NZ Chiropractors Advise Parents to Send their Kids Outside to Play
Members of the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association (NZCA) are advising parents and caregivers to encourage children to play the ‘old-fashioned way’ to protect future generations from a potential lifetime of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.
The NZCA highlights that the recent World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep for children under five are not just about reducing screen time—they are a critical call to encourage active play.
The Importance of Moving Early
Good, healthy posture is learned at a young age through consistent physical activity. According to the WHO, a lack of physical activity is a contributing factor in more than 5 million deaths globally each year across all age groups, with over 80% of adolescents currently classified as not sufficiently physically active.
Dr. Dave Kelly from The Chiro Wellington emphasizes the need for a shift in daily habits:
"We should be regularly moving rather than remaining primarily sedentary. We need to be saying to our kids, 'get up, go outside, and move.' If healthy physical activity, non-sedentary behaviour, and good sleep habits are established early in life, this helps shape positive habits through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood."
The Silent Progression of "Tech Neck"
The new WHO guidelines coincide with ongoing discussions surrounding a 2016 Australian study, which found that increased screen time was linked to the growth of small, horn-like bone spurs on the back of young people’s skulls.
Dr. Kelly explains that these lumps are a direct result of poor posture caused by hand-held technology:
The Body's Adaptation: The lumps are the body’s way of adapting to sustained stress by growing more bone where there is normally soft tissue, such as muscle tendons.
Early Degeneration: This provides evidence that musculoskeletal degenerative processes can start and progress silently from an early age.
Simple Corrections: Fortunately, poor posture can be corrected quite simply. One of the easiest ways is to consult a family chiropractor for professional care and advice to help improve spinal health and function—the sooner, the better.
Rethinking Low Back Pain and Over-Medicalisation
The impact of poor posture often leads to low back pain, a condition the WHO recently addressed in a published Bulletin. Written by leading experts from Australia and the UK, the paper warns against the risks of over-medicalising the management of low back pain.
Instead of jumping to pharmaceuticals, the experts advocate for the exact type of spinal healthcare that chiropractors are highly qualified to provide. Their recommended first-line treatments for low back pain include:
Non-drug, non-surgical approaches.
Patient advice, education, and reassurance.
Manual therapies, including spinal manipulation, for patients at risk of developing chronic pain.
Chiropractic Care vs. Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Kelly notes that the WHO paper comes hard on the heels of one of the largest studies of its kind, highlighting the efficacy of chiropractic care in managing back pain and reducing reliance on pharmaceuticals.
The US study, led by New Zealand’s Professor Ian Coulter, evaluated the addition of chiropractic care to usual medical care for patients suffering from low back pain. Professor Coulter, a recent keynote speaker at the NZCA conference in Christchurch, highlights the urgent need for alternative care options:
"The most common musculoskeletal condition reported is low back pain, which is also one of the most frequent reasons people seek medical care. This burden is made worse by the fact that many usual medical treatments—such as NSAIDs, steroid injections, spinal surgery, and opioids—do not significantly decrease pain and may result in serious side effects. Spurred on primarily by the resultant opioid crisis, organizations including the FDA and the American College of Physicians are now recommending non-drug, non-surgical therapies. Chiropractic care and spinal manipulation are at the forefront of these recommendations."