Chiropractic care also has its own specialized branch. Therefore, it is possible for children to receive chiropractic adjustments when they suffer from any dysfunction on the neck, back, or spine. Since young children or toddlers’ bodies are different from that of an adult, it is important to take on a specialized approach for them.

Chiropractic in Infants or Toddlers

Many infants or babies suffer trauma during their birth process. Therefore, parents must pay close attention to any misalignment on their neck or spine. Since they are unable to speak about how they feel or any pain they’re suffering from, study them when they are seated.
If they are constantly looking at the same direction, then it could mean that the neck’s vertebrae is fixated or “subluxated” meaning there is a functional lack of motion in the spine. This could ultimately lead to an irritation or sore, hence adjustments need to be done to provide relief for the baby. Aside from reducing the amount of discomfort that the baby suffers from, it also allow a wider range of motion in their neck area. Since the stability of a baby’s spine is crucial in their development, chiropractic adjustments are therefore necessary in establishing a normal pattern of motion.

Chiropractic in Kids/Children

In cases of older children, their engagement in sports or active routine could expose them to problems in their spine, neck, or back pain. Hence, it is no longer uncommon these days to find children being treated with chiropractic care. In other cases, those who suffer from migraine can be treated by conducting adjustments on the vertebrae to eliminate the frequency or reduce the amount of discomfort caused by the migraine. *Not sure where migraine entered into the sports discussion. All of these factors could contribute to the formation of any misalignment on your child’s body.

Symptoms: Knowing When Your  Child Needs Chiropractic Care

Unless it has reached a crucial stage or has become quite obvious, spinal problems in children are often difficult to identify. And yet, early detection from parents is crucial in order to ensure that your child is provided the medical care it needs to normalize bodily functions and free them of any discomfort associated with the condition. Below are common symptoms that could indicate a spinal dysfunction in your child:

• abnormal sleeping patterns
• misaligned shoulders
• limited mobility of the head or neck
• recurrence of ear infection
• scoliosis
• constant headaches
• bedwetting
• persistent colds
• for infants, difficulties in breastfeeding

A common cause for parents to seek chiropractic care for their young children is due to trauma suffered from an injury. When a child suffers from any physical injury, it could cause a misalignment on the spine. In some cases, no pain or pain or symptoms are experienced right away but the problem is internal and it does not often manifest itself right away.

Is It Safe?

As already mentioned, there is a specialized branch of chiropractic care that is intended for children or babies. As opposed to the swift and firm application of force on pressure points when using chiropractic to treat adults, a much gentler approach is done on children. As with adults too, children can undergo a painless procedure of chiropractic treatment.

A children chiropractor would begin with an assessment of a child’s health condition by asking the parent a series of questions. Or if the child is old enough, the doctor asks them for any specific complaints.

Following chiropractic treatment, children respond to the treatment much faster than most adults do. In fact, most only require a few sessions until the normal functions of the affected part are restored.

Chiropractic Care Takes on Medicine for Acute Lower Back Pain

Acute lower back pain patients demonstrate significantly greater improvement with chiropractic than with “usual care”. with the publication of the Chiropractic Hospital-based Interventions Research Outcomes Study in the Spine Journal, one of the most frequently sited spine journals in the world, the health care community may finally appreciate what the chiropractic profession has been saying all along. Patients with acute lower back pain enjoy significant improvement with chiropractic care and little to no improvement with the care they receive from a family physician. Published in the December issue of Spine, the study found that after 16 weeks of care, patients who saw medical doctors saw almost no improvement in their disability scores, were still taking drugs and saw no added benefit with added physical therapy. It was also unlikely that they were referred to a Doctor of Chiropractic.

The study utilized the Chiropractic research framework to “examine the effectiveness of current evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines recommended for patients with acute mechanical lower back pain. This study was compared to the usual care provided by family physicians. After 16 weeks, 78% of patients in the usual care group were still taking narcotic analgesics medications on either a daily or as needed basis. Only 6% of this group had received chiropractic care. Patients assigned to the usual care group were referred back to their family physician who was simply “advised to treat at their own discretion”. Patients in this group received treatment from a variety of professionals including family physicians, massage therapists, kinesiologists, and/or physical therapists.

The primary outcome measure was the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire. This questionnaire was administered at 16 weeks (when lower back pain is considered to become chronic) and also at eight and 24 weeks. While the difference was not significant at 8 weeks it was found to be clearly significant at 24 weeks of follow up. Both groups showed improvement in general bodily pain and physical functioning, but the patients in the usual care group showed no significant improvement whatsoever in the lower back pain functioning (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire).

A 2007 study that derided the efficacy of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy was found that the report based its conclusion on outcomes of therapies performed by non-chiropractors. Although current spinal-manipulative therapy is administered by other health professionals including osteopaths, orthopedic surgeons, family physicians, kinesiologists, naturopaths and physiotherapists, the level of training and clinical acumen vary widely.