More frightening than a ghoul, ghost or goblin on your doorstep this Halloween is the fact that 18-24 year olds miss more days of work per year to back pain than their parents’ generation. Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2010.

84 percent of 18-24 year olds have admitted to suffering back pain in the last 12 months, according to a survey by Simplyhealth. In fact the folks at Apple™ are getting another moniker only this one not so positive. The term iPosture is being used to describe the effect of cell phones and other smaller technical gadgets are having on teens, young adults and everyone.

The reasons our parents...okay my generation too...suffers with back and neck pain vary greatly from the current population of young adults, is thanks in huge part, to technology.

People over age 55 spend an average of 6.64 hours a day in front of a computer screen
A typical 18-24 year old spends 8.83 hours a day in front of a screen
This doesn’t include time spent in front of a traditional TV
66 percent of this younger age group agree they either slouch or hunch in front of their PC.
It stands to reason that hunching over computers and hand-held devices with your 8-10 pound head hanging down is a contributory factor in the different types of back pain reported by different generations.

The results also show that almost all age groups spend as much time in front of a computer, laptop or tablet screen in total as they do asleep in bed, some even more so.

So what do we do about this?

• Sit up straight!
• Put your laptop up on a stand or even a pile of books to keep it at eye level
• Keep a pillow on your couch or chair to use as a lumbar support any time you are sitting.
• Keep one in your car too
• Keep your discs healthy with ample amounts of water, Omega-3 rich fish oil and Vitamin D
• Exercise or at least stretch and move
• Keep your body and mind as stress free as possible with chiropractic adjustments

You can find stretches for low back pain along with other target areas on our website www.nokomischiropractic.com. The Pettibon approach to chiropractic care that we use in our office has exercise for back pain and overall health incorporated into the treatment. This lets you exercise for back pain relief on your own to get better longer lasting results.

Today, chiropractors are the third largest group of health care providers, after physicians and dentists, who treat patients directly.

Chiropractic care which once was taboo or misunderstood is now becoming mainstream. What led to the change in attitude toward chiropractic?

Two major events included:

• The 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision on a lawsuit, known as the Wilks case, that found the AMA and others guilty of illegal conspiracy against the chiropractic profession.
• Recognition by the established medical community that most medical therapies for back pain are ineffective.

Regardless of your current age, if you want to remain active as you play with your kids, grandkids and finally retire to do the things you always meant to do, you will need a healthy and happy body. Unlike your teeth, knees, hips or even your heart, you cannot get a spine transplant so take care of the one you have. An evaluation will give the doctor what they need to show you how to help back pain from lowering your quality of life.

Who should seek out an evaluation from their South Minneapolis Doctor of Chiropractic? Everyone!