Chiropractic care for children and adolescents is on the rise, and with good reason. Considering the rising occurrences of childhood diabetes, ADHD, cancers etc., finding successful avenues to combat health issues is paramount. Chiropractors and parents have long known the benefits of chiropractic for babies with chronic ear infections and colic, among other ailments. As well as the healthy benefits of adults under chiropractic care. It stands to reason that chiropractic care for children and teens is a great avenue to keeping a healthy immune system. A healthy spine provides proper nerve flow to keep organs healthy, and healthy organs run a healthy immune system and immune response.
One of the more common reason that parents bring their children to the chiropractor is for treatment of chronic ear infections. (The other common treatment for ear infections, of course, is antibiotics.) Another common reason that parent bring their children to the chiropractor is for the treatment of headaches. (The other common treatment for headaches is over the counter pain relievers and prescriptions pain relievers. Both have side effects, and pain management becomes particularly difficult when needed for long term to manage pain.) We have seen much success with both these issues for the children and teens under chiropractic care in our office. Again, a healthy spine provides proper nerve flow to keep organs healthy. It makes sense that when someone’s nervous system is performing at it’s peek, that their overall health will benefit. Another reason many of our younger patients come to us for sports related injuries. Often, undue stress is placed on these developing bodies, creating spinal misalignments. Without treatment, these stresses can lead to significant injury and even lifelong issues.
Children should have their spines checked for scoliosis by a Doctor of Chiropractic before the age of 12. The earlier that scoliosis is detected, the better the success rate for correction. Doctors of Chiropractic are specifically educated to evaluate the spine and correct deviations, whereas other medical professionals are educated in treatment of disease.
When a child faces more difficult, even life threatening issues, it is important to support their organs and immune system as much as possible. It is also important to try to limit the amount of drugs and medications in a child’s system. In a 2009 review of pediatric adverse drug events in the outpatient setting, Bourgeois et al. found that an average of more than 585,000 pediatric adverse drug events requiring medical attention occur each year; by far the most common culprits accounting for 27.%, were antibiotics.
Choosing a chiropractor for your family
The key to safety in pediatric chiropractic is education. Proper technique, force and depth of an adjustments is critical. Children also have increased flexibility within the joint to take into consideration. Pediatric chiropractic is extremely safe with proper technique. A large portion of our practice is children and teens. Our doctors are trained to deliver a specific adjustment to maximize spinal function for all our patients, regardless of age and/or size.