Chiropractic Care and Children

Chiropractic Care and Children

Seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis or a few times per year as part of your standard health maintenance routine can provide your body with many benefits including maintaining optimal spinal alignment, decreasing or eliminating back pain, and allowing the nervous system to function at its best.

Children and Spinal Adjustments

Spinal issues can begin with birth, believe it or not. The birthing process can be hard on a baby’s body, and certain fetal positions can make birthing even more stressful on the baby’s spine. As well, if other methods of birthing need to be utilized such as cesarean section or induction, these can cause problems. Some common baby health issues have been traced back to spinal misalignment, including things like:

  • Colic
  • Reflux
  • Allergies
  • Chronic infection
  • Difficulty breastfeeding
  • Headaches
  • Growing pains

Growth Stages

As your child grows, their body can experience stress throughout the growth process. Developing abilities such as holding up their head, sitting up, crawling, and walking are all affected by the way the spine is aligned, so it is recommended to have your growing child checked at these critical stages by your family chiropractor.

Because children have young limber bodies, unless they have been injured, treatment should only take a few sessions to bring the spine back into ideal alignment.

Signs of Spinal Issues

Unless your child is experiencing pain or has been injured, it can be difficult to tell whether their spine is misaligned. Common issues to look for include poor sleep patterns, restricted head movement, especially on one side, and misaligned shoulders.

Another common problem for slightly older children is chronic ear infections. Rather than giving your child antibiotics every time they have an earache, chiropractic care can stop muscles within the ear from spasming, thus allowing trapped fluid to drain away, and stopping infections altogether.

As they get older and become more physically active, especially while playing sports, certain injuries along with stresses caused by heavy school bags, can be healed more thoroughly and efficiently with chiropractic adjustments. If your child has been severely injured, it is important to consult your pediatrician first to get their opinion regarding when your child’s injuries will be healed sufficiently for safe chiropractic care.

Chiropractor for Your Child

It is ultimately up to you whether you think a chiropractor will be beneficial for your growing child. Chiropractors have been adjusting children for over 100 years with great success and safety, providing them with improved health and wellness. It is of course important to seek a chiropractor with training and experience treating children, as there are other, gentler, techniques they must know compared to the techniques used on adults.