Chiropractic care is a pretty big deal, and we’re big supporters of it for the whole family. In fact, some people even use a chiropractor as their primary doctor. If you’ve never heard of chiropractic care for children, and are nervous about it, then definitely keep reading! It’s gentle, effective, and has so many benefits!
By Jackie, Contributing Writer
Chiropractic care is becoming much more popular. People are not only going to see a chiropractor for back injuries, but also going for regular care. They’re even taking their newborn babies. Is it just a fad, or is it here to stay?
I began having regular chiropractic care when I was pregnant with my firstborn. A friend suggested it and I hesitantly decided to go. I was willing to try anything to help my hips feel better and to ensure my baby and body were aligned for an optimal delivery. After a few visits, I was a believer. Not only was my chiropractor able to make my feel better, she was also a very lovely woman.
Since then, I continue to receive care from her every 4-6 weeks, or more depending on how my body is aligned. I also have taken my babies since they were newborns. Our entire family goes regularly. I have seen wonderful benefits for my kids and I fully believe that children should see a chiropractor regularly.
10 Benefits to Chiropractic Care for Children
Regularly means every 4-6 weeks depending on your chiropractor’s suggestion. At first you will need to go 2-3 times for about 2 weeks in order to get your body aligned, and after that you continue to go regularly for maintenance or if there is an issue. Often times after a road trip I will schedule an extra visit. During pregnancy, especially toward the end, I will go more often.
Many people do not even realize the amount of education that a chiropractor has to go through. I have often heard people question the ability of a chiropractor. Once someone understands the educational requirements, they tend to be more open to seeing a chiropractor.
“Training requires a minimum of six years of college and a clinic internship before licensure. Areas of scientific study include anatomy, neurology, bacteriology, pathology, physiology, biochemistry, pediatrics, geriatrics, spinal biomechanics, orthopedics, X-ray, cardiology, nutrition, acupuncture, physiotherapy, gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems, and infectious diseases.” Read more here.
Chiropractors tend to look at the whole person when they come in to be treated. They do not simply attempt to fix the symptoms of a problem. They improve nervous system integrity, work to reduce causes of nerve interference, and promote proper bodily function. This all works together to treat the patient as a whole and allow their body to work properly in order to be restored to maximum health. Our bodies rely heavily on our central nervous system and if that is being compromised by a misalignment, it can cause a number of issues.
As children are growing and changing so quickly, it is especially important that they received chiropractic care regularly.
1. Children are Constantly Growing
When children are aligned, they can grow the way they’re supposed to, with no extra pressure on certain bones or muscles.
2. Immune Support
Regular care allows the body to be in top shape and allows the immune system to work most effectively. Children have immature immune systems and ensuring they are working the best they can is important.
3. Sick Care
When your child is sick with an earache or sinus congestion, an adjustment can assist in draining fluid from the ears. Also, being properly align allows the immune system to work more effectively to get your child better more quickly.
4. Children Fall, Jump, and Play Hard
Regular adjustments are important for this reason. My 10 month old is pulling himself along the furniture and as he is learning about balance and gravity, he tends to have some tumbles. Getting regular adjustments helps to ensure he is not harming himself and that he can use his body to its full potential.
5. Better Sleep
When your child’s body is aligned properly, he will have a better night’s sleep and so will you. An adjustment will ensure your baby does not have any pain or tension that he is unable to tell you about.
6. Help with Colic
“Birth trauma, even from so-called “natural” birthing experiences can often produce a child’s first nerve compromise. Lacking the ability to communicate, your baby cries. And cries.” (Link) Chiropractic care can fix this nerve compromise and allow your baby to be much happier.
7. Better Concentration and Fewer Behavioral Issues
When a child is misaligned, they have more tension on their nervous system. For some, this creates concentration and behavioral issues. An adjustment may help your child in this area.
8. Help with Asthma and Breathing Issues
Chiropractic care can reduce any pinched or misaligned nerves that are affecting the bronchial tubes, lungs, and diaphragm. This can help to reduce asthma issues in a patient.
9. Higher Breastfeeding Success
When babies are born, they can go through trauma during the birth. If their necks and shoulders are misaligned, this can cause pain for them when attempting to breastfeed. Some women can only feed baby successfully on one side, and others cannot feed their babies at all. Ensuring proper alignment will increase your chances for breastfeeding success.
10. Help with Digestive Issues
When my oldest child first started solid foods, he stopped pooping regularly. Our chiropractor did a minor adjustment and on the way home he would poop! We had to go regularly to ensure he was aligned, and he would poop regularly, too.
I have seen, firsthand, the wonderful benefits of regular chiropractic care. We take our cars in for regular maintenance like oil changes, and we should treat our bodies better than we treat our cars. Regular chiropractic care is beneficial for everyone, especially our children.
I prefer Osteopaths because they get to the root of why things are out of place. Chiro is a temporary fix which is why you ha e to go so often.
I would never recommend chiropractic care to anyone. I’ve been injured by two chiropractors. One bruised me with the activator tool so badly in the area of sacroliac joint, that I’ve had pain in that spot since then (4 years). The other “adjusted” my neck and I lost all the strength in my right arm, which she followed up with the elbow “adjustment”. After a year of not being able to use my arm normally I finally decided to go to physical therapy to correct that but I am still having problems with the nerves in the arm. The third chiropractor I went to for a consultation said he can’t help me. I lost so much time of my life!I can’t believe I paid them to hurt me and now I’ve been paying somebody else to fix me while I can’t do my job.
Add bedwetting to the list of things helped by Chiro/
Chiropractic care is needed frequently because our bodies are always in a state of flux, especially children. Seeing a chiropractor regularly is one of the ways too keep your body balanced and thus working optimally.
My daughter is a Chiropractor. A little over thirty years ago our family was in a car accident. I learned what whiplash is,and the consequences of it. After getting no relief from physical therapy, someone said try a Chiropractor. I can not tell you how grateful I was to get help. Today, my daughter keeps me healthy. Yes, you do need to do a regular visits. There is so much more to the care in Chiropractics than a adjustment.
We see a chiropractor often,my T4 vertebra was out of alignment, not knowing this prior I had been seeing an ENT bc my ustation tube had just stopped working my ear was a mess I was scheduled for exploratory surgery to see if he could fix it. 1 trip the Chiropractor he said after x-rays have you been a car wreck, or are you having any ear trouble your T4 vertebrae is out of alignment & that causes your ustation tube to stop working.. Thank the Lord for our Chiropractor Jason Ledford he has helped my entire family… No surgery for me!!!
I am sorry that you have had that experience with chiropractors–they are not all created equal– I am a chiropractor and I do not have my patients come back with the same problems.. Do I believe in maintenance care?–Absolutely–but I also change the oil in my car and rotate the tires as needed for optimal performance! Our body’s deserve the same careful attention that we give our cars!
I love my chiropractor and she does amazing work with babies and young children. What we all need to remember is that there are good and bad Chiropractors as there are in any field of anything in life! A deep muscle chiro is the best to look for, not necessary to have lots of clicking and wrenching but deep muscle massage! 🙂
Babies and children are getting aligned as in the cracking sounds with their necks?!?!
[…] Story Link […]
It’s pretty amazing that chiropractic can benefits kids so much. Like you said, kids are constantly growing so I can see why it’s important to see one. I have a friend who just had a baby, so I need to tell him this.
You actually have the definitions backward. A Chiropractic adjustment is completely different from an Osteopathic adjustment. Chiropractors learn more about the nervous system and how subluxations affect everything in the body. A D.O. does that get that extent of training.
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Thank you for sharing an informational post with us. I found this article is relevant to the people suffering from pain. They can heal their body pain by doing this.
I had no idea that chiropractic care could help kids so much. It’s great that it can help the immune system work effectively, and only worry about fighting sicknesses. My little son is sick a lot, so maybe I should look into chiropractic more.
[…] children are suffering from an earache or sinus congestion, chiropractic care could be the answer. Receiving an adjustment can assist in draining fluid from the ears. Also, letting your child get an adjustment will […]
I like how you said that regular chiropractic care adjustments are good because kids often take tumbles and things like that. This would be helpful for our 3-year-old because he plays and jumps on everything he can find. Hopefully, we will be able to keep him healthy by getting him a couple of adjustments.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Kids:
1Children are Constantly Growing
2Sick Care and Immune Support
3Children Fall, Jump, and Play Hard
4Help with Colic
5Better Concentration and Fewer Behavioral Issues
My friend just had her first baby, so she’s been wanting to know how to take good care of her. I like how you mentioned that chiropractic care can help boost your child’s immune system which helps them stay healthy. Do you have any tips for choosing a chiropractor?
I didn’t realize that chiropractic care could be done on children. It’s great that it can help them sleep more comfortably. Being a parent is great, but sometimes our nights aren’t super restful. It would be nice for everyone to sleep more soundly.
I agree, chiropractic treatment has a lot of benefits. My daughter has been diagnosed with asthma and now receiving chiropractic treatment. She’s getting better and better after every session.
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