Chiropratic Care for Babies, Toddlers and Kids
August 26, 2011 by 26 Comments
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But, since Penelope had a cervical subluxation (Atlas vertebrae out of alignment) when she was born, I have been on edge to stay diligent about keeping her spine in alignment. She also broke her arm when she was 14 months old, from a fall that I never would have thought capable of breaking her arm. So now I also know, that just because the fall doesn’t look super bad, it can still cause damage.
That day at the playground, I laid her down and checked to see if one leg was longer than the other. Sure enough it was. I immediately called our chiropractor and made an appointment. Checking your child’s legs is an easy way to check if there is a misalignment. If you look at the picture above, her right leg is longer than her left.
While I was out our appointment, our Dr. (Dr. John Dunn) gave me a book to borrow. It is about how important chiropractic care for children is. It was mostly about several studies that were done on babies who died of SIDS. ALL of the SIDS babies that were in the study, had cervical subluxations like Penelope had when she was a newborn.
When a child’s Atlas vertebrae is out of alignment, it trickles down the entire spine and throws everything off physically. It also creates a misfire in all the neurons up and down the spine. When the neurons are not firing off and sending the correct messages, a myriad of things can happen: chronic ear infections, ADHD, asthma, colic, you name it. For Penelope, it caused nerve issues that were correlated with her sucking reflex and it gave her TMJ. Her neck/jaw muscles were so sore and tight from her misalignment, because it was causing her head to cock to the side (like torticolus) and she could not open her mouth wide enough to nurse and it was painful to lay on her side and nurse.
I used to think that only way a newborn could have cervical subluxations was from a traumatic birth. A Cesarean birth where they pull the baby out at a funny angle sometimes, or when forceps or the vacuum extractor is used. But the book goes on to say, that even OB’s/ RN’s/Midwives who pull too hard on the baby, as a way to help the shoulder come out, can cause a misalignment. It does not take much at all to make the Altas vertebrae get out of alignment.
Your baby can get a subluxation while in the womb as well. It can be from the baby being in a weird position for a long time in your womb. I remember my midwife telling me, on the last several visits, that Penelope was head down, but that she was coming in at a weird angle. I also fell on the stairs about two weeks before I gave birth. I landed right on my sacrum. Since Penelope was already head down, so she could have gotten it knocked out then.
So moral of the story, if you have child, take them to the chiropractor ASAP. It is one of the main foundations of good health. If your spine is not in alignment, you can never truly get to your optimal health levels. And if your kid takes a tumble on a playground or soccer game, take them in. It is worth your time and money.
Have you ever taken your child to the chiropractor?
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Hiya! I'm Stephanie. Mama and Baby Love is all about helping mothers on their own personal health and healing journey and enjoying life along the way. You can learn more about me and what I'm all about. Sign up for my newsletter for more tips, info and inspiration!
Brooke
http://www.TheAnnessaFamily.blogspot.com
Mama Dani
@Brooke…exactly! EVERYONE needs chiropractic care!
@Lily's Mama…that is so true, our bodies compensate so much. As a massage therapist, so much of the muscle pain my clients come to see me for are simply from their muscles compensating from being out of alignment.
@Danielle…so glad to hear you are going! And that you were able to catch your daughter's misalignment. Good job, Mama!
@Hana K. I agree, it is worth every penny. Although, I still try to get monthly massages or pedicures, staying relaxed is super important too.
Found your blog by following you on Pinterest. What a wonderful place.
@Elisabeth…glad I got your attention! I hope I got others to think twice about it too. I didn't find too much information online, but I would recommend getting recommendations from other mothers. And I would stay away from a chiropractor under the age of 35. You want somebody with experience! I take Penelope every 6 months, unless something happens like the tumble on the playground. I try to go myself about once a month.
Our daughter has been adjusted since birth and has never had a hint of a health problem.
As far as finding a good chiropractor, remember that it's not just the number of years the person has been practicing, it's more about how many adjustments they've done. A busy office is a good office! After all, nobody wants to see a 55 yo surgeon that's only performed surgery twice. Think this way when finding a good chiropractor!
As far as frequency goes, let your chiropractor give their recommendation.
Hope this helps some of you! I feel so blessed to have chiropractic for my daughter (and myself) so I want to spread that.
As a side note, I'll be adjusting the babies and pregnant ladies in our office, so I'm so excited to see a post like this!
I look forward to a long relationship with my chiropractor and recommend it to everyone. Mine has also recommended several homeopathic remedies for my pain, from an injury, and for my son and teething, etc.
Grapeseed extract for teething!
It all started when I started going while I was pregnant with Landon and having really bad problems with my sciatic nerve, which i get when I gain weight. It was worse with him because I hadn’t lost all the 60lbs I gained with Xia. I didn’t gain as much with him like 20lbs but it definetly affected me more. I reccommend a chiropractor even if you think you are healthy because really you may not be.