Checking
your child’s posture is one of the simplest, yet most important things you as a
parent can do to ensure the present and future health of your children. This is
an easy assessment that you can do on your child.
Here
is a step-by-step guide on how to check your child’s posture:
1.
Get your child to stand and face you, get them to close their
eyes and walk in place then stop, shake their arms and open their eyes looking
straight ahead at you.
2.
Look at their hips- are they directly over the middle of their
feet? Are their feet both equally pointing forward or toeing in or toeing out?
Are the hips rotated to the right? To the left? Are they tipping to one side?
3.
Look at their chest- is it straight over the middle of the
pelvis (hips)
4.
Now look at the shoulders, is one lower than the other? Are they
hunched forward? Does one arm hang lower?
5.
Finally, look at their head. Draw a mental line from the
midpoint between the eyes to the center of the upper lip. Is it straight up and
down or tilted? Is the head tilted to one side or the other? Is the face rotated
to the left or right? Does one eye look lower than the other?
6.
Ask your child to turn around so that you can see their spine-
is it straight? Is there a sideways curve to one side or the other? Is one hip
higher than the other; is the pelvis twisted or twisted in any direction?
7.
Now ask your child to turn so their side is facing you. Are the
ear, shoulder and hip in a straight line to the ground? Is the head forward, or
buttocks out backward?
8.
There are three spinal curves when looking from the side. Is
there a very deep curve in the lower back (aka sway back)? Does the abdomen
protrude? Does the top of the pelvis look like it’s rocked forward? Is the
middle and upper back excessively rounded, or very flat? Are the shoulders
rounded or hunched? Does the head appear too far forward on their shoulders? Does
the curve in the neck appear nonexistent, or excessive?
Whether the poor posture comes from excessive screen time, heavy backpacks, sitting in school all day, lack of activity, pain or weak core muscles, something needs to be done to correct it.
Chiropractors
that see many children can examine your child’s posture as well as use several
posture analysis tools to determine what is happening with your child. If you
performed this postural analysis on your child and found one or more issues, it is
recommended that you get your child checked out at the chiropractor.
Chiropractic
care can help with a multitude of postural issues and can prevent issues from
happening in the future. Call and book an assessment today!
