for the decades to come made my heart skip. Her case is my “win” of the week, actually likely my “win” of the year! It’s these moments that make being a chiropractor the best job in the world J
Thank you to all of our practice members who have the forethought to have your child’s spine checked and maintained from an early age. It truly is a gift that keeps giving.