Dr. Steve Prentice - Dec 01st, 2010
One of the best kept secrets in all of health care is the value of chiropractic care for children and infants.
For parents who have already been exposed to and have experienced chiropractic care for their kids it's a no brainer. For many parents however, chiropractic for kids is something that raises two primary questions.
First, why is chiropractic care for kids so important when they don't have back pain issues?
The key point to realize is that the core purpose of adjusting the spine is to affect the nervous system. Since the spine (and cranium) are in direction connection with and house the brain and spinal cord, it becomes obvious that abnormal function of the spine results in abnormal function of the nervous system.
When children experience spinal misalignments that interfere with their nervous system (called subluxations), they rarely present with back or neck pain. Children's nervous systems are so sensitive that they will often present with other types of symptoms when they are subluxated. Whether it be immune system weakness, digestive problems, sleep disturbances, irritability, ear infections, asthma, or other common childhood conditions, subluxations in newborns and children tends to result in symptoms other than obvious back and neck pain.
While chiropractic care is not a treatment for any specific condition, it has been well established that when subluxations are reduced in children, they tend to heal and function much better. Once the child's health has been improved from being under chiropractic care, the smartest thing a parent can do is to make a commitment to getting them checked on a regular basis regardless of whether illness is present.
The second primary question that comes up with regards to chiropractic and children is whether or not it's safe for kids to be adjusted.
This question arises usually because parents have never seen a child or newborn being adjusted. Some parents mistakenly picture a forceful thrust into the neck or spine of a newborn and wonder how in the world is that safe for the baby. In our office when we demonstrate to parents how little force it takes to make an adjustment on an infant they immediately realize that there is nothing to fear.
Adjusting a child is very different than adjusting an adult. Children require much less pressure and force than an adult and very often there is not even an audible during the adjustment (the familiar popping sound that accompanies some adjustments). The force can be so light that if the child is sleeping during the adjustment there is not even enough force to wake them up.
Earlier today in our office I was able to perform a complete cranial and neck adjustment on a 3 year-old boy while he was napping and he slept through the whole thing. It is also fairly typical for children in the same family to fight over who gets to be adjusted first. You can bet that wouldn't be the case if the adjustment was painful for the children!
Again, when parents are able to answer the two primary questions concerning chiropractic care for children it becomes an obvious choice. Keeping kids subluxation free through chiropractic care is a smart thing to do and is an essential part of keeping them healthy.
- Dr. Steve Prentice
[rss]