Kids and Chiropractic
Children, as we well know, are very active. They spend an endless amount of time jumping, running and playing hard. But, sometimes all of this physical activity will put undue stress on spinal nerves which can lower a child’s resistance to a number of ailments.
Dr. Leigh and staff love kids and provide chiropractic care to children of all ages. Here, Dr. Leigh's daughter, Katie, is enjoying herself with friends and a party. Katie receives chiropractic care from mom regularly and is ready for more days of kid filled activities.
Children can develop their first subluxations at birth. Caesarian section, forceps delivery and suction extraction can place tremendous pressure on a baby’s nervous system. Lacking the ability to communicate, babies with subluxations often exhibit unexplained crying, colic, poor sleeping patterns and other symptoms. Kids are also at risk of spinal misalignments due to falls while learning to crawl and walk, as well as many other “normal” traumas that children experience.
Unfortunately, many times children spend their growing time plagued with adult-type problems such as fatigue, nervousness, poor concentration, headaches, back pain or irritability just to name a few.
Backpacks and book bags present a serious problem with regard to growing children. As kids attend school through the years they carry heavy backpacks that could be a precursor to bad posture, scoliosis or other health problems.
At the time when kids (especially girls) grow rapidly, they are saddled with as much as 20 to 30 pounds of books and other school supplies tucked in their book bags or backpacks. Most of those bags are carried over one shoulder or the other, not distributed evenly across the back. It's as if strapping a bowling ball to the top of a small pine sapling. It will, eventually, bend under the weight. A child's spine works the same way. A youngsters bones are much softer than an adult's and still growing. As the small pine tree grows in that bent over position so too will a child's spine.
Bad posture can lead to structural problems that can lead to cronic pain and soreness in the neck, middle and lower back. It will lend to uneven stresses on the spine and potential degenerative back problems as children get older. Stress on the spine can also cause stress on the spinal cord and central nervous system which can open the door for a variety of chronic health problems.
Before the age of 10, youngsters seldom complain of a backache. When they do, it’s usually for a day or so and then the problem is not mentioned again. Often times, a vertebra can remain out of alignment (subluxated) and the child’s pliable spine adapts to the situation. “As a tree is bent, so shall it grow!” is an old adage that can be applied to the spine. Spinal misalignments in a young spine can develop curvatures which create spinal problems in adult life. A curvature is an abnormal spinal contour, known as scoliosis, a type of curvature that has an abnormal side to side bend.
The process of scoliosis development goes as follows:
First, the spine does not develop its normal front to back arches, and this causes unusual weight to be carried on the spinal discs.
Second, the center of certain discs shifts to one side and the vertebrae tip to the other side resulting in a lateral curvature of the spine with rotation of the vertebrae within the curve. This misalignment causes the spine to tip to one side. To compensate for this bend, the spine then tips to the other side at another level and the result is scoliosis.
Many times these problems can be prevented with attention, proper exercise and good eating habits. Family chiropractors that see kids can recognize spinal misalignment and, in many cases, slow down or reverse the debilitation if dealt with early enough.
Here Dr. Leigh is applying traditional chiropractic
treatment to client April Smith, 11 years old.
Chiropractic care has often proven to be the most effective means of curvature control and correction:
As Dr. Fred H. Barge, in his book "Scoliosis" states, “From the time children are very young, the swingy swing, play pens and walkers, are encouraging children to walk too soon. Exercises in school such as sit-ups, and bending over touching the toes are destructive to the proper development of normal spinal contours. The enforced sitting in school all day also contributes to improper development of normal spinal curves. All of these things can lead to the development of curvatures and scoliosis. If the problem is detected early in a young child, it can often be straightened. Regular chiropractic examination, especially after a severe fall or sports activity, can detect spinal subluxations. Chiropractic spinal adjustment can correct these misalignments and return the spine to its proper position.”
There can however be other causes of curvature. Hereditary development, a short leg, pelvic (hip) distortions, certain diseases, all can contribute to curvature development, but early detection and chiropractic care may prevent further curvature. Surgery and bracing are rarely sometimes necessary, but control and reduction through chiropractic care should be a primary consideration in all cases of scoliosis or lateral curvature of the spine.