Chiropractic Care for Children… Part 1
| Chiropractic Care for Children… Part 1 | |
| Chiropractors have been caring for adults and children for more than 100 years. It is well-known in the scientific literature that many common ailments respond extremely well to this safe, natural form of health care. In recent years more and more parents, especially those who have been treated themselves with chiropractic care are seeking chiropractic care for their children. This week’s FaceBook article attempts to answer some of the frequently asked questions asked by parents about their children’s health.
Let’s start here: What is chiropractic? Chiropractic is based on the important relationship between the spine and the nervous system. One of the most basic ideas in chiropractic is that dysfunction in the spine and its joints can lead to dysfunction within the nervous system and since the nervous system controls and coordinates all the systems of the body, spinal dysfunction can have wide ranging effects on the body’s health. As Chiropractors we are trained to evaluate how the body is functioning as related to the spine and treat areas of dysfunction. Why do my kids need chiropractic? A child encounters many physical stresses during their growing years. The resulting problems in children’s spines can occur at almost any point in their development and growth.  Dr. Mark examining 5 year old Trevor's cervical spine after school last week. The earliest challenge a growing spine faces is the position it is forced to adopt in utero, there are many fetal positions that can cause problems with labor and delivery, some are: brow, breech, transverse, posterior and ascynclitic. What is less well known is that these fetal positions can also cause problems in the baby’s spine as well. Spinal segments can lose functional activity or motion, often times are pushed or jammed out of place which can jeopardize the health of your child. Additionally birthing methods can stress an infant’s spine and nervous system not to mention interventions such as induction, forceps, vonteuse suction, or caesarean section. The cause of many newborn health complaints such as colic, reflux, breastfeeding difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergic reactions, and chronic infections can often be traced to nervous system irritation caused or complicated by dysfunction within the spine. Since significant spinal trauma can occur at, or prior to birth, a recent trend for many parents is to have their newborn’s spine checked right after birth. Many developmental milestones such as learning to hold up the head, sitting upright, crawling, and walking are all activities that are affected by spinal dysfunction and are important times to have a child checked by a chiropractor. Additionally, falls, sports injuries, playground bumps, heavy school bags and sitting all day in the classroom are all physical stresses to the growing child. Next week we will discuss the scope and nature of chiropractic care including common childhood disorders, the examination process, the actual treatment procedures, safety concern, the “does it hurt” question and others. Here is the link to a very recent and local news article that talks about the benefits of chiropractic care for children and babies http://www.wmctv.com/story/21790908/chiropractor-visits-a-rising-trend-in-baby-health |
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