Students should take advantage of chiropractic services to help ease body pain.

Shane Carnahan, owner and chiropractor for Carnahan Chiropractic, has run his Pullman general practice for 12 years, and for the last two he’s incorporated nutrition into it.

Carnahan said the main issues people have are neck and back pain.

“The most recent patient I had was in a car accident,” he said. “Their neck was completely straight when it should be in a reverse ‘C’ shape.”

Carnahan said it’s satisfying to help patients who have been in automobile accidents. He said he likes to see the process from start to end.

College students and athletes who come in are maintenance patients, he said.

“With college education, they go years with education and poor posture,” Carnahan said. “Posture is huge. You put stress on the nervous system.”

Carnahan’s advice is to carry lighter backpacks and hoist them higher up on the back. So, leave those textbooks at home unless you really need them. Or, avoid using a backpack altogether.

Another thing he said is important to realize is to avoid improper lifting and “text neck” from smartphones.

“Students look down at their phone and all the time,” Carnahan said. “This creates a horrible curve in your neck and gets rid of the ‘S’ shape that is naturally supposed to happen.”

He also said a large impact on the body are the nutrients people consume.

“A lot of college students eat [instant ramen] and potato chips,” Carnahan said. “Try to eat more fruit and vegetables, and drink more water.”

He said a lot of patients say they didn’t realize they could feel this good from eating healthy food. Once you get out of the crud phase to the healthier phase, you will feel better.

Carnahan treats all forms of athletes and coaches. The most common athletes who come in are basketball players, baseball players, track runners and rowers.

“If someone has a heavy athletic injury, they tend to go to physical therapists,” he said. “They focus on the physiology and the function of the muscle. Chiropractors do the same service but address the structural issue and the nature of the curve.”

Carnahan said chiropractic services help patients sleep better and boost overall energy.

“It’s like a river. You have to go through the rough patches to reach the calm water, but your energy will brighten,” Carnahan said.