When Should Your Child See a Chiropractor?
It’s that time of year when parents & kids are preparing for the school year to start again. In addition to gathering the appropriate school supplies, this is a great time to consider how you can support your children’s health this year. We all know that going to school can be demanding for a child, both physically and mentally. Chiropractic care can help your child feel good and preform better in school this year!
Why Would a Child Need Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic empowers the body’s innate intelligence to adapt and heal. This is great for children as well as adults! If a child experiences the typical bumps & bruises that come with being a kid, they are likely to acquire subtle spinal misalignments and tension in their systems. Once they reach school age, sitting all day, carrying heavy backpacks and looking down at phones and tablets all put substantial pressure on a young one’s spine. These physical stressors combined with the mental/emotional stress of school (& life!) can wreak havoc on their still developing systems.
Signs That a Child Would Benefit From Chiropractic Care
Although the actual spinal misalignments may be hard to detect, the effect they have on the nervous system is usually noticeable. These include:
Trouble sleeping
Digestive problems
Weak immune system
Mental fogginess
Poor posture
Poor balance & coordination
Slow recovery time from injury & illness
Difficulty concentrating
Headaches
Body pains
Even behavioral problems, ADHD and learning issues may be linked to nervous system dysfunction caused by spinal misalignment. When the spine is out of alignment the nervous system is effected and this can manifest in a wide variety of ways.
What Does Pediatric Chiropractic Care Include?
As with adults, pediatric care involves taking a history of the individual to better understand what they are experiencing. Depending on the age of the child, this may be done through talking with the parent or the parent and the child. Then, a physical exam is performed followed by the appropriate spinal adjustments. Adjustments are safe, gentle and low-force. In some cases the adjustment is performed using only slight pressure of the doctors fingertip.
Are There Risks?
Chiropractic care for kids is very safe and low-risk. Because of their more flexible spines and smaller bodies, very little force is required for the adjustment to be effective. At Awaken, Dr Maddie uses gentle manual adjusting techniques or a tool called the Activator which delivers a quick, low-force adjustment. Depending on their age, their needs and their comfort level, there may or may not be any cracking noises as we realign the spine.
Does it Hurt?
A recent study done by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) showed that only a few children (out of more than 10,000 visits) experienced minor discomfort and fussiness. The remaining children in the study had no adverse reactions to the adjustment.