Pediatric Chiropractic Care

Children need chiropractic too!

Often, the first subluxation occurs during the birth process. Even during a normal, natural birth, an enormous amount of pressure is put on the infant’s head and spine. Added interventions such as pulling, twisting, forceps and suction all cause further stress on the baby’s delicate spine. This stress often results in baby’s first misalignments.

In a study of 1250 newborns, it was demonstrated that only 10% of these newborns had a healthy, freely movable cranial mechanism. In other words, all of the bones of the head are in correct relationship and moving as they should. Only 10% of them had an obvious, visible disturbance in the cranial mechanism. The remaining 80% of the newborns had minor difficulties that can only be detected by those specially trained to detect subluxations, such as a chiropractor.

Subluxations that occur in infancy continue to affect the spine’s development and can lead to degeneration throughout their childhood and their adult life. As a child develops and becomes more active, further misalignments can result from normal play, bumps and falls.

Supporting Healthy Development

There are 6 crucial times in a baby’s first year of life when spinal examinations are especially important;

• After the birth process.
• When the baby starts to hold his/her head up.
• When the baby first sits up.
• When the baby starts to crawl.
• When the baby starts to stand.
• When the baby starts to walk.
• A child’s spine grows 50% in their first year of life!

At no other time does this spinal growth happen so rapidly. This is why it is so important that your baby is in proper alignment. Chiropractic care at this time helps to ensure proper symmetrical growth. Making sure your child develops with the proper spinal curves will allow for optimal movement, balance, upright posture and shock absorption.

Just as you would have your child’s teeth cleaned and vision and hearing checked, it is important for your child to have regular chiropractic adjustments throughout their development.