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Having a baby is an amazing thing. Mother and baby know exactly what to do, innately without any outside help. After your baby is born, your body also knows how to heal itself. Your organs eventually move back to where they belong and your pelvis re-stabilizes. The baby also knows innately what to do after birth. Their head re-shapes, they have innate reflexes to help them eat, breathe and sleep. Sometimes though, birth can be traumatic for baby and mother. Traveling through the birth canal is a major feat made by an infant. Sometimes this journey can cause musculoskeletal trauma. Examples may be a misaligned vertebrae in the spine, or a cranial bone that becomes “stuck” or as severe as a dislocated shoulder or broken clavicle. There are many symptoms of birth trauma, including poor nursing, excessive crying, colic, poor sleep habits, constipation and more. Chiropractic can help alleviate or lessen many of these symptoms. That is why it is important to have your child seen by a Chiropractor. .At the first visit, your pediatric Chiropractor will generally complete a lap-to-lap exam to ensure there are no abnormal development issues or pathologies that you need to be aware of, and as we all understand, catching health issues early is often the key to successful treatment and lowest cost.
Having a Chiropractic home that both you and your child feel comfortable in is key, particularly during a time of emergency. Children are naturally curious and rambunctious, and will take many spills and falls in their life. It is important to have your child assessed during all phases or their life. Within the first year the child’s spine doubles in size.
When a Chiropractic home is a regular part of a child’s routine, the comfort level of seeking emergency care with their Chiropractor gives peace of mind to the family and can turn an otherwise chaotic event into one of comfort and support.
To schedule your child’s first Chiropractic adventure with Dr. Sara Johnson at Elixia wellness visit us on-line or call us at 503.232.5653.

About half of all children will suffer from low-back pain at some point, with nearly 15% experiencing frequent or ongoing pain. In North America, the primary providers of spinal manipulation are chiropractors.
More studies are now being done to evaluate the role of chiropractic in treating back pain in minors.

In a study appearing in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 15 randomly chosen Canadian chiropractors provided data on their pediatric patients between the ages of 4 to 18 and suffering from lower back pain. Information was gathered on treatment type and outcome of care, based on patient-rated pain scales. Characteristics of the children with back pain included:

* The average age of sufferers was 13 years old.
* Nearly 60 percent were male.
* Half attributed pain onset to trauma (usually sports-related).
* One in four reported pain of over three months duration.

The most common diagnosis was a “subluxation,” appearing in half of these children. Patients were almost universally treated with spinal adjustments, with few requiring other forms of therapy. After six weeks of treatment, major improvement (defined as “much improved” or “resolved”) was seen in nearly 90% of patients, based on one of the pain scales, and there were no reported complications in any of the patients.

In children, as in adults, chiropractic treatment is extremely effective for back pain, regardless of the cause or characteristics. Your doctor of chiropractic can provide more information about treating childhood back pain.

Reference:

Hayden JA, Mior SA, Verhoef MJ. Evaluation of chiropractic management of pediatric patients with low back pain: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2003:26(1), pp. 1-8.

For more information about pediatric health, check out www.chiroweb.com/find/tellmeabout/childhood.html.