Young Spines

Children are our most precious gift. I believe that children benefit most from chiropractic care. Their young nerve systems are especially susceptible to nerve interference caused by subluxations. Subluxations are easily caused from falls accidents, common childhood activities and especially from the birth process itself. Having your child checked for subluxations is one thing you can do to help insure healthier development and life for your child.

Your Child & Chiropractic/Medical Studies

Every baby needs to have a healthy spinal column. It's the framework that will support your child throughout his or her growing years and adulthood. Studies have shown that newborn infants often enter the world with spinal trauma due to the birth process. Even under the best conditions, birthing can be difficult for the infant who has spent nine months cradled in the dark, warm "waterbed" of the womb. It's very important to have your infant checked by a chiropractor shortly after his or her birth to be certain that there isn't any nerve interference. Periodic checks should continue throughout your child's lifetime.

Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D., was one of America's leading pediatricians and a vocal proponent of home delivery. In his consciousness-raising book Confessions of a Medical Heretic, he discussed how babies born in the hospital are six times more likely to suffer distress during labor and delivery, eight times more likely to get caught in the birth canal, four times more likely to need resuscitation, four times more likely to become infected and thirty times more likely to be permanently injured.

A study conducted by Lewis B Mehl, M.D. of the University of Wisconsin Infant Development Center reviewed 2,000 births. Nearly half of these had been home deliveries. Fourteen of the home-born babies had to be resuscitated as compared to fifty-two of those born in the hospital. And only one home-delivered baby suffered neurological damage compared to six of the hospital babies.

The figures reveal the benefits of home delivery. This is why many chiropractors and their families select natural childbirth at home.

In 1987, the German medical journal, Manuelle Medizin, published a report of a study which examined 1,250 babies five days after birth. Of this group, 211 suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and Sleeplessness. Upon examination, 95 percent of these children had spinal abnormalities. After being adjusted, all the infants became quiet, the crying stopped, their muscles relaxed and they went to sleep.

Goffried Gutmann, M.D., one of Europe's most prominent researchers, has reported that modified nerve impulses can contribute to a lowered resistance to infection. Based on a study of over 1000 infants and children, Dr. Gutmann reported that increased susceptibility to ear, nose and throat infection is one of the most common consequences of upper neck problems. Dr. Gutmann contends that the spinal mechanics should be evaluated in every newborn.

In one case history, an eighteen-month-old boy suffered from tonsillitis, frequent enteritis, conjunctivitis, colds and earaches. Because of all these ailments he had trouble sleeping. After his first spinal adjustment the little boy began to sleep through the night and it wasn't long before he was in good health.

Scientists are still learning how to accurately assess the damage to infants. They do know that a slight pull on the neck during delivery can cause a subluxation that might cause damage too slight to be noticeable immediately. But eventually it might cause some learning disability.

One of the greatest gifts you can give your newborn is a complete spinal examination by a doctor of chiropractic.

Chiropractors feel strongly that the entire family can benefit by having spinal checkups. The children who have been under regular chiropractic care get sick less often and less severely. They rarely miss days from school. Recent studies have also shown that they have fewer emotional and learning disabilities and other neurological problems connected with childhood. In 1989, a study compared the patients of two hundred pediatricians with two hundred children who had been under the care of chiropractors. Not only was the overall health of the chiropractic children superior to those who had known only medical treatment but they also had fewer ear infections, fewer allergies, lower incidence of tonsillitis and less need to be given antibiotic therapy.

Chiropractic care provides a unique opportunity to improve health and experience a sense of well being and level of health like you may have never experienced before.

Chiropractic as a distinct healthcare profession is over 100 years old. The focus is to help you achieve optimal health and/or restore health rather than suppress symptoms. Chiropractors seek the underlying cause of conditions by adjusting the spine in order to restore proper nerve supply caused by an imbalance in spinal bones called subluxations at the spinal level or at higher brain centers. Subluxations disrupt proper communication between the brain and the body. When the nervous system is not functioning at 100% either are you. The adjustments work in harmony with the natural healing mechanisms of the body rather than against them. Once the nerve supply to the organ, muscle or tissue in the body is restored, the brain and the rest of the body regains communication and healing can take place.

WHY DO CHILDREN NEED CHIROPRACTIC CARE?

Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked for "subluxations."

Subluxations may occur at any time in our lives. For example, during the birthing process, difficult vaginal or obstetrical intervention (forceps, vacuum extraction or Caesarean), can cause subluxations. Such procedures often disrupt the integrity of the delicate infants spinal column, altering the function of the nerve fibers emanating from the upper neck area. Later, learning to walk, riding a bicycle, and other childhood activities can cause spinal problems.

Many childhood complaints brushed off as "growing pains" can often be traced to the spine. Children with repeated ear infections, allergies, asthma, ADHD or hyperactivity, and other maladies result from lowered resistance, which may be caused by nerve system interference due to a "subluxation." Regular chiropractic checkups can identify underlying problems and help avoid many health complaints seen later in adults. Children love to get adjusted and often seem healthier than other children.

Subluxations (spinal misalignments) interfere with life. It is imperative for parents to know that many times subluxations are the underlying cause of childhood and adulthood health problems. As parents, we want our children to have healthier lives. However, we need to know some basic facts about real obstacles to our children's health.

Subluxations halt the vital life flow we need to nourish us and keep us alive. A misaligned or subluxated vertebra puts pressure on the nervous system, thus interfering with the primary carrier of our life force. This pressure on the nervous system disrupts the body's ability to function effectively.

Many times children have accidents and parents may believe that they are fine because there is no external evidence of damage. Spinal subluxations sometimes don't signal an obvious symptom. The earlier children's spines are checked, the earlier problems can be detected, preventing health problems from occurring and becoming serious.

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Last modified: May 11, 2001, Friday.