As a teacher, your day is busy enough that you might not notice your physical exertion until long after the school day is done. Reaching for an ice pack or an over-the-counter pain medication may seem like it’s the thing to do. However, there are many benefits to chiropractic care that can help alleviate the pain stemming from the deceptively physically demanding teaching career.
Roughly 35% of the 22 million Americans visiting chiropractors each year are seeking relief from back pain, neck pain, pain in the limbs, and headaches. Those looking for alternatives to surgery or medication for back pain relief often turn to chiropractic treatments.
Why Does My Back Hurt After School?
If you experience soreness or back pain at the end of a day molding young minds, you might not even realize the strain you place your body under. Activities common to teachers that lead to back pain include standing for long hours, a head-down posture (as if looking down at a desk, grading papers, or leaning over to help a student), or even the repeated lifting of school supplies.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help Teachers?
Spinal manipulation has been associated with moderate improvements in back pain. There’s even some evidence that chiropractic manipulation may help slow the progression of arthritis by improving cartilage, bone, and the joint capsule.
Grading papers and all the other work that can lead to one hunching over a desk can result in a poor hyperkyphosis, or hunchback, posture. Chiropractic treatments can be a boon to improving posture and providing pain relief in the head and neck.
Realigning your spine can ease the tension in your neck muscles to reduce pain and improve posture. The Graston® technique is another treatment that helps with chronic pain, improves posture and function.
People who experience chronic pain are often given prescription pain relievers to help manage their pain and discomfort. Receiving chiropractic treatment may eliminate or lower the reliance on pain medication.
Why Do Teachers Have Back Pain?
The average person doesn’t realize how easily teaching can contribute to or even cause back pain. Teachers of lower grades might sit on the floor or on child-sized chairs to be closer to their students. Teachers also spend long hours standing without a break. Bending over to help students and even sitting with their necks and possibly shoulders slumped forward while grading papers will also cause or contribute to back pain.
To make things worse, Teachers may avoid drinking water to minimize bathroom breaks or consume diuretics like coffee or tea. Since well-hydrated muscles are more pliable, dehydration can worsen back pain.
Lower back pain is the second most common reason for doctor visits in the U.S. For teachers, it can mean a diminished quality of life, functional impairment, frequent sick leaves, and even early retirement. Addressing lower back pain promptly may prevent the need for more invasive treatments such as surgery or injections.
There is evidence that early intervention with physical therapy or chiropractic care can lessen treatment costs and reliance on more expensive health services. The official Oregon State website references the “economic burden of low back and neck pain” and cites a peer-reviewed study demonstrating the effectiveness of chiropractic care for these conditions.
Both chiropractic care and physical therapy are often more effective than non-pharmacological treatments for lower back pain, with chiropractic services generally costing less than physical therapy.
Talk to East Bay Chiropractic Wellness About How Chiropractic Care Can Improve Your Life
For more than 35 years, East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C. has been providing a wide range of chiropractic services to Long Island residents, treating a wide range of conditions that impact day-to-day life. We can work with you on pain management and restoring a normal range of motion through spinal adjustments, massage, stretching exercises, the Graston Technique®, and much more. Schedule your appointment today.