What is student neck?

Student neck describes the loss of the normal cervical curve in young people from long hours looking down at books, laptops and phones. The neck goes straight and the head carries forward of the shoulders. Corrected early it is far easier to change than after decades of the same posture.

Can teenage athletes be adjusted?

Yes, and a young spine is generally more adaptable than an adult one. This 16-year-old runner had an AI sacrum and a lumbar subluxation corrected over three months and returned to full time practice and competition.

Why didn't stretching and massage help this runner?

Stretching and massage work on soft tissue. An AI sacrum is a bony, structural position of the pelvis, and a lateral subluxation of L3/L4 is a position of the vertebrae. Changing those takes a specific chiropractic adjustment applied over time.

Can pelvic subluxation stop a runner from competing?

The pelvis is the foundation the spine sits on and the platform running loads with every stride. This patient had been progressively restricted from practice and competition for months, and returned to full participation after her AI sacrum and lumbar subluxation were corrected.

How quickly can a neck curve start to change in a teenager?

This patient's follow up films at three months showed a curve beginning to return to her neck and her head drawn back over her shoulders. Curve corrections continue well beyond that, and starting young is what makes the work shorter.

AI Sacrum and L3/L4 Subluxation in a 16-Year-Old Runner

How She Arrived

In this month's Spinal Correction Spotlight we are reviewing the comparison X-rays of a 16-year-old woman. She is an elite cross country runner who had been progressively restricted from participating in practice and competition for months because of her back and pelvic pain.

Her family had done all the conventional things — stretching, massage, an MD visit — and nothing was helping. The pain was starting to affect her sleep, her school work, with creeping and worsening neck pain, and her Activities of Daily Living, including walking. With no answers and options running thin, her mom found out about our office from a friend I play golf with. He recommended she give chiropractic a try, and I am glad he opened his mouth.

What Her Films Showed

The initial images showed an AI sacrum subluxation on the right, anterior and inferior. There is also a lateral subluxation of L3/L4 to the left.

Student neck is a real thing, and it causes the neck to go straight, producing anterior head carriage. The effects can be destructive if it is not corrected early enough.

Clinical Findings — Initial Examination

Patient: 16-year-old female, elite cross country runner

Presenting complaints: Back and pelvic pain restricting practice and competition for months; disrupted sleep; worsening neck pain affecting school work; walking affected

Prior care: Stretching, massage and an MD visit, without improvement

Referral: Recommended to the family by a friend of Dr. Rochet

X-ray type: AP lumbar and lateral cervical

Initial X-ray: AI sacrum subluxation on the right (anterior and inferior); lateral subluxation of L3/L4 to the left; straightened neck with anterior head carriage

Re-evaluation X-ray: Sacral subluxation reduced; mid-lumbar alignment straightened; curve beginning to return to the neck with the head drawn back over the shoulders

Care span: 3 months of corrective care between films

Outcome: Returned to full time practice and competition

Lumbar AP — Before & After

Initial AP lumbar X-ray showing an AI sacrum subluxation on the right and a lateral L3 L4 subluxation in a 16-year-old cross country runner, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

Before — Initial X-Ray

Re-evaluation AP lumbar X-ray showing the sacral subluxation reduced and mid-lumbar alignment straightened, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

After — Re-Evaluation

Cervical Lateral — Before & After

Initial lateral cervical X-ray showing a straightened neck and anterior head carriage from student neck in a 16-year-old, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

Before — Initial X-Ray

Re-evaluation lateral cervical X-ray showing a curve beginning to return and the head drawn back over the shoulders, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

After — Re-Evaluation

Three Months Later

In the follow up films the sacral subluxation reduced, while the alignment of her mid-lumbar bones straightened out as well.

After just three months we were able to start to introduce a curve back into her neck, and also bring the position of her head back more over her shoulders, which takes a huge amount of stress off her shoulders and aids her posture.

The correction of her AI sacrum and lumbar subluxation has allowed her to return to full time practice and competition. The combination of those two spinal corrections has restored her Quality of Life.

What This Case Shows

She is sixteen, and the neck she is building now is the one she carries for the rest of her life. Correcting a young spine while it is still adaptable is a different job from correcting one that has carried the same pattern for forty years.

I am not the healer. I move the bone; God does the healing. You are a self-healing organism, and when you are subluxation free, not only does your spine heal, but your body expresses life the way you were created to.

A Young Spine Is the Easiest One to Correct

If your athlete has been sidelined and nothing has helped, a structural evaluation shows what is actually happening. Come in for an X-ray analysis and find out what their own films show.

Have Your Spine Checked for Subluxation

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