At first glance, most people don’t see the connection between chiropractic and pregnancy. However, there are four stages in which having an optimally working nervous system can help both mother and child:
Pre-Conception
Prior to conception, chiropractic care promotes a more regular menstrual cycle and optimal uterine function. It prepares the body to be as strong, supple and balanced as possible to carry the pregnancy.
Pregnancy
Regular chiropractic care helps maintain uterine ligament flexibility and balance. When the growing baby is comfortable, it can assume the optimal birthing position.
Labor and Birth
Mothers who receive adjustments leading up to the birth process seem to require less intervention. When the mother remains supple, the baby can move more easily through the birth canal.
Post-Delivery
Even natural births can stress a baby’s spine. Breastfeeding problems can arise if the baby has a subluxation and is unable to comfortably turn its head to one side.
Lastly, expectant mothers can relax. We use special approaches to make our adjustments safe and comfortable for you and your child. Having a more normally working nervous system, especially when you’re pregnant, creates the optimal environment for your baby to realize his or her fullest potential
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• Will adjustments hurt my baby?
No, of course not. This is a common concern among parents who mistakenly think their child will receive adjustments like the ones they receive. Not only are adjusting techniques modified for each person’s size and unique spinal problem, an infant’s spine rarely has the long-standing muscle tightness seen in adults. This makes the energy needed to adjust a child’s spine considerably less than that required for an adult.
• Will adjustments make my spine too loose?
No. Only the spinal joints that are “locked up” receive adjustments. This allows weakened muscles and ligaments to stabilize and heal.
• Pregnancy is natural. Why would I need chiropractic?
Being born is a natural phenomenon. It’s what we’ve done to the birth process that has become increasingly suspect. A newborn’s introduction to the world is often accompanied by a severe drop in temperature, loud noises and other insensitivities. The administering of drugs and anesthesia can also have a profound effect on a newborn.
• Will my medical doctor approve?
First, you don’t need anyone’s approval to seek a chiropractic opinion about health issues affecting your child. The judgment of another health care expert is always helpful in the decision-making process. But medical practitioners keeping up with the latest pediatric chiropractic research are starting to understand the value of this natural, drug-free approach to better health.
• What does my spine have to do with my baby?
Pregnancy may be one of the best times to receive chiropractic care. While it’s always good to have an optimally functioning nervous system, it’s especially helpful now. Both mother and baby can benefit. Adjusting methods are adapted to a mother’s size, weight and condition. During this period of weight gain and hormonal changes, many mothers seek chiropractic care. Some report shorter and easier births.
• What is the Webster Technique?
The Webster Technique is defined as a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that reduces interference to the nerve system and facilitates biochemical balance in pelvic structures, muscles and ligaments. This has been shown to reduce the effects of intrauterine constraint, allowing the baby to get into the best possible position for birth.
Chiropractic care for children offers your family a solid foundation for wellness. Throughout pregnancy, birth and childhood, the chiropractic lifestyle offers choices and benefits for your greater health and overall well-being. Chiropractors specializing in caring for children use very specific and gentle techniques. On the very young, the adjustment is as light as a finger touch. Doctors of chiropractic who are members of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) have successfully completed post-graduate classes on specific techniques for pregnant mothers, infants and children to enhance their skills in this field.
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine, a postural distortion that can become a permanent deformity. If allowed to advance, it can interfere with the lungs, heart and many other vital organs. There are three common causes:
• Congenital genetic predisposition;
• Habitual behavioural routines; and
• Idiopathic unknown cause
Regardless of cause, early detection is important. If allowed to run its course, scoliosis often worsens. Severe cases may involve unsightly bracing or surgery that attaches steel rods, forcing the spine to straighten. Chiropractic care is a more natural solution. A schedule of specific chiropractic adjustments can help improve the function and structure of the spine. As muscles are retrained and strengthened, posture often improves. Over the course of several months or longer, the spine can “right itself.” For more information on natural courses of therapy for your child, consider ALLCARE HEALTH & REHABILITATION. We will be happy to discuss your concerns and explore the possibilities.
Ear Infections
Reoccurring ear infections (known as otitis media) account for a huge number of pediatrician visits. The traditional approaches include:
Antibiotic therapy
This may be effective for acute bacterial infections, but many cases are viral, which means antibiotics are useless.
Tubes in the ears
During surgical implantation of artificial drainage tubes, there is an inherent risk in administering anesthesia. Also, after the procedure, these tubes often come out! Today, many parents are first choosing a more conservative approach that incorporates chiropractic care. This includes a thorough examination to locate, and adjustments to reduce, nerve disturbances that may make the ears prone to infection. Our bodies have an incredible capacity to fight infection. When that ability is impaired, it means something else is going on.
Nerve Compromise
It surprises many to learn that some of the nerves that control, regulate and monitor the ear begin in the brain stem, continue down the spinal cord and exit out from between the bones of the spinal column. Changes to the function of the bones in the upper neck may compromise the quality of the nerve signals to and from the brain. Obviously, this can affect the ability of any organ or tissue – in this case, your child’s ear – to “defend itself” from infection.
Impaired Drainage
Nerve compromise is often accompanied by abnormal tension to the muscles that support the spine. Besides protecting the spine from further compromise, these muscle spasms can exert pressure on nearby lymphatic drainage ducts, which can prevent natural drainage, further compounding the problem.
What We Do
ALLCARE HEALTH & REHABILITATION’s approach is simple. Since chiropractic care isn’t a treatment for infections of any type, when parents bring their child in for an examination, we look specifically for distortions in the upper spine. If nerve tension is detected, we gently reduce it with safe and natural chiropractic adjustments. This helps restore nervous system integrity. For a child or infant, this usually requires little more than a light touch with our fingertip at just the right place and in the right direction.
Parents love our approach. We explain everything in advance. Our adjusting approach is safe and results are achieved naturally.
Infantile colic was first thought to be merely indigestion. While colic has been blamed on too much gas in the intestine, dietary problems or birth trauma, the precise cause of colic is not known today. The most widely accepted definition of colic is “unexplainable and uncontrollable crying in babies from 0 to 3 months old, more than three hours a day, more than three days a week for three weeks or more, usually in the afternoon and evening hours.”
At present, behavioral management, supportive counseling and parental reassurance are the mainstays of treatment. No effective cure for this disorder is known. However, research is showing that chiropractic care can help. The correction of vertebral subluxation may play an important and effective role in the cessation of infantile colic.
Bedwetting
Bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) takes a tremendous toll on children. Embarrassment. Alarms. No sleepovers. Plastic mattress covers. Frustration. An inability to fit in. Even diapers. Lack of bladder control can cause shame, guilt and impaired social skills.
Up to the age of 4 or 5, most children have poor bladder control at night. But after that, the inability to stay dry at night may be a sign of an underlying problem. While chiropractic is not a treatment for bedwetting, countless children have been helped with safe and natural chiropractic care.
Bladder Physiology
Two key muscles control the emptying of the bladder. Their technical names are the detrusor and trigone muscles. They are controlled by nerves that exit the spinal column in the lower back and sacrum.
During the early years of life, the sacrum has five separate segments. Later, they fuse together to form the triangular-shaped bone that adults have at the base of the spine. If these segments misalign (as a result of falling while learning to walk, riding a bike, etc.) they may compromise nerves that are responsible for bladder function.
We look for these subtle misalignments during our examination. When these misalignments are reduced with safe and natural chiropractic adjustments, nervous system control and regulation of the bladder may often be restored.
Since chiropractic care isn’t a treatment for bedwetting, a thorough examination is necessary. If the bedwetting is caused by nerve interference from the spine, many children experience great results with chiropractic care. To find out if ALLCARE HEALTH & REHABILITATION can help your child, call us today for a consultation.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
We do not treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, since ADHD appears as a neurological disorder and chiropractic care attempts to reduce nervous system disturbances, many parents who want a natural, non-drug solution for their child have found chiropractic care helpful.
Traditional Methods of ADHD Treatment
A popular approach to controlling symptoms of ADHD is to administer regular doses of methylphenidate. More commonly known as Ritalin®.
Ritalin® is a schedule II controlled substance related to, and producing similar effects as, amphetamines and cocaine. The side effects, including personality changes and permanent changes to the brain, cause many parents to look for alternatives.
Chiropractic: A Pure and Natural Alternative
Hyperactivity isn’t the result of a drug shortage. Rather, we look for disturbances to the child’s nervous system, which often is caused by spinal distortions in the upper neck. In fact, this link between the spine, brain stem dysfunction and ADHD is common. A thorough chiropractic examination can reveal noticeable spinal distortion, even a reversal of the normal neck curve. With a schedule of safe and natural chiropractic adjustments, nervous system tensions are often reduced and resolved.
Asthma and Chiropractic
Chiropractic is not a treatment for asthma. However, many who suffer from asthma report improvement by receiving chiropractic care. Considerable research documents the link between the spinal column, the nervous system and the respiratory system. This may be why many have mentioned improved breathing by consulting our practice.
Chiropractic Connection
Your diaphragm is the primary muscle used for breathing. Nerves that control each breath leave your brain and exit the spinal cord in the mid-neck (C3, C4 and C5) area. Spinal problems in this area can have a profound affect on the nerve supply to the diaphragm. Reducing subluxations in the spine may help restore proper nervous system control of the lungs and allow improved function.