Chiropractic is very safe, even for children when the adjustments are performed properly. What most people don’t understand is that chiropractic is more like a sport in that not only do you need to have knowledge of the game, you need to be skilled enough to pull off the techniques. A chiropractor is more similar to a surgeon than a medical doctor. You have to know exactly how the joints move and what happens by adjusting it at certain angles (knowledge, school, academics) while being skilled enough to make the adjustments like a pro shooting a free throw, or hitting that tennis smash.
That is why it is so important to find a good chiropractor because often times a bad adjustment can be worse than no adjustment and this goes double for a baby or child. However, when done right–adjustments for children can have life long benefits.  And this is solely because as children our spines are still malleable as it grows and like many things in life if you invest early you get a greater return. In this case of chiropractic your child gets to grow up without a crooked spine.
One of the most common reason parents seek care for their child is trauma from an injury of some sort. These misalignments may or may not result in immediate pain or symptoms. Regular chiropractic checkups can identify potential spinal injury from these traumas in children, but if spinal corrections are made early in life the spine may be strong enough to resist these traumas along with many other health complaints seen later in adults. Proper spinal hygiene is an important key to better health in both children and adults just as brushing your teeth is.
More and more parents are seeking chiropractic care for their children. Many spinal problems in adults began as early as birth. Even so called natural birthing methods can stress an infant’s spine and developing nerve system. The resulting irritation to the nerve system caused by spinal and cranial misalignment can be the cause of many newborn health complaints including colic, breathing problems, nursing difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergy reactions and chronic infections. These can often be traced to nerve system stress.
Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked right away. As the infant grows, learns to hold up it’s head, sit, crawl, and walk… These activities impact spinal alignment and are the most crucial times to have a child checked by a Doctor of Chiropractic.
As the child begins to participate in regular childhood activities like skating or riding a bike, small yet significant spinal misalignments (subluxations) may occur. If neglected, the injuries during this period of rapid growth may lead to more serious problems later in life. Subtle trauma throughout childhood will affect the future development of the spine leading to impaired nervous system function. Any interference to the vital nerve system will adversely affect the body’s ability to function at its best.
Another sought out reason for care is the resolution of a particular symptom or condition. Parents seek care for conditions such as colic, ear infections, asthma, allergies and headaches (to name a few) because they have heard from other parents that chiropractic care can help.
The expertise of a chiropractor is branded as checking the spine for misalignments that impair nervous system function which can affect overall body function. But a good chiropractor knows the body is connected and has knowledge of the entire system as a whole. That’s why we do full body adjustments here at Just For The Health Of It because everything is linked to your spine and nervous system. The vertebrae protects the spinal cord. The spinal cord is an extension of the brain and carries information from the brain to the body parts and back to the brain again. Subluxations interfere with the nerve’s ability to transmit this vital information. The nervous system controls and coordinates the function of all the systems in the body: circulatory, respiratory, digestive, hormonal, eliminative, and immune system. Any aspect of health may be impaired by nerve interference and thus chiropractors really should be the first line of defense. The chiropractic adjustment restores nerve system function allowing the body to heal faster and naturally like how it was designed to.
References:
CAM Journal FACT has also shown that chiropractic care for children is safe and effective.
