But Babies Don’t Have Back Pain?
A question many new parents ask is whether they should take their baby to see a chiropractor. But babies don’t have back pain, do they? So why might a chiropractor help a baby? Well, the answer is straightforward. Chiropractors don’t see babies to help them with their back pain.
Spinal Function
They see babies to help improve spinal function to improve your child’s brain’s ability to process what’s happening in their body and give them the best possible start in life. But why might a baby have problems with how their spine functions?
Baby Position In The Womb
That’s another straightforward question to answer. Spending nine months growing in mom’s tummy can get cramped. Before the baby is even born, the pressure they’re under in a mum’s uterus can cause changes to the way their bones move and fuse or the shape of their skull. Three the strains baby faces during delivery, either as they pass through the birth canal or from forceps or other forms of assisted delivery, can cause injuries to baby’s spine or nervous system that doctors and parents may not even be aware of.4
The Research On Babies and Chiropractic
A study published in 2015 where researchers looked at 100 healthy newborn babies. The babies were tested for a variety of problems with the way their spine and the bones of their skull were moving. All of the babies they checked had a problem that chiropractic care could help. Over 90% of the babies had a problem with how their neck was moving and even more had a problem in their lower back. That was a fascinating finding because, maybe babies get back pain after all.
Labor and Delivery Research
The researchers in this study were also interested to see whether the duration of labor made a difference to how many problems the babies had with the way their spine and skull moved. They found that the more prolonged labor went on for, the more problems the babies had. These problems are all the things chiropractors and other manual therapists aim to help with when they check your baby.5 And may explain why research studies have suggested chiropractic care may help babies to cry less and maybe even sleep better.
Safety Record
Chiropractic is safe for babies and children when appropriately applied. So maybe it is a good idea to have your baby checked by a chiropractor, especially if they had a long or difficult birth. This will make sure they get the best possible start in life.
