The Tribune

By THE BAHAMAS 
ASSOCIATION OF 
CHIROPRACTIC

MOST people acknowledge the value of chiropractic care for adults. But a more normally working nervous system can help everyone. Before subjecting their children to risky drugs or hoping it’s “just a phase they’re going through”, wise parents consult our practice.

Chiropractic care for children is different from that for adults. Tailored to their age and weight, their adjustments often require no more pressure than you’d use to test the ripeness of a tomato.

Children seem to innately enjoy their chiropractic care and look forward to their visits. Can you identify the signs of spinal nerve interference in your children?

Proper maternal nutrition, exercise and regular chiropractic care help create the best opportunity for healthy prenatal growth. Baby clothes, bassinets and car seats are also concerns. These are important, but consider the trauma of the birth process.

• The First Subluxation

Pulling, forcing and twisting a baby from the birth canal are still too common. Caesarean section, forceps, suction extraction or eager hands can do unseen damage. Even “natural” birthing methods can cause subluxations. Subluxations are areas of your baby’s spine that interfere or distort controlling nerve impulses between the brain and body.

With vital neurological signals compromised, your child’s health may be impaired from his or her first breath. Other problems can appear years later. Only a chiropractic examination can tell if subluxations are involved.

• “Waaaaaah!”

Without the language to explain what’s wrong, some newborns exhibit unexplained crying, a lack of appetite, allergic reactions or other difficulties. Newborns and infants often show a tendency to hold their head to one side or prefer breast- feeding from one side. These are ways they cope with abnormal spinal function and an impaired nervous system.

Chiropractic care has been shown to be helpful for many infants suffering from colic. As subluxations are reduced, more normal sleep patterns often emerge. Many parents notice that other aspects of their child’s health improve as well. Chiropractors are alert to the many ways nerve interference can negatively affect your baby’s health.

Many infants and toddlers will rub or tug at their ears. If they can talk, they complain. If they can’t, their crying makes us feel helpless, even desperate.

• “My ear hurts.”

Subluxations are often found in children who suffer from chronic earaches. An impaired nerve supply can make their middle ears and Eustachian tubes susceptible to fluid buildup or even infection.

Traditional treatment usually involves the antibiotic amoxicillin. The result? A recent study showed that children taking amoxicillin compromise their immune system function. They are twice as likely to have recurring ear problems as those taking just a placebo. Instead, restoring proper nerve supply with safe and natural chiropractic care has helped thousands.

As children grow and explore their world, crawling leads to walking. Walking leads to running. Tricycles lead to bicycles. Before we know it, their mobility and curiosity produce a whirlwind of nonstop activity. Along the way they lose their balance. They fall. They slip. They trip. They stumble. They tumble. A kiss and a bandage may be comforting, but what about the unseen injury to their spine?

• “I have a boo boo.”

Even though your child’s young body has tremendous capacity to adapt, uncorrected subluxations can set the stage for problems often seen later in adults. Regular chiropractic checkups during this time of rapid growth can be helpful.

• “My tummy doesn’t feel so good.”

What’s the difference between children who seem to get “the bugs that are going around” and those who don’t? Spinal subluxations may inhibit your child’s ability to ward off infection. Weakened by a compromised nervous system, his stomach, lungs, nose, ears and throat can welcome viruses and other microbes.

Restoring the integrity of the nervous system and the workings of every cell and tissue is what chiropractic care is all about. Many parents who consult our practice report that their children miss less school and seem healthier than other children.

With puberty come hormonal changes, a new self-consciousness, awkwardness and a lack of coordination. A host of nonspecific aches, pains and muscle spasms often appear.

• “Why do I get cramps in my legs?”

These so-called “growing pains” may be common, but they are not normal. That they seem to resolve on their own is merely a tribute to the adaptive qualities of children’s growing bodies. Uneven leg length, unbalanced hips and other underlying spinal distortions often go unnoticed.

We see the results years later in adults with chronic, more difficult-to-correct problems. Parents who want their children to enjoy their fullest potential consult our practice to help assure proper growth and development.

• “My head hurts.”

Aches and pains at any age are signs that something isn’t right. It’s convenient to treat the symptoms with a couple of aspirin or some other medication.

But should you?

Worse, what do you teach your child when you help her feel better by taking a drug? How will you explain the difference between a “good” drug and a “bad” drug? Virtually every drug has side effects. Will your child be the one to experience stomach bleeding, liver damage or other side effects from popular over-the-counter pain relievers? Rather than dangerous symptom treating, the chiropractic approach detects and helps correct a common underlying cause. Without drugs. A common symptom during adolescence, especially in girls, is an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine called a “scoliosis.” Alert parents may notice that a high shoulder or low hip make clothing fit poorly. Back and leg pains may also be present.

• “I don’t like the way my clothes fit.”

A thorough chiropractic examination can help detect scoliosis in its earliest stages. That way, corrective action can begin with a program of specific chiropractic adjustments. Adjustments help reduce subluxations and improve spinal structure and function. Muscles can strengthen. Posture can improve.

Safe and natural chiropractic care has helped many young women avoid braces, surgery and the psychological effects of this underlying deformity.

We have high hopes for our children. Above all we want them to be happy, be healthy and reach their fullest potential. Raising children is a big responsibility that can produce extraordinary joy and satisfaction.

• Our duty as parents

Along the way you’ll make many choices on their behalf. Will you allow needless antibiotics to tamper with your child’s immune system? Will you agree to ear surgery to install an artificial drainage system? Will you consent to the use of Ritalin or other personality-altering drugs? Or, will you trust the ability of their body to heal naturally, unhampered by subluxations?

Please choose wisely.

• Today’s chiropractic

Traditional symptom-treating is expensive and unattractive. That’s why more and more families include a chiropractor on their health team. We look at the total you. We acknowledge the self- healing properties of the body. We know that regardless of their age, a subluxation-free nervous system gives your child the opportunity to be their very best.