Chiropractic Care for Children
Regardless of how young or old a person is, vertebrae can become misaligned. When this happens, it can produce pressure or irritation to nerves that may cause them to malfunction (known as a “subluxation”). Interference in the nervous system caused by a misaligned or malfunctioning spine may result in tissues and organs not functioning properly – at any age.
Children undergo a number of physical stresses, starting with possible birth trauma (difficult labors, forceps and vacuum extraction births, C-sections etc), to early infancy falls, tumbles and accidents, to sports juries in older children.
Parents should realize that symptoms such as pain or malfunction following spinal trauma might not appear for years. Chiropractic medicine, based on the principle that good health relies, in part, upon a normally functioning nervous system, focuses on causes rather than symptoms. That’s why it’s important to have your child’s spine checked if he or she experiences some kind of physical trauma. A chiropractor will detect any “subluxation” and correct it, relieving nerve interference and returning the spine and nervous system to a healthy state.
Studies show that many children who suffer from colic, ear infections and asthma have spinal “subluxations” impairing their nervous system function. Recent research has shown that chiropractic care can help treat many such children’s ailments:
* Colic: Several studies involving infants diagnosed with colic by pediatricians show that infants who receive chiropractic care cease to suffer from colic symptoms faster than infants were taking dimethicone. In most of these studies, follow up surveys performed a month later revealed that the infants who had received chiropractic care had not suffered a reoccurrence of colic. Chiropractors attribute this improvement to a removal of a subluxation that was interfering in the infants’ nervous system.
* Ear infections: Children with middle ear infections respond to treatment by chiropractors, even when they suffer from chronic infections previously treated with several courses antibiotics. Chiropractors try to determine whether the reason for their body’s inability to combat the infection is an irritation of small nerves in the spine that causes an abnormal tension in the small muscles of the neck. This can put pressure on the lymphatic drainage ducts. The inadequate drainage from inside the ear prevents the child’s body from naturally correcting the problem. The chiropractor will also look for spinal vertebrae that are slightly out of alignment or are not moving within their normal range. Chiropractic treatment of earache involves a detailed evaluation, commonly followed by a number of spinal adjustments and manipulation of neck muscles to help restore normal lymph drainage.
The condition of your children’s central nervous system and spine is important to their overall health. When you check your child’s hearts, lungs, eyes and teeth, remember to also check his / her spine. Since a child’s spine grows almost 50% in length during his first year, regular early chiropractic examinations are critically important to provide essential corrective and preventive care.