Pediatric
Chiropractic care truly is for anyone with a spine, and children are no different. In fact, chiropractic care from birth throughout life can be extremely beneficial. Children are always running around, playing outside, rough-housing, playing sports, and taking a tumble every time we turn around. All these activities impart physical stressors and traumas on the spine. Sometimes these traumas result in a noticeable injury and sometimes they are minor and we say "children are durable" or "they're ok". However, these minor traumas add up over time and can lead to spinal misalignments (read about us for more info). Newborns, on the other hand, don't necessarily encounter these specific traumas; however, birth is a traumatic experience itself and newborn's can benefit from chiropractic care as well.
It is true that children are very resilient but it is beneficial to have children checked regularly for spinal misalignment due to the many aspects of life in which they can become misaligned. Chiropractic care can benefit children through improving the immune system, improve allergies and asthma, improve athletic performance, enhance the mood, and many other benefits other than decreasing pain or helping to recover from a fall or injury. This is in addition to all the structural improvements that we see with spinal alignment for physical performance and activity.
As for newborn's, chiropractic care can help with issues such as colic, sleeping issues, improve digestion, bowel movement issues, feeding issues, and improve immune system function. During a vaginal birth, the newborn is pushed out through the birth canal and this tight space alone, even if the birth is natural, can still be a stress on the newborn's spine which could lead to misalignments. In addition, if the birth is vaginal but the newborn has to have help through any pulling or maneuvering, this can increase stress on the spine and nervous system. It's the same idea as pulling vs. pushing an object through a smaller opening, pulling inherently applies a different stress to the object being pulled. Lastly, if the birth is a C-section, it is more similar to a pulling stress on the newborn's spine and nervous system with the added stress of a procedure involved on mom and baby. Having your newborn's spine checked can help improve all aspect's of life.
Chiropractic care for children and newborns is much different than normal adults and even different than expecting moms; it is very gentle and safe. In fact, the amount of pressure you can comfortably hold with a finger on your closed eye, is as much as it takes to perform a gentle adjustment on your newborn to ensure that the spine is properly aligned. Finally, the ICPA is an organization that focuses on prenatal and pediatric care and has wonderful information for you to read and learn more. Make an appointment today to learn more about the specifics of pediatric chiropractic care in our office!