Chiropractors can treat kids of all different ages, from newborns to infants, adolescents through to teens, for a variety of different musculoskeletal issues.
While further comprehensive research into the effects and potential benefits of chiropractic care for children and young adults is warranted, studies have reported a number of benefits. They’ve also overwhelmingly shown that chiropractic is safe for children and infants.
Some of the reasons chiropractic might be right for your children include:
Reason #1: Maintaining general health and wellbeing
The overall aim of chiropractic care for children is to improve spinal function and build the brain’s ability to process what is going on in their body. Common chiropractic techniques, such as at home exercises and postural advice, can help your child develop good, healthy habits. These habits can benefit them not only physically, but also help them to recognise and respond to the signals their body is giving them.
Reason #2: Birth trauma
Somatic dysfunction – which is of the cranial, cervical, lumbar, and sacral regions is common in newborns. A study found that out of 100 newborns, 99 had at least 1 sphenobasilar synchondrosis strain pattern. Sidebending rotations, temporal bone restrictions, motion restriction and lumbar vertebral segment were some of the most common.
These are the kinds of problems that chiropractic treatment can be used to address, providing relief for your newborn.
Reason #3: Growing pains
Growing pains are tricky – medical professionals of all kinds have very little conclusive evidence to work with when treating these complaints. If your kids are struggling with these all too common pains, then there’s good news.
A study has found that, based on feedback from parents and pain diaries, chiropractic spinal manipulation can soothe growing pains.
Reason #4: Specific conditions
Some of the common conditions that affect kids and can be improved through regular chiropractic visits include:
Postural concerns – Chiropractic can help teach kids to maintain good posture, which is one of the building blocks of good physical health.
Neck and lower back pain – In today’s digital age, when we all spend a considerable amount of time sitting and looking at screens, pain in the neck and lower back is a common problem. One of the main aims of undergoing chiropractic treatment, for kids and adults alike, is to gain relief from this kind of discomfort.
Headaches – Headaches are very common. In fact, 80% of 13–15 year-olds experience them. Head, neck or back injury and pain can be a cause of headache – and can be addressed through appropriate chiropractic care.
Difficulty breastfeeding – A sore neck can make it difficult for babies to find a comfortable latching position. By relieving that pain, gentle chiropractic work can improve you and your baby’s breastfeeding experience.
For the reasons above and any other complaints relating to your kids’ posture, joints or musculoskeletal system, its worth checking in with your local chiropractor to discuss what treatment might help.
Ready to get started? Book an appointment with Dr Jess today.
Sources
1 EL Waddington, KT Snider, MD Lockwood, VK Pazdernik., Incidence of Somatic Dysfunction in Healthy Newborns, J Am Osteopath Assoc, 2015
2 D de Beer, CM Bester., The effect of lumbosacral manipulation on growing pains, Health SA Gesondheid, 2015
3 C Parnell Prevost, B Gleberzon, B Carleo, K Anderson, M Cark, KA Pohlman., Manual therapy for the paediatric population: a systematic review, BMC Complement Altern Med, 2019
4 S Lynge, J Hartvigsen, HW Christensen, W Vach, L Hestbaek., Effectiveness of chiropractic manipulation versus sham manipulation on recurrent headaches in children aged 7-14 years, Protocol for a randomized clinical trial, Chiropr Man Therap, 2019
5 J Cutts., What you need to know before taking your kid to a chiropractor, Today’s Parent, 2019