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Did you know . . . children should see a chiropractor too?
You are probably thinking “why?”—right? Or maybe you are thinking that children should not have back problems, that only happens when you are older. Well, our office is seeing an increase in the number of children who need a chiropractor.
Children today have neck postures that can be worse than those of an elderly patient. This is due to the amount of time they are spending on tablets and electronic devices. Children do not spend as much time outside as previous generations. Because of their high amount of screen time, they are developing a new condition called “tech neck.” Yes, this is a legitimate diagnosis these days.
At Morter Family Chiropractic we are seeing more and more children with forward head carriage, resulting in not only neck and shoulder pain but also lower back pain.
Maybe tech-neck issues are not the problem that they are having. Other issues could have started at birth, and as parents you did not think about getting them checked out.
Once a baby is born, we are taught to be gentle and support their frail body. However, the birthing process is quite the opposite—it must be, in order to deliver the child. During birth, the pulling of the baby can put up to 90 pounds of force on a baby’s neck and other parts of the body needed to help the baby get out. So, does it make sense that some issues could start there?
Nervous system imbalances can present themselves when a baby will only breastfeed on one side. Colic is another common issue, and even excessive bed wetting as the child gets older.
Are our spines not developed once we are born? The answer is, not entirely. Only the thoracic spine curvature is developed. As a baby learns to hold its head up and practices tummy time (the period during the day your baby spends awake and on their stomach), the cervical spine curvature is strengthened and developed. Then, once they start crawling, the lumbar spine curvature strengthens and develops. The birthing process puts trauma on the cervical spine, but the jumpers we place children in can cause some issues with their lumbar development. Children also fall down a lot, but because we do not think about having children’s spines checked, we do not take them to the chiropractor. Instead, their body responds in other ways: presenting colic, digestive issues, ear infections and excessive bed wetting.
In our office we encourage the entire family to be under chiropractic care. With children, they usually do not need to be checked as often as adults, but we still encourage parents to seek treatment for their children as soon as possible after a fall or in the case of physical concerns.
The youngest patient we have had in our office was a 4-day-old baby, a referral from a lactation consultant. The baby could not turn its head both ways to feed, which caused the mom to be uncomfortable. After a light pressure adjustment, Dr. Josh was able to restore motion in the baby’s neck and the baby was able to feed on both sides.
Call us today and let us do a check-up for you and the entire family. Or, if you are already seeing a chiropractor yourself, take your children in as well for a spinal check sometime. It is the best childhood investment you can make for your children.
Until next month, stay healthy, my friends. – Dr. Josh
