Chiropractic Care for Infants and Children

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Chiropractic Care for Infants and Children

Over the years I have been lucky enough to work with a diverse population of patients, including babies, toddlers and children. Those who have been in my treatment room may have noticed the baby mobile above the table. I am often questioned as to why I treat this population, when these patents needs care, and how these treatments are different. The article below is written by some colleagues from AltaVie, a great clinic in Kelowna regarding this topic. Please enjoy!

π‘ͺπ’‰π’Šπ’“π’π’‘π’“π’‚π’„π’•π’Šπ’„ 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’Šπ’” 𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 π’•π’“π’†π’‚π’•π’Žπ’†π’π’• π’π’‘π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 π’‚π’ˆπ’†π’”

There have been several large review studies verifying the safety of chiropractic care for children of all ages6,7,8,9. All manual therapy techniques and home care recommendations for children are modified to appropriately meet the physical needs of the developmental stage that little body is in. For example, the amount of force used to adjust an infant is often compared to the amount of pressure you would use to test a ripe tomato at the grocery store10. (Those of you with kids know that they are certainly able to withstand a lot more of a squish than that!) Catering care in this way requires a working understanding of the anatomy as it grows and changes over time. This is one reason why choosing a chiropractor who focuses on or has completed additional training in pediatric care is often recommended.

π‘ͺπ’‰π’Šπ’“π’π’‘π’“π’‚π’„π’•π’Šπ’„ 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’Œπ’Šπ’…π’” π’Šπ’” π’…π’Šπ’‡π’‡π’†π’“π’†π’π’•β€¦ 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 π’Œπ’Šπ’…π’” 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’…π’Šπ’‡π’‡π’†π’“π’†π’π’•

Although the basic premise for chiropractic care is the same whether the patient is 80-years-old or 8-minutes-old, the ever-growing and ever-changing active little bodies of children have distinct needs. Although our care is essentially applied understanding of anatomy at any time of life, π’„π’‰π’Šπ’“π’π’‘π’“π’‚π’„π’•π’Šπ’„ 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’Šπ’π’‡π’‚π’π’•π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’„π’‰π’Šπ’π’…π’“π’†π’ π’π’π’π’Œπ’” π’—π’†π’“π’š π’…π’Šπ’‡π’‡π’†π’“π’†π’π’• 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕, both in treatment techniques and responses. Generally, we find that children respond much faster and more profoundly to chiropractic care than adults do.

Another major difference is that pain is often not a primary complaint. This can make it more difficult for parents to know when their child may benefit from a visit with their chiropractor. There are certain β€œclues” that parents can watch for to gain more understanding in this area, such as postural changes, only wanting to breastfeed from one side, being off-balance or suddenly clumsy, always tilting their head to one side, refusing to roll one direction, or running with a limp. Remember, chiropractors are healthcare professionals trained in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of the neuromusculoskeletal system. That means we support the health of the bones, joints, muscles, and nerves of the whole body, whether it is full-size or still growing. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑, π’˜π’‰π’†π’•π’‰π’†π’“ 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‘π’‚π’Šπ’ π’„π’π’Žπ’‘π’π’‚π’Šπ’π’•π’”, π’•π’“π’‚π’–π’Žπ’‚ π’„π’‰π’†π’„π’Œπ’”, π’ˆπ’“π’π’”π’” π’Žπ’π’•π’π’“ π’…π’†π’—π’†π’π’π’‘π’Žπ’†π’π’•, π’†π’‚π’“π’π’š π’‡π’†π’†π’…π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’”π’•π’“π’–π’ˆπ’ˆπ’π’†π’” 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 π’ƒπ’Šπ’π’Žπ’†π’„π’‰π’‚π’π’Šπ’„π’”, 𝒐𝒓 π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Žπ’π’“π’† 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒍𝒆

As mentioned above, the amount of force used and the specific techniques utilized will vary depending on the unique needs of an individual kid and what stage of development they are currently in. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to chiropractic care of infants and children! Depending not the presenting patient and their goals, π’„π’‰π’Šπ’“π’π’‘π’“π’‚π’„π’•π’Šπ’„ 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 π‘¨π’π’•π’‚π‘½π’Šπ’† π’Žπ’‚π’š π’Šπ’π’„π’π’–π’…π’† 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅 π’Žπ’‚π’π’–π’‚π’ π’•π’‰π’†π’“π’‚π’‘π’š (π’‚π’…π’‹π’–π’”π’•π’Žπ’†π’π’•π’”, 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 π’•π’Šπ’”π’”π’–π’† π’•π’“π’†π’‚π’•π’Žπ’†π’π’•π’”), π’„π’“π’‚π’π’Šπ’π’”π’‚π’„π’“π’‚π’ π’•π’‰π’†π’“π’‚π’‘π’š (π‘ͺ𝑺𝑻), π’Œπ’Šπ’π’†π’”π’Šπ’π’π’π’ˆπ’š π’•π’‚π’‘π’Šπ’π’ˆ, π’π’Šπ’‡π’† π’”π’•π’šπ’π’† π’Žπ’π’…π’Šπ’‡π’Šπ’„π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’π’”, π’‰π’π’Žπ’† 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’“π’†π’„π’π’Žπ’Žπ’†π’π’…π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’π’”, π’†π’™π’†π’“π’„π’Šπ’”π’† 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒃, π’„π’π’Šπ’π’Šπ’„π’‚π’ π’π’–π’•π’“π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’π’, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 π’†π’…π’–π’„π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ . One aspect of care that is the same for children and adults is that you are going to be involved!

References for Chiropractic Care of Children & Infants

1. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2018;41:725-733.

2. Chiropr Man Therap 2017;25(35).

3. J Alt Comp Med 2010;16(6).

4. PLoS ONE 2017;12(5).

5. BMJ Open 2019;9.

6. Chiropr Man Therap 2020;28(12)

7. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2014;xx:1-14.

8. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2019;19:60.

9. PLoS ONE 2019;14(6).

10. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2016;39:401-410.

Dr. Darcie Weglo, Chiropractor

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