Could Your Children Need Chiropractic Care?

Many of the common childhood ailments from earaches to colic are among the ailments chiropractors can successfully treat. Chiropractic treatment is not about "fixing" bones or "cracking backs," but is all about ensuring the nervous system is able to work properly. The nervous system connects every organ in the body to the spinal cord and then to the brain. By aligning the spine, chiropractors ensure the nervous system is able to function properly at all times.

Imagine that your nervous system is like a tap, a hose, and a sprinkler system. The tap represents the spinal cord and connection to the brain that controls organ function. The sprinkler (or the organ, such as the pancreas, liver, kidney, digestive system, etc) connects to the tap via the hose (which represents the nerves connecting the organ to the spinal cord. Now, imagine that you stop a car with the tires on the hose. Obviously, water will not be able to get to the sprinkler. You could go and buy a new sprinkler, but that won't solve the problem.

You really need to remove the blockage. When your children do not have correct spinal alignment, the spine could put pressure on some part of the nervous system, causing the brain to think that something is wrong with that particular organ, or disrupting the flow of communication between the organ and the brain.

Chiropractors can gently realign your children's bodies so that all the organs are in the proper place and can communicate through an undisrupted nervous system. You could be amazed at how healthy your children become by some simple chiropractic treatments.

Even babies can benefit from gentle chiropractic adjustments. Many babies suffer from colic, for example. Chiropractors can check that the baby has proper alignment and that nothing is getting in the way of the digestive tract, causing colic. A twisted pelvis is common in babies and this could cause colic, sleeplessness, and restlessness.

A developing child will endure many different physical stresses and problems in a child's spine can occur at any point in their growth.

A difficult position in the womb could cause mal-alignments or sublaxations in the spine as the baby develops in a small space. A long labour or interventions in the birth process, from the use of forceps, to a caesarian section, can add to a baby's spinal dysfunction. A simple chiropractic check up in the first few weeks of life could save your child from many problems later in life.

Children can suffer from subluxations as the spine and body grows. These could be natural mal-alignments or caused by repetitive actions, poor posture, or carrying heavy schoolbags. Chiropractic care offers gentle and natural (drug-free) treatments that can alleviate many of your child's problems.

As a parent, you can find it difficult to know if your child does need chiropractic care, especially as the twists or misalignments in the spinal column can be minute and difficult for anyone who is not an expert to spot. These common warning signs and symptoms in your children could relate to a misalignment in the spine or nervous system:

• Breastfeeding difficulties;


• Restricted head and neck movements to one side;


• One shoulder is higher than the other; and


• Common childhood disorders, such as recurrent ear infections, persistent sore throats, persistent colds, colic/ reflux, asthma, scoliosis, headaches, bedwetting, constipation, growing pains, and ADHD.

While medical advice is important, doctors, such as General Practitioners, will often treat the symptom (such as the pain of the ear infection) but leave the cause (a blockage in the related area of the nervous system) untreated. This can lead your child through a continual cycle of illness and sickness as the blockage causes recurrent ailments.

Chiropractic care and treatments for children differ to those used on adults as the chiropractor is aware of the needs of the growing body. Gentle manipulations, that feel as soft as a massage to the child or baby, can solve many common childhood ailments. Usually, chiropractors will limit spinal adjustments to a very light fingertip pressure for infants and young children. This minor amount of force will restore mobility to 'locked' spinal joints and will reduce the interference to the normal function of the nervous system.

Unless your child has an injury, chiropractic care of children is painless. Some very young infants may cry for a short time, due to the surprise of the movement adjustment, but the majority of parents report that children enjoy the spinal adjustments and look forward to the next visit.

Since a child's spine will respond faster than an adult's, especially where the adult has had misalignments or subluxations for many years, only a few chiropractic treatments may be necessary. This will depend on the extent of the problem, so your chiropractor will be able to advise you on the length and time of suggested treatments for your child.

Chiropractic care for children can help to prevent some of the common childhood ailments. Your child will find the treatments gentle and painless while you will be amazed at the health benefits that arise from a few trips to the chiropractor.