Pediatric Chiropractic Care
Visiting a chiropractor isn’t just for adults. In fact, children of all ages can also benefit from regularly seeing chiropractic professionals. Since children’s bodies are still growing and developing, pediatric chiropractors have undergone specialized training to ensure that the care they provide is appropriate and reflects the age of your child. Chiropractic treatment involves manipulating the body and spine to bring the spine into alignment and reduce pressure across the musculoskeletal system so that the body can functional optimally, inside and out. Pediatric chiropractic care can be used in the treatment of a number of common childhood conditions.
Colic
Colic can be described as unexplainable and uncontrollable crying in babies from 0 to 3 months old, more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for 3 weeks or more. The cause of colic is often unknown, however what we do know is that kids often deal with it better when they have a healthy spine and nervous system. When infants are in pain or discomfort, they cannot explain their issues the same way adults do. Many times, infants in discomfort will result in crying or screaming because they cannot gain any relief or rest from what is ailing them.
Due to the trauma of most birthing processes, many infants will come out of the womb with vertebral misalignment and cranial overlapping. Chiropractic can help with these problems. Removing subluxations in newborns can often be a great source of relief to an infant – resulting in less crying and more sleep for both baby and parents. In fact, one South African study by Mercer and Cook showed that 93% of infants under chiropractic care had a complete resolution of symptoms. Another Danish study showed that 94% of parents saw improvement in their child within two weeks of beginning care.
Enuresis (Bed Wetting)
Most children wet the bed for the first few years of life, but by the age of four or five children should be able to establish proper bladder control. Enuresis refers to the inability of a child to establish this proper bladder control, which results in involuntary urination. Bed wetting can be attributed to a number of factors – including psychological issues, pathological issues, or misalignments in the sacral and lumbar area causing spinal nerve interference to the body’s bladder system.
Because the sacrum consists of separate segments during the early years of life, it is possible that misalignment of these segments can cause nerve irritation or facilitation. This nerve facilitation – especially to the area of the bladder – may be the cause of the inappropriate bladder function associated with bed-wetting. During early years of life, the sacrum can be subjected to repeated trauma from childhood falls and the early attempts at walking. This early trauma to the sacrum may be the major reason why bed-wetting in some patients ceases after the spine is adjusted.
Otitis Media (Ear Infections)
Otitis media is an infection of the inner ear. It is estimated that over 70% of children suffer from otitis media at some point in their life. An earache can result when the eustachian tube – which connects the middle ear with the throat – enlarges and becomes inflamed. This inflammation prevents proper drainage.
The ear drum in a child is angled in a horizontal manner, whereas in an adult it is angled more inferior to allow proper drainage. Fluids can become trapped behind the eardrum, often putting painful pressure on the inner ear canal. A common treatment is the use of oral antibiotics. But, as most parents can attest and and some research shows, this treatment is often ineffective. In fact, the use of amoxicillin and other antibiotics can actually prolong the problem and increase its recurrence by creating drug-resistant germs. The most drastic treatment approach involves the placement of small tubes in the eardrum to drain the middle ear. This treatment carries the general risk of anesthesia. Results can be short-lived, may produce scar tissue, invite infection, and do not address the real cause of the problem.
Instead, more and more parents are seeking chiropractic care for their children. Chiropractors evaluate a child for spinal problems in the upper cervical area that could affect the nerve supply to the ears. Chiropractic adjustments can help restore the integrity of the nervous system by removing subluxations. A study in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic in Pediatrics evaluated three hundred children, most of whom had experienced several infections occurring less than six months apart. Children with mild infections were given three to five treatments to cervical vertebrae. The infections in these treated children cleared in an average of seven to nine days.
Most notable, however, is that six months after their initial visit, 80 percent of the children had not suffered a recurrence. During this time, some children received three to four maintenance adjustments, others required none (as determined by the practitioner). Chiropractors apply extremely light pressure, therefore your child should feel no discomfort during the spinal adjustments, Chiropractic care doesn’t treat earaches, but it often revives the body’s own inborn natural healing ability without drugs or surgery.
Improve Your Child’s Sleep
Sleep deprivation is one of the most common complaints uttered by tired parents everywhere, particularly during the first few years of their child’s lives. Even the smallest misalignment in your child’s spine could be making it harder for them to fall asleep or stay asleep for longer periods. The misalignment could be causing stiffness, pain, or just minor discomfort that wakes them up when they should be sleeping, or affects the quality of their sleep, making them grumpy and irritable. Fortunately, regular chiropractic adjustments that realign the spine have been proven to help improve sleep quality and quantity in both adults and children alike.
Boost Their Immune System To Help Them Fight Disease
Children are more susceptible to disease because their immune system remains immature until they are around 8 years of age. You might be surprised to learn that chiropractic treatment has been shown to be beneficial to help increase immune responses. This is because areas of pressure or compression within the spine can compromise the effectiveness of their immune system. Eliminating areas of pressure can improve blood flow and enable all body systems to work more efficiently.
Help With Common Childhood Illnesses
There are many common childhood illnesses, like earaches, digestive issues, sinus congestion, reflux, and allergies. Each of these can affect the quality of life of your child as well as being stressful and upsetting for you to witness them suffering. Fortunately, the symptoms of many childhood illnesses can be improved through regular chiropractic appointments with a pediatric chiropractor. Chiropractic adjustments eliminate pressure on the nervous system, allowing blood and oxygen to flow around the body more efficiently, improving the way that all your child’s body systems work.