Important Times to Get Your Child Checked by a Structural Chiropractor

Right after Birth

The birth process itself is commonly the most stressful situation placed on your child’s spine before their 10th birthday! There is a tremendous amount of pulling and twisting on the child’s cervical spine. Structural shifts that take place during this process can affect your child’s development and put stress on the nerve system that can lead to symptoms as children and later in life. We can help at Stevens Chiropractic!

Not sleeping well

When kids aren’t sleeping well, nobody is sleeping well! Often, structural shifts (vertebral subluxation) in children don’t present with pain symptoms. The nerve system in children is still developing. One common sign we see of structural problems that affect the nerve system is sleeping problems. This can lead to kids having trouble falling asleep or having trouble staying asleep.

Any time they fall or have an accident…ANY TIME

A fall or accident, no matter how big or small, can cause structural shifts in the spine of a child that can set the stage for long term problems! If you shift the foundation of a house even an inch what happens to that house over time? It starts to break down! Children fall on their tailbone and pelvis on average 25-30 times per day* when learning how to walk! As adults most of our problems actually began forming when we were kids…it’s time to catch that process early so we can help our little ones grow up and develop the way they are supposed to!

Whenever your child’s body is fighting off something

Studies have shown that Chiropractic can boost the immune system 200%-300%! That’s huge! As children grow, their immune systems develop and get stronger and stronger! Making sure that their spine and nerve system are functioning at 100% helps them to develop a strong immune system so they can get healthy and stay healthy! In order to protect itself and fight off viruses and bacteria the body must be functioning at 100%!

During major developmental milestones

Whenever your child hits a developmental milestone, it changes the type of stress they are putting on their spine or nerve system. When they start to lift their head up, when they roll over, when they start to sit up, when they start to crawl, when they stand up, when they start to walk, when they start to run, when they start playing sports, etc… Whatever the milestone, it changes how he/she is using his/her body! It is important to make sure that children are developing and functioning properly each step of the way before bigger problems show up!

If they are wetting the bed

Bed wetting is commonly overlooked as something that is behavioral but many times this can be a sign of a structural problem in the spine! When this happens, children often don’t have control of the involuntary muscles that allow them to “hold it” throughout the night. This is a common thing we see kids come in with in our office.

If you notice them favoring one side when turning their head or walking/crawling

When part of the body is structurally off the child will tend to favor the other side. Mothers tend to notice this with babies when breastfeeding. Watch how your child sleeps in a car seat or how he/she crawls or walks. This could be indication of a problem starting that could affect the rest of the spine.

References:
http://www.psych.nyu.edu/adolph/publications/Adolph%20EtAl%20HowDoYouLearnToWalk.pdf

http://www.naturalnews.com/031206_chiropractic_immunity.html