From Laura Lawrence, a 2nd generation chiropractor.

"I guess you could say I was one of the lucky ones"

I guess you could say I was one of the lucky ones. I was born into a chiropractic family. I was adjusted a few hours after birth and have continued to be throughout my life.

Somehow I survived being teenager and just like most teenagers I was always in the wars. But, no matter what the problem was, whether I had two sprained ankles, a headache, back pain or indigestion my dad's expert advice was "Laura what you need is a good adjustment……and you need to do some exercise".

Regardless of what the problem was it was always the same, adjustment ……and exercise. Even now when I think that perhaps I know nearly as much as my dad about how the body works, dad still looks down and says…"Laura , you know what will fix that….exercise." And despite my resistance to do the exercise part I remained an excellent chiropractic patient who understood that my health would always be better off if chiropractic care remained part of my life.

But my understanding of health and those of teenagers today are vastly different. Today a little over 1/5 of Australians aged 14 and over are regular, daily smokers. 68% of males and 48% of females between 14-17 reportedly drink alcoholic beverages at least once a week. This does not paint a bright picture of the current state of health in our country today.

If I asked you know to count how many teenagers you currently see in your clinic would you need more than your fingers to count them all? The answer for most of us is no and why is this? Is it because we simply don't like them or is it because they come into our practices as children only to loose interest and understanding of why they are coming?

However, seeing teenage patients is not as simple as it seems. It's really more about understanding where they are coming from and trying to reach them on a level they will respond to. It is difficult because they are not kids; lollies and stickers usually don't work.. But they're not adults yet either - they're in the transitional years.

They are more unlikely to take responsibility for their actions and rather they will blame everyone and everything around them than admit that they are the problem. They also have a poor ability to understand the progression of problems and to comprehend what effects their choices will have on them in 2 years, let alone 2 months' time. We need to instill in teenagers the importance of chiropractic care and for them to understand that looking after your health is not just for a while or when it suits you but for LIFE.

Teenaged years are at the very least, tumultuous. It is a mixture of raging hormones, emerging adult bodies and for many, experimentation. But it is also a time for growth and development which will shape the mind and physical body for the future. Their experiences and lifestyles have a profound effect on determining their lives as adults because habits formed now will become ingrained and be carried into adulthood. How fantastic it would be if that habit was chiropractic care. I believe chiropractic care does have a large role to play in their lives. Building positive attitudes about health and wellbeing and more importantly maintaining them is something we can all do in our clinics.