Saturday 12th October
Are you considering chiropractic care for your baby? The good news is that babies can certainly benefit from care from a specialist paediatric or baby chiropractor! So, with that in mind, let’s take a beneficial look into the benefits of chiropractic for babies.
Paediatric chiropractors are highly trained specialists. They have been taught special procedures designed specifically for use on babies and small children.
These techniques use the lightest possible pressure, taking into account a small child’s delicate musculoskeletal system and their changing stages of growth and development. The pressure can be likened to that used to test a ripe piece of fruit!
The ultimate aim of any type of chiropractic care, including for infants and kids, is to help make sure the spine and nervous system are correctly aligned, and functioning as they should. This allows the body to heal itself, as it is designed to do and grow properly.
Safety is always at the forefront of any type of chiropractic care, and never more so than with small children and babies. So yes, when performed by a qualified baby chiropractor, paediatric chiropractic care is generally considered safe for babies.
Indeed, most babies are not aware they’re being treated; the touch used is that delicate.
There are many reasons why your child’s spine could be misaligned. Even in utero, your baby’s spine can develop slight misalignments.
Then there is the birth process – this report found that misalignments sustained during delivery are more common than we think. Add to that the trials and tribulations of a normal childhood…
Children’s spines in fact go through a lot on the path to adulthood!
Sometimes it can start before birth, particularly if your own musculoskeletal health wasn’t good during your pregnancy. A misaligned pelvis for example may not only cause you a great deal of discomfort, it can also affect your baby’s position in utero.
If the baby can’t move into normal developmental positions, this may place stress on its tiny developing spine and musculoskeletal system, causing misalignments. We see similar types of musculoskeletal deformities in newborns of other species where they weren’t positioned optimally in utero.
Fortunately, as a ‘human’ mum, you can be proactive about ensuring your own musculoskeletal health is as good as possible during your pregnancy with pre-natal chiropractic care.
After 9 months spent cramped up in a confined space, the birth process can add further stress to your baby’s musculoskeletal system! Breech presentations are obviously at higher risk of causing damage to the baby’s spine.
Again, you can help minimise this risk with pre-natal chiropractic care for yourself. If your spine and pelvis are correctly aligned and functional throughout your pregnancy, it sets you up for a healthy delivery, which can only benefit your baby.
Surviving birth is just the first step. There will be the odd mishap along the bumpy road to crawling, standing, and walking that may impact the baby’s spinal alignment! Even having a nappy changed can put some stress on a baby’s spine if not done gently.
Then there are the spills and falls as children learn that superhero costumes don’t come with superhero powers of flight. And that what goes up usually has to come down… and often hard.
Life can be tough on a growing musculoskeletal system!
A baby’s spine grows by 50% during its first 12 months so you can appreciate the importance, and benefits, of good functional spinal health at this age.
Infant chiropractic care aims to correct spinal misalignments that may be affecting their nervous system so they can experience optimal growth because, ultimately, this system controls the rest of their body.
From digestion to immune health and respiratory function, the nervous system is responsible for relaying information backwards and forwards to the brain. If this is ‘broken’, the body can struggle to maintain vital functions.
In fact, research like this and this indicates that infant and paediatric chiropractic care can considerably improve the health and quality of life for babies and children.
By reducing nerve irritation and inflammation, and restoring healthy nerve function to the nerves that control the digestive system, spinal adjustments may help with colic and reflux.
A healthy nervous system is important for optimal neurological development. Being able to interact normally – physically and cognitively – with its environment allows your baby to develop the neural connections required for a normal life.
Chiropractic care aims to provide this by making sure your baby has good overall musculoskeletal and nervous system health.
Spinal elongation is the natural lengthening process of the spine as a baby grows. Around 50% of spinal growth happens during the baby’s first year so it’s important to make sure it ‘happens’ correctly. This helps reduce the risk of spinal dysfunction and deformities, like scoliosis, occurring later in life.
Chiropractic care can help with this. Regular chiropractic care will help make sure your baby’s spine can stretch and grow properly during this crucial period of rapid growth.
We touched on the role of the nervous system in controlling and maintaining other body systems earlier. The immune system is one of them.
A correctly aligned spine can improve nervous system function, which is associated with a stronger immune response.
When your baby is uncomfortable, as may be the case if they have a spinal misalignment, crying and fussing is their way of telling you about it! However, this report found that babies who received regular daily manual therapy were less fussy overall, and didn’t cry as much as those who didn’t get therapy.
Your paediatric chiropractor can provide information and advice about suitable manual therapies you can do at home to help your baby feel more comfortable.
Your baby’s middle ear can develop infections that create fluid build up. Normally this fluid drains away via the Eustachian tubes. However, misalignments in the cervical (neck) spine can affect this function, worsening the ear infection.
Here’s why…
The nerves that control the Eustachian tubes originate in these vertebrae. Should they become inflamed or irritated by misaligned vertebrae, it may affect their communication with the Eustachian tubes. As a result, the tubes may not work properly, allowing fluid to build up in the ear and making your baby’s ear infection worse.
Chiropractic adjustments aim to relieve the irritation and inflammation in these nerves and help restore correct function to the Eustachian tubes.
Comfortable babies sleep better. Chiropractic care can help reduce nerve discomfort and pain from misaligned vertebrae and provide advice about other supportive therapies that will also help your baby feel more comfortable, and sleep better.
Chiropractic care for babies offers many benefits, as evidenced by this report that asked mothers about the outcomes of chiropractic treatment for their babies. The mums agreed that chiropractic care had been safe, cost effective, and effective in helping improve their baby’s sleep, feeding, fussing, and pain.
Other reports have also found evidence that chiropractic care can be effective for various paediatric musculoskeletal conditions and disorders like ADHD and TMD. So – if you are considering chiropractic care for your baby, it’s quite likely he or she will gain some benefits from it.
