Pre-Teens & Teens
your Pre-Teen and Teen gets involved in sports activities, increased sitting in the classroom and rapid growth, spinal checkups are vital to maintaining a healthy spine and nervous system.
Posture can be an indicator of spinal problems. Lateral curvature of the spine, also called scoliosis usually starts in the middle school years. Early detection with appropriate chiropractic care can make a big difference in the growing spine of a teenager.
During the teenage years your child will experience the last major period of physical development. The “growth plates,” which up to this point have allowed the bones to grow to adult size, will slowly disappear. This is an important time to check for deformities or imbalances. As your adolescent matures, improve his or her chances of a healthy future.
Signs of possible scoliosis or spinal misalignment:
- One shoulder looks higher
- Shoulder blades flared out
- One side of the rib cage looks bigger
- One arm looks longer
Signs of spinal misalignment are:
- Neck tilt
- Joint pain and aching, growing pains
- One leg looks shorter
- One hip higher than the other
Infants
Many adults are well aware of the value of chiropractic care. The questions arise when considering chiropractic care for infants. Why would an infant need a spinal adjustment? My baby doesn’t have back pain?
Let’s face it… The birth process can be very strenuous on the baby. The uterus is a very strong muscle. There are pushing and possibly pulling forces that strain the delicate head, neck and spine of a newborn. Suction extraction, forceps and Cesarean section delivery can all cause increased stress on the baby. Breech or transverse presentation can increase the likelihood of a medical intervention. Even “natural” birthing methods can lead to small spinal mis-alignments… Babies can be very slippery when they arrive.
These slight mis-alignments of your baby’s spine can interfere with the nerve signals between the brain and the body. The brain is constantly coordinating the functions of the body and the body is returning information to the brain as to how it is functioning.
Infants receive a very different adjustment from that of an adult. Have you ever gently held and pressed a tomato to see if it is ripe? That’s the same pressure for an infant spinal adjustment. It is very soft and can make a big difference.
Colic
Your tummy hurts. You can’t sleep and you’re cranky. One more thing… you are only two weeks old so you can’t ask for help! So you cry. And cry.
And your parents feel helpless.
Is it Indigestion?
Infantile colic was thought to be merely indestion. The most widely accepted definition of colic today is “unexplainable and uncontrollable crying” in babies from 0 to 3 months old, more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for 3 weeks or more, usually in the afternoon or evening hours.
Birth Trauma
If a baby is inconsolable, it’s hard to know exactly what is the cause. It is generally accepted to be a digestive disturbance. Consider another explanation. Upon examination, we often find spinal distortions in the baby’s upper cervical spine. These babies may also be suffering from from head and neck pain. This can be common, especially after a difficult birth.
A 67% Reduction in Crying
The results of a randomized controlled trial published in the October 1999 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics tracked a small group of 50 infants. Half received the drug dimethicone and the other half received spinal manipulation. At the conclusion of the two week study, the babies being adjusted saw a 67% reduction in crying and the drug therapy group saw a 38% reduction.
A Need for More Research
While large scale research results are lacking, and colic is considered a condition that resolves on its own with the passage of time, there are many case studies showing improvement, sometimes dramatic, amoung colicky babies with vertebral subluxations.
Not a Cure
Chiropractic is not a treatment for colic! If vertebral subluxation is present, and thus interfering with the proper functioning of any part of the body, restoring proper nervous system control often is helpful. This may happen regardless of age and regardless of what the particular symptoms are called.
Find Out More
Consult our practice for a no-obligation consultation. Take action now and set up an appointment. Call our office and put an end to the frustration and helplessness so many new parents feel.