Wellness isn’t just for adults. There is a growing body of evidence that strongly supports incorporating regular chiropractic care for kids as opposed to relegating it solely to instances of a spinal deformity or other physical disorders that could be corrected with spinal adjustments. The very nature of physical childhood growth makes spinal health a priority.
First, treatments and adjustments are completely safe. Mature adult spines are robust and can handle—and benefit from—more vigorous adjustments. Not so with children’s spines, which are still maturing and delicate. As a result, chiropractors are trained to treat children with painless fingertip spinal adjustment techniques that are designed to be particularly gentle and require much less pressure. Children’s spines are more malleable so a little goes a long way. That’s also why kids tend to respond well to spinal adjustment and it often takes just a couple adjustments to get their backs healthfully aligned. More importantly, taking children for regular chiropractic adjustments can help identify spinal issues like scoliosis early before they become painful or cause deformity.
One doesn’t usually think of kids when discussing back pain but kids are hard on their bodies. From the time they take their first steps, a child’s life is filled with falls as they learn to walk, run, play sports, climb trees, and explore the world around them. Any of these activities can cause spinal issues. Even babies can have misaligned spines from how they were positioned in the womb. Plus think about the stress put on a baby’s back during the birthing process.
Car seats and seat belts protect kids from serious injuries but being jostled by a sudden stop can still cause trauma to the cervical spine. Just as adults should see a chiropractor after a fender bender, so should any child who is in the car. Remember the rule of thumb: if the impact was severe enough to cause any body damage to your car, then it was severe enough to possible cause whiplash or other soft tissue damage so get your child checked out immediately.
There is also a connection between frequent ear infections and chiropractic issues. If the upper cervical vertebrae are misaligned, they can press against the eustation tubes and prevent them from draining properly, which in turn can lead to ongoing ear infections. Chiropractic adjustments to the cervical area relax the neck and throat muscles, allow proper draining, and remove the cause of the ear infections.
Gentle adjustments to the middle and lower back have been proven to treat colic because it relaxes the abdominal wall. Chiropractors can also show parents how to properly massage their baby’s abdomen to aid digestion.
Taking a bigger picture view, starting chiropractic care as a child helps instill a wellness mindset that hopefully becomes a lifelong habit.
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