For over 100 years, chiropractors have been caring for children with safe, natural health care. Chiropractic care centers around the important relationship between the spine and the nervous system, and one of the most basic ideas is that spinal dysfunction can have a wide range of effects on a child’s health. Even the most natural of childbirth experiences can stress an infant’s spine and their developing nervous system. Many common health ailments such as colic, respiratory problems, difficulties in nursing, sleep disturbances, behavioral issues, allergy reactions and chronic infections can often be interlinked with stress on the nervous system, also known as a subluxation. Both children and adults can experience spinal subluxations. Infants and children can be subluxated from birth trauma, as well as other minor or major traumas, and developmental stressors.
Cultivating Health
Subluxations, or spinal misalignments, prevent proper communication of your child’s brain to their body. Even if your child is in excellent health, minor traumas that result from normal bumps, bruises, and spills accumulate over time, which can cause discomfort and pain in their teen and/or adult years. We teach our children to brush their teeth to prevent a build-up of stress that can possibly cause degeneration. Spinal care teach similar principles.During the first few years of a child’s life, they will experience rapid development and constant adaptation. When stress overwhelms the body’s ability to integrate or adapt to life, the nervous system stores that stress, which compromises the body’s structure and function.
However, when the nervous system stress is released, the healing power of the body is unleashed:
- Immune system functions are more efficient
- Resistance to disease increases
- Your child’s body functions closer to optimal.
Your child may more efficiently respond to environmental stresses such as germs, toxins, pollen and all the other stresses he/she experiences. Getting gentle specific chiropractic adjustments on a regular basis may also provide greater clarity of mind, making it easier for your child to stay focused, to pay attention in class, and to learn and concentrate.
Chiropractic care helps kids connect to their power within, supporting not only a healthy body and mind, but also healthy self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-awareness. During the first five years of life, the brain creates more neural pathways than at any other time in life. Optimizing this neural pathway production early in life is very important to each child’s potential.
IS CHIROPRACTIC CARE SAFE AND COMFORTABLE FOR MY CHILD?
Chiropractic care is safe for patients of all ages, including children. After an assessment of your child’s spine, we perform gentle chiropractic adjustments to remove subluxations and nervous system stress. We modify chiropractic techniques to fit a child’s size, weight, and unique spine. Adjustments are both gentle and specific to the child’s developing spine and nerve system, as well. The adjustments have the same pressure that you would use to test the ripeness of a tomato at the grocery store.
There are volumes of case studies demonstrating that children enjoy better sleep, improved behavior and attitudes, and better immune system function from their chiropractic adjustments, and look forward to their next visit. Research indicates possible improvements in conditions such as ADD/ADHD, colic, torticollis, ear infections, bed-wetting, allergies, asthma, digestive problems, and more.
HOW CAN I TELL IF MY CHILD NEEDS CHIROPRACTIC CARE?
Unless there is an obvious problem, it’s not always easy to tell when a child’s spine is not working correctly. Some of the indicators of spinal dysfunction are
- Disturbed sleep
- Restricted head/neck movement to one or both sides
- One shoulder higher than the other
A common reason for parents to seek chiropractic care for their children is physical trauma from an injury. Misalignments that occur in the spine due to injury do not necessarily always result in immediate pain or other symptoms. In addition to trauma, injury, and physical stress, parents should be aware that emotional stress affects children’s nervous systems. New research in psychoneuroimmunology demonstrates the inter-functioning of nervous and immune systems.
Regular chiropractic care can help identify subluxations, and chiropractic adjustments may help to enhance your child’s function and well-being. Call us today to request a free consult. We can assess your child’s health, make a chiropractic plan of care, and help your child’s body function more efficiently!
