By: Dr. Emil Tompkins, A Chiropractor in Tucson, AZ with a passion for kids health and wellness.
Chiropractors help children with lots of health conditions.
Every Year Chiropractors help children become healthier. In our office, we are blessed to be able to take care of children with many different health conditions. Still, I’m often asked by young parents, “Why would my child need to be adjusted? Her back doesn’t hurt” Its at that point, I realize that I didn’t do a great job of explaining the real purpose of chiropractic care. So I’m going to give it a shot here. Then tell you 10 really important reasons to take your child to the Chiropractor.
Background: Our children’s bodies are created to be healthy. Every day, millions of cells, tissues and organs are communicating together without us thinking about it. they help our heart beat, our lungs breathe, our digestive system function. These things happen without us ever needing to think about it.
There’s one part of the body that controls these functions and that’s the brain. The brain sends messages down the spinal cord out to all the nerves of the body to communicate with our body’s cells, tissues and organs. When that neural pathway is functioning normally, our body can be healthy, when that pathway isn’t functioning normally, we will experience negative consequences in our health. That can be seen as pain, or any bodily function can be impaired. This can happen in your children.
So, knowing that, here are 10 reasons to take your child to the Chiropractor.
- Traumatic Birth process: You don’t need me to tell you that the birth process is traumatic for mom and baby. The forces on the mothers pelvis and on the infant’s sub-occipital area (upper part of the neck) will cause imbalances in
How early was your child adjusted by a Chiropractor?
the upper cervical spine. This can lead to neurological problems later in life. Chiropractic adjustments will improve the neural function of that area, leading to better health and well being.
- Ear infections: The most common reason (besides wellness care) parents bring their babies to chiropractor. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend antibiotics for ear infections. A natural course of action is ideal. For some babies, the tensor veli palatini is a muscle that opens and closes the eustacian tubes. Nerves that travel out of the upper spine feed the tensor veli palatini and allow it to open and close. When there is a problem in that nerve, the tubes may not stay open allowing fluid to build up and raise your child’s likelihood to have an infection. Chiropractic adjustments cause those nerves to function better. The eustacian tubes open and allow the ears to drain. Thus, decreasing the chances of infections and sometimes helping those ear infections to resolve.
- Colic: It seems that in our office, the most common reason parents bring their infants is for colic. The inconsolable crying for hours at a time can leave parents frustrated and helpless. Add that to an incredible lack of sleep. Colic is a serious threat to a peaceful family dynamic. Many times, even after one adjustment, parents report that their children are sleeping easier. Colic is related to GI problems. Nerves that travel out of the lower thoracic spine which are known to affect the GI tract are sometimes where a chiropractor will focus. One of the first things that parents notices after chiropractic adjustments is that their children sleep better, without crying almost immediately
- Torticollis: (imbalanced appearance of the head) After birth, you may notice that the baby’s head appears turned more often to one side or another. This can affect feeding, sleeping, and if it lasts, can have a lasting affect on the function of the neck and everything else neurological affected by it. Sub-occipital Strain (caused by pulling the baby out by the head during delivery. Must be corrected if the torticollis is going to improve completely. Chiropractic adjustments are going to help reduce and correct the sub-occipital strain. Over time, that turning of the head will improve.
- Epilepsy: Chiropractic care has been well documented to help children with epilepsy. There are many types of epilepsy and the causes are numerous. However, if the seizures are in any way related to tension on the nervous system. In our office, we have seen children’s seizures decrease by 75%. There are studies that have shown seizures to completely resolve in some children. Goodman R., Mosby J. Chiropractic: J of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. Jul 1990, Vol 6(2) pp.43-46.
Stay tuned for reason 6 through 10 later this week.
Dr. Emil Tompkins
