A common question Dr. Rob receives is whether or not spinal adjustments for children are beneficial or safe. It can be controversial because unfortunately many people, including even some health care professionals, are unaware of the documented benefits of chiropractic care for kids, how subtle and gentle pediatric adjustments are and the fact that someone doesn’t have to have a major injury or health issue to benefit from Chiropractic adjustments. For these reasons some may advise against it or think that chiropractic is only for adults. However, just like any other health care profession, pediatric chiropractic care requires specialized in depth training, including when and how to perform a spinal adjustment on infants, toddlers and children. As a parent, you always have a choice in the care your child receives and Dr. Rob wants to make sure you are making informed decisions. Pediatric chiropractic care has many documented benefits and is very safe. We’ll share some experiences and information below but if you’d like to dig in further we’d be glad to share more information personally or you can check out the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) website which is full of information. It can be found at www.icpa4kids.com.
Here are a few recent Grand Traverse Family Chiropractic experiences we have permission to share of how spinal adjustments in children have helped promote the body’s ability to heal in our pediatric patients.
Torticollis: A Pain in the Neck Resolved with Chiropractic Care
A five-year-old girl recently visited Grand Traverse Family Chiropractic after suddenly developing torticollis. Torticollis (latin for twisted neck) is the result of neck spasms, specifically the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which caused her head to be stuck and twisted towards her shoulder and tilted to the side. She could not physically bring her head to midline or look straight ahead. She had to twist her upper body and walk somewhat sideways to walk straight ahead. There was no obvious reason for the sudden onset of this condition, she came home from her time in her kindergarten class complaining of pain and tightness. Quick action from her parents allowed Dr. Rob to evaluate her and begin treatment the next morning. Examination revealed she had a significant misalignment and restriction of the joints in her upper neck, specifically C1 and C2, called the atlanto-axial joint. He adjusted her in a gentle and specific manner twice a day for the next two days to correct the misalignment and remove the nerve irritation at the root of the condition. The spasms gradually released, posture returned to normal and the pain subsided with each subsequent visit. She was back to normal - pain free and running again after just 48 hours of first beginning care. Many times this condition can require weeks of treatment to resolve, and treatment can include anything from physical therapy, bracing or even surgery in severe cases. So avoiding this through natural, conservative chiropractic care was great to see! While you can’t always predict sudden pain, especially when your kids are running, playing, and remain in constant motion but chiropractic can help them get back to normal quickly when it does happen.
Playground Wipeout: Five-Year-Old Adjusted After Falling from a Slide Ladder
Another patient, who also happened to be a five-year-old girl experienced a fall from the ladder of a slide on a Saturday and her mom brought her in to see Dr. Rob first thing Monday morning to get checked. Here is their experience.
“I brought in my five-year-old daughter one Monday for an adjustment. Over the weekend she had climbed the ladder on an older metal slide while at a friend’s house and slipped off about six feet in the air. She landed on her lower back and was clearly in pain, but thankfully she was mostly shocked from falling. She was checked for a concussion and seemed fine after a few hours of resting, taking it easy and a trip to Moomer’s. There were misalignments consistent with where she landed and we are so thankful for Dr. Rob’s immediate chiropractic adjustment and recommendation to return in a few days. She was good to go and with how hard she landed, a chiropractic adjustment was exactly what she needed in order for her body to heal so quickly.” - Elise C. from Traverse City
How else do we commonly see chiropractic care help the kids in our office? Check out the information below!
Spinal Adjustments to Prevent Sports Injuries in Children
We see many kids in the office, including some who are athletes. A sports injury could be a misstep away regardless of whether your child is just learning a new sport or working on advancing to the next level. Inevitably, sports bring stresses and strains and Dr. Rob often helps children overcome joint injuries, sprains, strains, whiplash (think football and hockey injuries) and pinched nerves. Misalignments of the spine hinder not only proper function and movement of the spine but, because of its close proximity to the spine, misalignments can also affect the central and peripheral nervous system from functioning properly. This affects performance on many levels, including reflexes, coordination, strength of muscular contractions and even organ function depending on what nerves are affected by the misalignment.
Wondering why your child is suddenly having an issue with balance, a decline in performance, or dealing with a nagging injury? Continuing to run, jump and catch with a misalignment can lead to an unnecessary sports injury. Better yet, want to keep a child athlete healthy and prevent injuries? A preventative adjustment or maintenance visit to keep the body moving and working properly can give them the best odds of injury prevention and peak performance! Visit Dr. Rob for evaluation and recommendations on how chiropractic care might be able to help and you will find direction and receive information like what is wrong, what can be done to help and what that will involve. Including anything from home care advice like ice, heat, stretching, exercises, nutrition, etc. and if chiropractic care can aid, the type of care and frequency to bring in your child for an adjustment.
Spinal Adjustments for Ear Infections, Colic, Reflux and more!
Who would of thought, right?!?! Good spinal alignment helps with ear infections for several reasons, one being it promotes proper function of the eustachian tube, the passageway that allows the ears to drain in to the back of the throat. The longer an ear holds fluid the more likely it is to develop an infection and the more likely the child may requires tubes. In many cases correcting misalignments in the upper neck results in relaxation of the musculature in the neck and throat allowing the ears to drain and in turn leads to a resolution of the recurrent infections. Colic is another common condition we see infants respond well to. Colic is complex and there are many factors that will be discussed, but many times chiropractic adjustments can help babies body’s relax and ease irritation of the nervous system that can cause discontent and fussiness. In the same way chiropractic can help in some cases of reflux because the pyloric sphincter that controls the opening and closing at the top of the stomach can function improperly when the mid-back region (just below the shoulder blades) is out of alignment causing dysfunction of the nerves that are located in that spinal region and control the pyloric sphincter.
Still Concerned or Have Questions about Chiropractic Care for Your Children?
Dr. Rob always welcomes questions and invites you to see it for yourself. As one parent mentioned, “I can’t believe I waited so long to start bringing in my child for an adjustment. Her entire countenance changed after getting adjusted. This was an incredible relief!” - Elise C.
Dr. Rob will take the time to evaluate your child and recommend the type of care and adjustments and explain why.
For more information about Grand Traverse Family Chiropractic please visit them on the web at www.grandtraversefamilychiro.com and “like” their Facebook page www.facebook.com/grandtraversefamilychiro .