As a chiropractor, we constantly get asked the question, "Why should parents take their children to a chiropractor?" The answer is simple. Children also have spines and a nervous system and we want to make sure they are taking good care of it, especially during the early years of development. Chiropractic care is an essential part of your child’s overall wellness. While it may seem that children do not need chiropractic care at a young age, starting them with preventative care early on in life will set them up for a lifetime of health and well-being.
Your Child’s Nervous System – It Controls Everything
The nervous system, which consists of your brain, spinal cord, and nerves, controls everything in the body, including growth and development. Subluxations, also known as misalignments, in the spine can prevent proper communication from the brain to the body. These subluxations cause stress to the nervous system, which can lead to a decrease in function of the affected area. A disruption in the communication between the two can result in a variety of issues for young children, such as constipation, colic, bed wetting, ear infections, torticollis, fussiness, trouble sleeping, reflux and so on.
Infants, children, and adults can all experience subluxations in the spine. Infants and children can become subluxated as a result of birth trauma, other minor or major traumas, and developmental stress. During the first five years of life, the body produces more neural pathways than at any other time. It is vital that this production is optimized through chiropractic care, as the first few years are crucial to each child’s potential. The integrity and function of the nervous system is very important for proper growth and development, especially for children. So, it is very important that the spine, which protects the nervous system, is moving properly and in proper alignment. If the spine is misaligned it will cause a “blown fuse” and lead to many health issues.
Even if your child is in excellent health, minor traumas from bumps, bruises, falls and spills accumulate over time and can result in pain, discomfort and/oother health issues in their teen and adult years. Our focus is on allowing the nervous system to function without interference or to remove the subluxation. The idea is that by being proactive with children and allowing their spine and nervous system to grow properly early on, will prevent issues and the need to correct spinal misalignments later on in life.
How Do Children get Subluxations?
Children unfortunately are over stressed much more than ever before. The trauma that they encounter at an early age or even before they are born such as intrauterine constraints, birth trauma, malpositioning (breech), c-section, birth intervention (forceps/vacuum suction) and even falls are enough force to shift the spine out of alignment. Furthermore, a child that encounters chemical stress (vaccines, antibiotics, medication, diet) and emotional stress (fear) will also cause a protective (fight/flight) response or tension within the musculature that supports the spine. These tense muscles can also misalign the spine and cause Subluxation. Bottom line: When a child has been through trauma and the spine becomes misaligned and subluxated it needs to be corrected with safe and effective chiropractic adjustments.
The Adjustment
The chiropractic adjustment is safe for patients of all ages, including newborns. After an assessment of your child’s spine, the chiropractor will perform a gentle adjustment using either his or her hands or a small tool called the activator. This adjustment, alongside the use of chiropractic therapies, serves to remove the subluxation.
Commonly Seen Improvements
Over the years, chiropractic doctors have received feedback about the benefits of kids and chiropractic from parents and young patients reporting significant or unexpected improvements in:
· Sleep
· Behavior and attitude
· Immune system function
Additional symptoms and conditions patients have reported improvement on include ADD/ADHD, colic, torticollis, ear infections, bed-wetting, digestive problems, allergies, asthma, seizures and more.
Top 5 Reasons To Take Your Child To A Chiropractor:
- To promote proper growth and development and to limit health challenges such as issues with nursing and reflux.
- To allow a child’s nervous system and spine to grow optimally and without interference. To reduce ear infections, bed wetting, asthma, and allergies.
- To improve a child’s immune system and digestive health and to limit colic and constipation.
- To encourage nerve and brain development (neural plasticity). To promote proper perception and awareness preventing labels such as ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder, and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
- To be proactive about your child’s overall health and wellbeing which will limit and support them through colds and infections and allow them to meet their optimal potential.
Safe and Effective
There are many reasons why parents decide to explore chiropractic care as a method of treatment for their child’s symptoms. Whatever the reason is that brings you through our doors, we can confidently say that chiropractic care for children has been proven to be safe and effective.
The health and happiness of your child is the most important thing. Chiropractic care has been proven to be safe and effective at improving the wellbeing and happiness of children. Just start talking to other mothers and families that have seen the benefits of chiropractic care. The positive results are endless. Chiropractic care along with proper lifestyle choices are the foundation for proper growth, development, health, and happiness. To learn more about how chiropractic care can support you or your children in your journey to wellness, call our office at (563) 359-5600 and our friendly staff will be happy to assist you. Also check out these websites for more information on chiropractic care for children.
http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/Chiropractic-Testimonials/
http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/chiropractic-and-the-neuroimmune-connection.html