Kids and Chiropractic

This pediatric section of our
website is provided so as to afford parents the information
necessary to optimize
their children’s chances of a healthy and full life.
I must first start off by stating, as a parent, I can fully appreciate
the love and self-giving that the vast majority of parents have for
their children. To knowingly expose their child to a potentially
dangerous situation is not what a loving parent would ever do, yet
too often it is what happens due to a parent’s lack of understanding
or appreciation of such hazards.
I have prepared this section focusing on children’s health
because of my own experiences with pediatrics. With the birth of
my own children I began to realize just how difficult it could be
to raise a child in a healthy manner, especially if a parent wasn’t
aware of the underlying faults in our current health care concepts.
As I obtained my Post Graduate certification in Pediatrics, the information
that I was exposed to in the program, and the information that obtained
during independent research of my own, convinced me that I had to
make a conscious effort to educate the public as to the potential
dangers awaiting their children. Current research supports my beliefs
that if we do not take an active role in our children’s health
today, the welfare of our future generations would be at stake.
For many of my patients, it initially strikes them as an unnecessary
action to have their children evaluated for misalignments (Subluxations)
of their spines, and in turn, interference of their nervous systems.
When I have asked my adult patients as to why they feel they should
benefit from Chiropractic care, and yet leave their children home
to develop the same conditions that they themselves are in my office
receiving treatment for, they usually don’t have an answer.
Only after they understand how a child may encounter misalignments
of their spine, which enables interference to occur, do they appreciate
just how important an evaluation of their child’s spine and
nervous system really is. Evaluations of a “healthy” child,
or well visits, are accepted within the medical pediatric community
and also in the dental fields. The need to ensure a properly functioning
nervous system in a newborn or a rapidly growing child is not to
be underestimated or downplayed in the least. The need for proper
body function and a healthy development can be greatly enhanced by
the child’s regular Chiropractic check ups.
The Stressors
One
of the greatest mis-understood concepts of Chiropractic is that,
although it is very effective for the relief and elimination of
spinal pain and dysfunction, it is far more valuable as a method
of enabling your entire body to function to the best of its ability
through an “interference free” nervous system.
When human beings are exposed to stress in the form of Chemical,
Physical, or Emotional stress factors, our nervous systems react
in a very predicable manner. The changes to our nervous systems may
be very subtle in the ways of recognizable symptoms, yet devastating
to our health in the form of dis-ease and loss of the quality of
life. The vast majority of children DO experience such nerve interference,
and as a result, impaired health.
Physical Stress
One of the most traumatic events of a child’s life is their
actual childbirth. The forces encountered during childbirth are significant
to say the least.
Medical studies have been performed which reveal just how susceptible
to injury a newborn’s neck and spinal cord are. Due to the
rather graphic nature of the study, I have made the details available
when you on click this link: Childbirth Studies
Children can also be born with a condition known as Erb’s
Palsy due to traumatic childbirth, during which their arms are pulled
with enough force to damage the nerves exiting the neck.
The forces can be so significant that the balance of the baby’s
upper cervical (neck) vertebra can, and most often, are affected.
A prominent medical doctor from Bas Sassendorf, West Germany has
documented such findings. In his report, Dr. Gutmann documented that
in his and other German studies, 80% of ALL children are
not in autonomic balance when born (balance of the part of their nervous system that
regulates body function). His colleague, Dr. Frymann reported that
he examined a random group of 1250 babies post partum. 211 of these
babies suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity, and sleeplessness.
Manual examination revealed cervical strain in 95% of this
group. Spinal adjustments of these
children “frequently resulted in
immediate quieting, cessation of crying, muscular relaxation, and
sleepiness”.
Gutmann’s report concluded that after every difficult birth,
it should be mandatory that the child be evaluated for
motor development and manual control due to potential high risk of
interference of
the upper cervical vertebra and the nerves associated with such forceful
childbirths.
Furthermore, he concluded that the upper neck “should
be examined and if warranted, adjusted, since the success of adjustment
overshadows
every other type of treatment”.
The research focusing on the traumatic effects of childbirth is
very compelling and such information should be taken into consideration
when determining a child’s need for a Chiropractic assessment
of their nervous system.
For those who have children who are active and into exploring their
own little worlds, few will doubt the following statistic:
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has stated
that by the age of 7 a child has already been involved in
2,500 traumas.
That number sounds like a lot until you spend an hour watching a
child. The falls, the jumps, the tackling of another or by another,
the walking into a wall or door, falling off a bicycle or skateboard,
sporting events, falling in dance class, tumbling about with a friend,
getting hit on the head by another child with a toy,…..well
you get the idea. When you count up the amount of “traumas” your
child has in any given day, you come to realize 2,500 may not be
that high a number after all!
Chemical Stress
Although the physical forces are substantial, so can the chemical
factors. The mother to baby ratio is 10:1. This means that for
every drug the mother takes, or is given, the baby gets the equivalent
to 10 times as much. When you consider the various drugs a pregnant
woman may take during her pregnancy, it should be pointed out that
the baby is also exposed to the same chemicals. Evidence of this
has been proven with the discovery of NSAID’s (non steroidal
anti inflammatory drugs) in the merconium (initial waste material)
of newborn babies. Examples of such drugs are Tylenol,
Advil, and
Pepto Bismol to name a few.
Pregnant women may take such readily available drugs without knowing
exactly how much they may affect their unborn child, or just how
long the drugs may remain within their baby’s system. These
drugs have also been shown to damage the integrity of the newborns
lungs.
Some pregnant mothers may also receive vaccinations (Flu) for example,
and such chemical stress adds to the baby’s overall levels,
and can initiate changes within their young developing bodies. Dietary
concerns are also to be considered when assess the degrees of accumulated
chemical stress on a developing fetus. Many foods that we consider
to be “healthy” actually have unhealthy ingredients.
These “safe” foods are given to the children to take
to school as snacks and enjoyed after school.
One of the most well known “conditions” that school
children are affected by in today’s day and age is ADHD/ADD,
or otherwise known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
A study undertaken by Dr. Doris Rapp M.D. indicated that about 65%
of hyperactive children on Ritalin could be helped by diet, and without
the use of drugs. She commented, “If
the kitchen faucet leaks, we don’t call for a demolition crew...Ritalin
is not the only or the best way to quiet some unruly, inattentive
children.”
Emotional Stress
It has been estimated that we experience more stress in one year
than our grandparents did in their entire lifetimes. Technology,
and sociological aspects of our society, has changed at such a
rapid pace that human beings as a species have had difficulty coping
or adapting to the change.
Our children feel the stress just as much, if not more. The pressures
of increasing academic demands, interacting socially, the pressures
involved with sports they are trying to succeed in, and the unfortunate
pressures of original, divorced, and remarried families are but a
few of the psychological stressors that affect the nervous systems
of today’s children.
The effects of stress are devastating on the human body and the
human nervous system. A much more in depth understanding of how stress
affects our bodies can be obtained by reading the various articles
and health reports pertaining to STRESS that are available on this
site.
The greatest responsibility a parent has is the health and welfare
of their children. We are dedicated to assisting parents in making
the correct healthcare choices for their children.
As a standard policy
of this office, there is NEVER a charge for
a screening scan of a child. These accurate and insightful exams
are completely painless and non-invasive. The section on Nervous
System Scans gives a full description and also offers examples
of the actual scans of some of our patients.
Some topics pertaining to children that you may wish to search our
website database for, so as to learn more about and to offer your
children additional health care choices are as follows:
Our database is extensive and we encourage you to search for any
particular topic or subject that interests you. Should you have any
additional questions please feel free to contact
us.
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