CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR CHILDREN
Being born and growing up are a natural part of life, perhaps the most natural! We marvel at their first steps and enjoy watching their little personalities and bodies form and grow. Being a parent totally changes you as a person, and we all want the absolute best for our children.
Pregnancy, birth trauma and the early years of growth can have an enormous impact on your child’s spine and health even well into adulthood. This is where chiropractic may be able to help the musculo-skeletal changes that can occur during childhood.
FIND OUT IF CHIROPRACTIC CARE CAN HELP YOUR CHILD
WHAT DOES BIRTH TRAUMA MEAN FOR BABIES?
The delivery process can be one of the most traumatic things that can happen to the spine. In a difficult delivery, the trauma to the cervical (neck) bones can be dramatic.
Birth trauma will often occur with complicated deliveries when equipment such as forceps are used to assist the labour. Doctors and nurses do everything in their power to avoid trauma to the baby. Unfortunately birth complications can quickly develop and urgent action needs to be taken.
The pulling or twisting on the baby’s spine during labour can increase the risk of injury.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF BIRTH TRAUMA?
Your newborn baby will often not have visible bruising or swelling from birth trauma. As babies are unable to speak, pain will often be expressed as irritability or an inability to settle.
They may have other more subtle signs of distress that you need to be aware of. Their head may be tilted or rotated more to one side or even tilt backward slightly.
Your baby may have difficulty feeding or prefer one breast over the other. They may be irritable and crying when feeding off the alternate breast. They could also show signs of troubled sleep, excessive crying, or constant arching of their back.
HOW DOES GROWING UP AFFECT CHILDREN’S SPINES
“AS THE TWIG IS BENT, SO GROWS THE TREE.” – ALEXANDER POPE
When your children begin to walk, they can have many of falls and any number of these can cause pain and damage their spine or muscles. They can fall off bikes, trees, beds or monkey bars and while this is a regular part of growing up, these falls can cause injury or just general aches and pains.
Trauma from an injury is one of the most common reasons that parents seek chiropractic care from our clinic for their children.
Children often experience pain in their back, neck or other joints that is diagnosed as ‘growing pains’. Sometimes this isn’t actually the cause. At Coolum Family Chiropractic, we perform a thorough examination to see if chiropractic care could be helpful in reducing these symptoms.
As your child continues to age, studying becomes very important and the hours spent at a desk, either at school or home, can impact on how their spine and muscles are functioning. This is another area where chiropractic care may be helpful.
Adolescents often experience headaches, neck pain and stiffness and low back pain while at school, chiropractic care may be able to help improve these problems.
FIND OUT IF CHIROPRACTIC CARE CAN HELP YOUR CHILD
HOW CAN CHIROPRACTIC HELP CHILDHOOD SYMPTOMS?
Chiropractic assessment simply focuses on how the spine and joints are moving and if loss of normal movement in a child’s spine is causing pain or affecting their health.
Your chiropractor will perform a thorough exam to determine exactly how your child’s spine is functioning then discuss with you if chiropractic care could benefit them.
If chiropractic care is indicated, the Chiropractic adjustments that are used are tailored to fit your child’s size, weight, and spinal condition. These techniques are are gentle, specific and individualised to each child.
Contact us today to find out if chiropractic care could be helpful for your child.