More and more parents are adding chiropractic care to their family’s health and wellness routine. The importance for infants and kids to receive chiropractic care is paramount not only for their growing bodies but making sure their entire body is functioning at 100% through maintaining proper nervous system control. Many parents mistakenly think I use the same techniques on children as I do on adults. Chiropractic care is ‘tailored’ to the individual and their particular spine, and children are no exception. We offer specific, gentle adjustments appropriate to the infant and child’s spine and cranium.
Similar to the initial exam for adults, the first thing I will do is conduct a thorough history of your child’s health and if there are any complaints. This is followed by a complete physical examination of the child’s spine. Most chiropractors are trained to evaluate pediatric spinal problems, and will use gentle, specific skills to find and adjust any involved spinal areas.
Spinal adjustments for infants and young children involve very light fingertip pressure to correct spinal misalignments. This amount of “force” is often not more than a finger touch. This is usually sufficient to restore mobility to spinal joints which have become locked and are causing interference to the normal nervous system function. Other techniques involve the use of hand-held instruments which offer specific and gentle correction.
Unless a child has an obvious problem it can be difficult for a parent to recognize when a child’s spine is not working correctly. There are some signs which can indicate spinal problems. These include:
- disturbed sleeping patterns
- breastfeeding difficulties in the very young
- restricted head or neck movement to one side
- low apgar scores
- chronic reoccurring colds or sore throats
- colic
- asthma
- chronic reoccurring otitis media
- one shoulder higher than the other
