With aging comes a tendency for the head and the neck to shift forward from the shoulders. Over time, this tendency will make the upper back more rounded and noticeable. This area of the back is sometimes referred to as the “hump pad,” and it’s a result of the body depositing fat over the newly exposed area. More technically it’s known as upper thoracic hump, a reference to the thoracic part of the spine.

The hallmark of chiropractic treatment is the spinal adjustment, a manipulation of the individual bones — the vertebrae — that make up the spine. The purpose of the adjustment is to make sure those bones, through which the spinal cord stretches, are properly aligned. That’s important because the nerves that carry information from the brain to various parts of the body emanate from the spine, and reach out between the vertebrae. A vertebra in an improper position can impair the function of the nerve and cause a problem — pain or malfunction — in the affected body part.

As we age, maintaining the flexibility of our bodies is an ever-increasing challenge. Flexibility is key to fighting off the stiffness that comes with aging. Also, the more flexible you are, the better you’re able to keep your balance and avoid an accident, like a fall, at home. So whatever sort of workout regimen you follow, be sure to incorporate some activities that are intended to improve flexibility.

Generally, after the start of any new sort of physical activity you may feel a little soreness. Starting chiropractic treatment can yield the same result. So, if you are among the roughly 30 million people who see chiropractors each year, welcome to the club.

A new scientific review of 148 studies enrolling over 4.3 million adult chronic pain patients treated with prescription opioid painkillers has found that nearly one in ten patients experiences opioid dependence or opioid use disorder and nearly one in three shows symptoms of dependence and opioid use disorder. The researchers divided the 148 studies into four general categories, depending on how the studies defined problematic opioid use.

It takes some patients by surprise, but one of the first things a chiropractor will do during your initial visit is measure the length of your legs. If you’ve gone to see a chiropractor because your back is bothering you, it’s reasonable to wonder why the doctor is looking at your legs. But here’s the reason: It’s not uncommon for people to have legs that are of slightly different lengths.

Researchers at Texas A & M University gathered demographic data on workers and information on how they used office equipment such as footrests, monitor arms, keyboard trays or anti fatigue mats at their workstation. They also collected data on the amount of time the workers spent standing at their workstation and their use of a sit-stand or stand- biased workstation. Participants were asked about discomfort in the neck, upper back, lower back, shoulder, wrist and hand, hips, knees, and ankles and feet.

New research finds that alternate workstation options, such as standing and sit-stand desks, can be a win-win solution for both employees and employers.

Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found.

About 800 million people worldwide suffer from low back pain. It is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year.

Low back pain treatment guidelines by the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommend first using non-invasive, non-drug treatments before resorting to drug therapies.

These new guidelines by the American College of Physicians support a growing body of research as well as increasing recognition in the health care community regarding the value and effectiveness of non-drug approaches, such as spinal manipulation, for acute and chronic low back pain.