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For
your convenience we have listed some of the frequently asked
questions having to do with chiropractic care and children.
If your question is not asked or fully answered here, please send your question via email to: drpaul@kerkhoffchiropractic.com
Chiropractic care has an extensive clinical history of success in restoring health to children, often in the face of traditional medicine's failure to provide an effective remedy.
While chiropractic's efficacy in resolving instances of adult low back pain has been widely documented, little public attention has focused on the holistic aspect of care. The doctor of chiropractic seeks to restore optimal nervous system function, through the realignment of spinal vertebrae, thus affecting the entire performance of the body. Through an appreciation of the influence of the nervous system's ability to resist both bacterial and viral assaults on the body's defenses, it is possible to understand the positive influence that chiropractic can have on the overall health of the patient; adult and child alike.
In recent years, we have seen a growing grass roots movement towards seeking alternatives in health care options. Chiropractic is at the forefront of this quest, with the number of pediatric patients increasing every day. Despite the lack of public fanfare, parents are spreading the word to each other -- chiropractic is safe -- cost effective -- and it works.
Childhood health problems such as colic, earaches, bedwetting and asthma are just a few of the conditions for which chiropractors have often been able to find solutions. 1,2
While it is true that not all children's health problems are caused by the spine being out of alignment, there are also many instances where children's longstanding health problems have been corrected through chiropractic care.
Absolutely! Research into spinal trauma caused by the birth process has identified that at least 12 babies out of 100 will have subluxations in the upper cervical spine at birth.3 The cause of these subluxations is almost certainly the trauma of the birth process. One research group that studied this subluxation phenomenon examined a group of newborn babies that had difficulty sleeping and feeding or that had a head that turned or tilted to one side. Their research identified that 89 percent of these babies had spinal subluxations at the top of the neck.4 Since children suffer lots of trauma in the process of growing up it is recommended that they should regularly have their spines checked for the damaging and sometimes debilitating effects of these subluxations.
For many years, most people in the community have thought of chiropractors as low back pain doctors. Surprisingly, low back pain is not a common reason by children visit the chiropractor. The most common conditions for which children visit the chiropractor have little to do with spinal pain. Most childhood problems that frequently respond to chiropractic care are common conditions which may appear to have nothing to do with the spine. Some examples of such conditions are persistent earaches, colic, asthma, or bedwetting, which are just a few of the conditions that respond to chiropractic care. It is only by education in the new paradigm of health care that parents will become more aware of how chiropractic care can improve the health of their children.
If a vertebra is subluxated and remains that way for some time, the joint surfaces around that vertebra become to degenerate. First, by pressure on the synovial tissues lining the joint, the tissues become damaged and stop producing a substance known as synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is necessary for the smooth, gliding movement of the joint. Next, because one of the functions of synovial tissue is to insulate one bone from another, the bones which come together to make the joints can become damaged, leading to a form of arthritis known as osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease. After many years, this condition may lead to permanently painful spinal deformities.
Absolutely safe. Of all the forms of children's health care, chiropractic is one of the safest. It's painless and safe, and it may make the difference between a child being healthy and being regularly sick.
Virtually none. Chiropractors have been adjusting children for over 100 years without any incident which has harmed even one child. A survey of malpractice insurers revealed not one claim filed against a chiropractor in the past twenty years, for harming a child with a spinal adjustment.5 This is a record that the chiropractic profession is very proud of and one that should give concerned parents comfort in making the decision to choose chiropractic care. Chiropractic care for children is safer than going to the dentist and certainly a lot less painful.
The normal functions or physiology of the body are all controlled by the nervous system. When the bones of the spine, i.e. the vertebra, are out of alignment this can cause interference with the nervous system which can affect the way the body functions. For example, tight muscles in the neck, caused by malfunctioning spinal nerves, can block the flow of fluid from the middle ear through the lymph system, resulting in persistent earaches.
A subluxation which goes uncorrected for many years can cause health problems and serious degeneration to the spinal structures. Many times when chiropractors are examining adult patient's spines, they find that the condition which is causing the patient's pain is associated with spinal degeneration which could have been prevented, if the subluxation had been removed many years earlier.
Recognizing vertebral subluxations in a child's spine is not an easy task for parents and usually requires a skillful evaluation by a chiropractor. There are some indications however, which should make a parent suspicious that a child has a spinal problem. A child who complains of back pain or neck pain, of course, should always be checked. If a spinal curvature, such as scoliosis, is becoming apparent in a child or teenager then that should be checked as soon as possible. Other conditions may not always be so obvious. Chronic, recurrent earaches in children very frequently resolve after a short course by a spinal adjustments. Headaches in children frequently can be caused by a spinal problem. Of course if the cause of the headache is something more serious, the chiropractor is well trained to recognize this.
Sometimes it is necessary to have a child's spine x-rayed. X-rays, more correctly called radiographs, are most commonly taken to identify if there are any reasons why the spine should not be adjusted. An extensive part of the training of a doctor of chiropractic is the ability not only to interpret radiographs, but more importantly to recognize when they are needed to help identify the condition of a child's spine. In those instances when radiographs are necessary, the doctor of chiropractic will carefully examine the films for signs of degeneration, diseases of the bones and soft tissues, abnormal development of the structures of the spine, for the effects of trauma, such as fractured bones or dislocated joints, and then for subluxations.
The Above questions are from the Pediatrics Compendium: Chiropractic Pediatrics and Philosophy, Dr. Peter Fysh. The Palmer Institute for Professional Advancement.
1. Klougart N and Nilsson N. Infantile Colic Treated by Chiropractors: A Prospective Study of 316 cases. JMPT 1989; 12(4):281-288.
2. Fallon, JM. The role of the chiropractic adjustment in the care and treatment of 332 children with otitis media. J Clin Chiro Peds, 1997;2(2):167-183.
3. Biedermann, H. Kinematic imbalances due to suboccipital strain in newborns. J. Manual Med (1992) 6:151-6.
4. Seifert I. Blocked Atlantal Nerve Syndrome in Newborn Infants. Rehabilitacia (Suppl) 1975;10:53-57.
5. Fysh PN. Is it safe to adjust a child's spine? Dynamic Chiropractic. 1994, Sept 1; 12(18).