Children And Chiropractic Caring for Northern Life families through Chiropractic near you.
March 4th, 2020
Children and Chiropractic
I have been a Chiropractor now since the year 1994. 26 years of serving adults & children with Family Chiropractic care. That said, for over 100 years parents have been taking their children for chiropractic care for various reasons. Chiropractic has been effectively treating numerous childhood ailments from asthma to scoliosis to attention deficit disorder to sports related injuries as well as other symptoms and conditions.
This article is not about the importance of chiropractic care for those types of disorders. It will be limited to the single topic; the benefit of the chiropractic adjustment for children and why every child should be checked.
Having cared for children for 21 years in clinical practice for illness like cholic, bed wetting, ADD/ADHD, scoliosis, IBS ( irritable bowel syndrome), neck & back pain are some of the situation I have seen children heal from. In the practice of Chiropractic it is our primary objective to detect Subluxation then correct the Subluxation restoring the messages of the brain to the body. Let me explain briefly why this is so crucial. Seeing A chiropractor near me is helpful to Burnsville family Chiropractic patients.
A child is born this can often result in trauma to the neck, they learn to walk falling, they learn to ride a bike and have falls, falls of the gym or playground, they play sports and have injuries they learn to drive a car and have accidents. This is how a subluxation is created. Through trauma and microtrauma. Once this occurs you now have the start of a disease process, silent & with no symptoms, progressive over time compressing the nervous system. Now what is the value of the brain and spinal cord? Simple-to send to cells tissue and organs the signals to make your heart beat, lungs to breath and digestive system to digest food. You never think about it, it just happens. So what if you only have 95%, 90% or 80% of those messages getting through. Are you healthy? Well if you believe that because you have no pain you’re healthy then you are sadly mistaken. You see health isn’t about if you hurt or don’t hurt it is all about optimal function and to have that you require 100% of the messages of the brain getting to your body telling it how to function ( work). A subluxation reduces these messages like a dimmer switch to a light reducing the electricity making the light duller.
CASE ONE:
A 12 y.o boy’s mother brings him in. He has had stomache pain mild to severe every day of his life that he can remember. We take an xray he has a moderate to severe scoliosis. Yes you have heard that word, but to me this is called a SUBLUXATION. This has affected the nerves in his lower back over time creating a disease process that manifested and worsened over time. He stated “ I cant recall ever not having stomache pain.” Imagine that your child. How much you love them, want them to be healthy. He had seen medical Doctors been given drugs and left on the heap that is labeled don’t know whats wrong. Like millions of americans thisprogresses then worsens then it is treated with steroids or worse yet surgery,
the safety of the adjustment has been the most asked question by parents and the answer has always been my personal clinical experience of "yes." As with medicine and any other healing discipline, the results have to be verified with science over time to prove that assertion to be true.
Miller and Benfield, in 2008 conducted a study of children younger than 3 years old to determine the adverse effects of chiropractic care in that age group, arguably the most susceptible to injury based upon the fragility of that age group. The study was based upon 5,242 chiropractic adjustments and the adverse reaction rate was found to be consistent in 1 out of every 1300 chiropractic adjustments. The only adverse reaction found was increased crying time and there were no (ZERO) serious complications resulting from chiropractic manipulation in this group of children of this age range.
The "Practical Application" reported by Miller and Benfield was that chiropractic adjustments were safe for young children and adolescents.
In clinical practice, having successfully cared for children with scoliosis, attention deficit disorders, hearing loss, bedwetting, ear infections, eczema, headaches, cerebral palsy, whiplash, low back pain, neck pain and many other conditions, I cannot recall one instance that a child had an adverse reaction. It is also of importance to note that approximately 100% of the patients had visited their pediatrician or other medical subspecialists prior to seeking chiropractic care as their "last alternative" to get help. These weren't patients who needed convincing on a philosophy or religious beliefs; they were desperate for help. This is not an indictment against medicine and pediatrics; it is an endorsement for having the right care available when the correct diagnosis is rendered. Often chiropractic should be the first choice and not the last, after expensive and sometimes, dangerous testing and treatment is performed.
These studies along with many others conclude that a drug-free approach of chiropractic care is one of the best solutions for parents seeking safe care for their children.
Burnsville Chiropractor treats children and has great results. Any questions please feel free to call our clinic and speak to our chiropractors. Make a Free Consultation and get a one on one with the chiropractors about any issues to may have with your child. 952-2249501
References:
Miller, J.E., Benfield k, (July 2008). Adverse Effects of Spinal Manipulative Therapy in Children Younger Than 3 Years: A Retrospective Study in a Chiropractic Teaching Clinic, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 31(6), 419-423.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Burnsville family Chiropractic office see’s many families and children for the benefits of chiropractic care for Children. We see the following:
- Ear infections
- Fever
- Immune system dysfunction
- Cholic
- Constipation
- Torticollis
Just to name a few.
Written by Jeanne Ohm, D.C.
Chiropractic care for children offers your family a solid foundation for wellness. Throughout pregnancy, birth, and childhood, the chiropractic lifestyle offers choices and benefits for your greater health and well-being. The following video and articles will help you understand the importance of the chiropractic family wellness lifestyle.
Children's Chiropractic Safety Research:
The ICPA has initiated a ground breaking study on the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care for children. The preliminary results are outstanding and show that chiropractic care is safe for children. Even more significant is that parents reported three unexpected improvements with their child's care:
1. Improved sleeping
2. Improved behavior and attitude
3. Improved immune system function
You can read the press release and abstracts here
Chiropractic Family Wellness in the News:
ADHD: This television interview on WBZ 38 Health Watch shows the benefits of chiropractic care in children with ADHD symptoms. Dr. Marty Rosen, ICPA Certification instructor for SOT.
Immunity: Author Katie Gilbert authored a great article, Immune Boost: This is a Spinal Zap covering how immune function is greatly improved with regular chiropractic care. it was published in Psychology Today.
Interesting to note was this paragraph on the flu:
"Chiropractic care was first linked to improved immunity during the deadly flu epidemic of 1917 and 1918. The funny thing was: Chiropractic patients fared better than the general population. This observation spurred a study of the field. The data reported that flu victims under chiropractic care had an estimated .25 percent death rate, a lot less than the normal rate of 5 percent among flu victims who did not receive chiropractic care." Read the entire article
Why Should Children Have Chiropractic Care?
Written by Jeanne Ohm, D.C.
More and more parents are seeking chiropractic care for their children. Many spinal problems seen in adults began as early as birth. Even so called “natural” birthing methods can stress an infant’s spine and developing nerve system. The resulting irritation to the nerve system caused by spinal and cranial misalignment can be the cause of many newborn health complaints. Colic, breathing problems, nursing difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergic reactions and chronic infections can often be traced to nerve system stress.
Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked right away. As the infant grows, learning to hold up the head, sit, crawl and walk are all activities that affect spinal alignment and are important times to have a child checked by a Doctor of Chiropractic.
As the child begins to participate in regular childhood activities like skating or riding a bike, small yet significant spinal misalignments (subluxations) may occur. If neglected, the injuries during this period of rapid growth may lead to more serious problems later in life. Subtle trauma throughout childhood will affect the future development of the spine leading to impaired nervous system function. Any interference to the vital nerve system will adversely affect the body’s ability to function at its best.
One of the most common reasons parents seek care for their child is trauma from an injury of some sort. These misalignments may or may not result in immediate pain or symptoms. Regular chiropractic checkups can identify potential spinal injury from these traumas, make the correction early in life and help avoid many of the health complaints seen later in adults. Proper spinal hygiene is an important key to better health. Another sought out reason for care is the resolution of a particular symptom or condition. Parents seek care for conditions such as colic, ear infections, asthma, allergies and headaches (to name a few) because they have heard from other parents that chiropractic care can help.
It is important to understand that the Doctor of Chiropractic does not treat conditions or diseases. The expertise of the chiropractor is in checking the child’s spine for mis-alignments that impair nerve system function therefore affecting overall body function. The bones of the spine, the vertebrae, house and protect the spinal cord. The spinal cord is an extension of the brain and carries information from the brain to the body parts and back to the brain again. Subluxations interfere with the nerves’ ability to transmit this vital information.
The nerve system controls and coordinates the function of all the systems in the body: circulatory, respiratory, digestive, hormonal, eliminative and immune system. Any aspect of health may be impaired by nerve interference. The chiropractic adjustment restores nerve system function allowing the body the ability to express a greater state of health and well-being.
The Doctor of Chiropractic will take a case history and perform a chiropractic exam to determine if spinal subluxations exist. Chiropractic adjusting procedures are modified to fit a child’s size, weight, and unique spinal condition. They are both gentle and specific to the child’s developing spinal structures. Most parents report that their children enjoy their chiropractic adjustments and look forward to subsequent visits. They also report that their children experience a greater level of health while under regular chiropractic care.
To enhance your child’s ability to function in a greater state of health, we can help you find a Doctor of Chiropractic near you who is dedicated to serving children with the utmost of care. Once your family has experienced the many benefits of chiropractic care—please help us tell others!
What Can Chiropractic Do for Your Child?
What Can Chiropractic Do for Your Child?
How Is Spinal Stress Caused?
Chiropractic’s purpose is to remove interferences to the natural healing power running through the body. When that power is unleashed the healing that results may be profound.
Today we find more parents bringing their children to chiropractors for day-to-day health concerns we’re all familiar with: colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, infections, pains, falls, stomach-aches, and the hundred and one little and big things children go through as they grow up.
Chiropractors Do Not Treat Disease
It’s most important to understand that chiropractic is not a treatment for disease. It’s purpose is to reduce spinal nerve stress, a serious and often painless condition most children (and adults) have in their bodies. Spinal nerve stress interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system, can weaken internal organs and organ systems, lower resistance, reduce healing potential and set the stage for sickness and disorders of all kinds.
When a chiropractor frees the nervous system from spinal stress, the healing power of the body is unleashed: the immune system functions more efficiently, resistance to disease increases, and your child’s body functions more efficiently. Your child can respond to internal and external environmental stresses such as germs, changes in temperature, humidity, toxins, pollen and all the other stresses he/she comes in contact with more efficiently.
So although children with diseases are often brought to the chiropractor, the chiropractor is not treating their diseases but is instead freeing them of spinal nerve stress, thus permitting their body’s natural healing potential to function at its best.
What Exactly Is Nerve Stress?
Spinal nerve stress (also referred to as vertebral subluxations, the subluxation complex, or “pinched nerves”) is a misalignment or distortion of the spinal column, skull, hips, and related tissues (the structural system) that irritate, stretch, impinge or otherwise interfere with the proper function of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves and outlying or peripheral nerves). Since the nervous system controls the function of the body, any interference to it can have wide-ranging effects.
Spinal nerve stress can be caused by physical, chemical and/or emotional stress. Physical stress may start in the womb, with the baby lying in a distorted or twisted manner. Spinal nerve stress in newborns is more common than previously realized. This may be caused by a traumatic or difficult birth which can introduce great stress to the infant’s skull, spinal column and pelvis. Throughout childhood, the normal childhood traumas every child experiences can be a source of spinal and cranial trauma. Most of the time, the pain from the initial injury “goes away” however the damage incurred continues to affect the future function of the child’s nerve system.
How Does the Chiropractor Reduce Spinal Nerve Stress?
This is accomplished first by analyzing the spinal column and related structures for balance and proper function. Where the spinal column is found to be functioning improperly, the Doctor of Chiropractic performs precise corrective procedures called spinal adjustments.
Using his/her hands and/or specialized instruments to gently and specifically correct those abnormal areas, the spine and cranium regain their intended state of balance and the nerve system is freed from stress.
It’s All About Function!
Today’s parents are more concerned than ever about the adverse effects drugs have on their children. Parents are increasingly asking, when handed a prescription for a child’s recurrent problem, “Is this really all I can do for my child? Is there a safer alternative?”
Parents are hesitant to merely mask symptoms with drugs and are worried about side effects. Their desire to achieve a state of true health—has led parents to seek health care options which support their children’s own natural ability to be healthy.
Chiropractic care is one such option. All children function better with 100% nerve function. All children deserve the right to express their fullest potential. Chiropractic care for children is safe, gentle and effective. It allows for the opportunity for maximum potential for well-being.
Questions Parents Frequently Ask About Children and Chiropractic
Why?
Children are as susceptible to trauma in their spines from various activities and events. These microtraumas can subluxate the vertebrae of the spine, placing pressure on their spinal nerves and therefore decreasing their bodies’ ability to function normally. Although symptoms, such as pain and malfunction may not show up for years, injury to their vital nervous system can have a lifetime of damaging effects.
When?
Children should be checked right after birth because of the potential damaging effects of the birth process. Even the most natural births are somewhat traumatic to the infant and may have “hidden damage.” Studies show that many children who experience symptoms of colic, ear infections and asthma have spinal subluxations impairing their nervous system function. Early detection and correction can prevent layers of damage from occurring in the child's vital nervous system. Accumulated damage will have lifelong consequences.
Does it Hurt?
Chiropractors specializing in children use very specific, gentle techniques to care for children. On the very young, the adjustment is as light as a finger touch. Doctors of Chiropractic who are members of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association have taken postgraduate classes on specific techniques for pregnant mothers, infants and children to enhance their skills in this field.
How?
Most of the members of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association offer complimentary consultations, giving parents the opportunity to meet them, find out about chiropractic for their families and discuss their individual needs.
The Safety of Chiropractic for Children: A Researchers Perspective
As chiropractic care for children continues to develop within our profession; organizations with questionable interests continue to attack its safety and efficacy with baseless facts and half-truths.
The Safety of Pediatric Chiropractic
A survey study examining the practice characteristics and pediatric care of chiropractors (1) in the Boston area estimated that approximately 420,000 pediatric chiropractic visits were made in the Boston metropolitan area alone for 1998. If extrapolated for the rest of the United States and Canada, the number of chiropractic visits to children in one year would be enormous numbering in several million visits. Given this high utilization rate of pediatric chiropractic services in the United States and Canada, statistics should indicate a great number of morbidity and mortality. On the contrary, there exists little evidence of harm to children from chiropractic.
In Perspective:
• It has been estimated that the annual cost of medication-related problems in the United States is approximately $84.6 billion (4,5)
• The human impact of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (i.e., aspirin)–related gastrointestinal deaths have been estimated at rates higher than that found from deaths due to cervical cancer, asthma or malignant melanoma (6)
• Medication errors and adverse drug events are three times higher in children and substantially higher still for neonates (7).
• The list could go on...
Chiropractic for Children is Here to Stay.
Millions of children and their families will continue to experience the benefits of this safe and efficacious form of healthcare called chiropractic. Chiropractic researchers are looking into the salutary effects of chiropractic care in children with subluxations and concomitant conditions like ADHD, asthma, colic and others. When two forms of healthcare meet at the crossroads of patient care, there will be controversy.
As a researcher, all I ask is an honest and open dialog about the issues at hand so that all are informed. When a medical doctor questions the chiropractic care for children and not the growing use of stimulants, antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs in children as young as 2-4 years of age (8), then their motives come into question. In future articles, I will discuss the efficacy and safety of Chiropractic care for children in topics from A-Z (i.e., from ADHD to the use of x-rays in chiropractic practice) based on the scientific literature for the benefit of the readers to be informed.
References
1. Lee AC, Li DH, Kemper KJ. Chiropractic care for children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2000;154:401-407.
2. www.cps.ca/english/index.htm
3. Hondras MA, Linde K, Jones AP. Manual therapy for asthma (Cochrane Review). Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2001;1:CD001002.
4. Johnson JA, Bootman JL. Drug-related morbidity and mortality. A cost-of-illness model. Arch Intern Med 1995;155:1949-1956.
5. Bates DW, Spell N, Cullen DJ, Burdick E, Laird N, Petersen LA, Small SD, Sweitzer BJ, Leape LL. The costs of adverse drug events in hospitalized patients. Adverse Drug Events Prevention Study Group. JAMA 1997;277:307-311.
6. Singh G.Gastrointestinal complications of prescription and over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: a view from the ARAMIS database. Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System.Am J Ther. 2000;7:115-121.
7. Kaushal R, Bates DW, Landrigan C, McKenna KJ, Clapp MD, Federico F, Goldmann DA. Medication errors and adverse drug events in pediatric inpatients. JAMA 2001;285:2114-2120.
8. Zito JM, Safer DJ, dosReis S, Gardner JF, Boles M, Lynch F.Trends in the prescribing of psychotropic medications to preschoolers. JAMA 2000;23:1025-1030.
Dr. Joel Alcantara has published widely in scientific journals and in the popular chiropractic media and has co-authored several chapters in various chiropractic textbooks.