Why do kids need chiropractic?

Many parents appreciate the importance of regular checkups for their children’s teeth, hearing and vision but draw a blank when it comes to a chiropractic checkup.  However, a chiropractic checkup will be one of the most important your children will ever have!  The spine protects the billions of nerve fibers that send messages to all parts of the body and control body function.  Trauma, misalignment, or immobility of the spine interferes with the nerves that come out through the opening in the spine.  That nerve interference is called a “subluxation.”  In most cases in children, subluxations are NOT associated with pain.  This is often termed silent subluxation.  This results in lowered resistance to infection and organ malfunction without any known cause.

The First Subluxation

How can your child’s body lose its natural alignment and develop subluxations? Studies have shown that in the majority of cases, trauma (often unrecognized) from the birthing process or procedures causes subluxation of the infant’s spine. Subluxation damage can be caused by a constricted uterus, a breech presentation or a difficult delivery, and in cases of vacuum extraction or excessive force, the spine is always traumatized.  Health problems in childhood or even adulthood have been traced back to spinal and structural damage at birth in many cases.

According to Abraham Towbin, MD: “The birth process ... is potentially a traumatic, crippling event ... mechanical stress imposed by obstetrical manipulation—even the application of standard orthodox procedures may prove intolerable to the fetus ... most signs of neonatal injury observed in the delivery room are neurological.”

Research is confirming chiropractors’ observations that infants may suffer from spinal subluxations. In one study, 1,250 babies were examined five days after birth; 211 of them suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and sleeplessness. Subluxations were found in 95% of this group. Although the researchers in this study were MDs, they recognized the power of chiropractic care and these babies were given the care they needed. The spinal adjustment “frequently resulted in immediate quieting, cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness.” The authors noted that an unhealthy spine causes “many clinical features from central motor impairment to lowered resistance to infections— especially ear, nose and throat infections.”   The above study discusses an 18-month-old boy suffering from tonsillitis, frequent enteritis, therapy-resistant conjunctivitis, frequent colds, earache and increasing sleeping problems. He received a chiropractic spinal adjustment. The child demanded to be put to bed and slept peacefully until morning. His health returned to normal. One wonders, what would have happened to this child if he never had chiropractic care? A life of antibiotics and other  medications? A life of continued sickness?

The authors of the above-mentioned study concluded that a chiropractic spinal checkup “should be obligatory after every difficult birth” and any spinal stress “should be ... adjusted ... the success of adjustment overshadows every other type of care.”

According to the chiropractic pediatric specialist Larry Webster, DC, there are six times in a baby’s first year of life when chiropractic examinations are especially important:

• After the birth process.

• When the baby starts to hold his/her head up.

• When the baby sits up.

• When the baby starts to crawl.

• When the baby starts to stand.

• When the baby starts to walk.21

Toddlerhood through childhood is a very “physical” time. Those first hesitant steps soon evolve  into jumping, running, falls and accidents which are all part of a normal childhood. While most falls are minor, at times they can cause nerve-damaging subluxations with serious long-term consequences.3   For that reason all children need periodic spinal check-ups.

What are the benefits of chiropractic for kids?

Over many decades parents, clinicians, and researchers have noticed positive changes in behavioral, physical, and emotional health of children under chiropractic care.  Many different behavioral conditions have been observed to improve with chiropractic care including ADD/ADHD, anxiety, and also focus, concentration, and grades in school.

Since the nerves collectively control and influence all bodily functions, removing nerve interference may result in improvement of many different health problems depending on the area of the spine and nervous system involved.  Improvement is commonly seen in conditions such as colic, constipation, ear infections, allergies, asthma, sinus infections, persistent bedwetting, stomach aches, “growing pains” in the legs or arms, headaches, back and neck pain, scoliosis, and abnormal gait among others.

What’s the best reason to have your kids under regular chiropractic care?

We believe that the best reason to do any health related activity is for wellness and prevention.  And it is easier to grow healthy children than to repair damaged adults.  Life is so much better when your children never seem to get sick or have health problems than when you are routinely going from appointment to appointment constantly treating the symptoms of ill health.

It is not unusual to hear parents state that since starting chiropractic care their children get sick less frequently and less severely, have less ear infections, and take less antibiotics and other drugs than their classmates.  Our vision is to use chiropractic today for a better world tomorrow.  Starting from birth, remove interference to the body’s inborn ability to heal itself and allow children to reach their health potential throughout their life. 

Want more information and the latest research on the benefits of chiropractic care for children?

Go to the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Website.  http://www.icpa4kids.com/