It’s Chiropractic Health Month! This year’s theme is “Active and Adaptive,” aiming to raise awareness of the importance of movement, posture and stress management to our musculoskeletal health.

With all of the changes that have taken place this year, people have set up offices and work spaces in their homes, trying to adapt to working remotely, while simultaneously avoiding many places, activities and people outside the home. Some have also had to help their children adjust to online school, with parents and kids experiencing increased screen time. These changes--and the inevitable stress that accompanied them--have led to a rise in complaints such as back pain and neck pain. In addition, lifestyle changes like long car trips in lieu of air travel, ordering food from home, and avoiding fitness centers mean that many people are moving less, which can contribute to increased pain.

“Active and Adaptive” encourages us to adapt to the challenges of staying fit and active with a smaller lifestyle footprint by becoming more mindful of movement and posture.

This month we aim to inspire our patients and our community to give extra focus to

• getting enough movement during the day

• being aware of posture and ways to improve it

• getting adequate rest

• managing stress

The good news is, many of these things go hand in hand! For example, being well-rested will improve stress response, and movement will heighten body-awareness and can improve strength for proper posture.

Tag us on social media (@eqpdx) with #activeadaptive to let us know how you’re focusing on these areas this month!