A child’s health is vital to their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. As parents, one of the most important roles we have is to teach and encourage our children to be healthy from an early age.
A child’s spine is subjected to a range of stresses from birth. All births, particularly assisted deliveries, are stressful for a child’s body and can affect the baby’s developing spine and nervous system. Children’s bodies also grow and develop at a rapid rate. As they grow up they run, play, fall, tumble, and trip over countless times. It’s important to look after their developing bodies during childhood to give them the best start in life.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Children
- Helping a range of common childhood conditions including colic, asthma, allergies, recurrent chest and ear infections and behavioural problems
- Improved coordination, strength and flexibility
- Decreased occurrence of colds and flu
- Being happier, healthier and resting more easily
- Less spinal degeneration and problems in adulthood
- Early detection and prevention of scoliosis
- Stimulating brain activity and development
- Increased emotional balance and feeling of general wellbeing
- To maximise a increase in your child’s plasticity (brain and nerve development)
- To improve spinal posture
- To improve your child’s ability to concentrate
- To help alleviate bed wetting and digestive problems
Colic
A common result of subluxation early in life is Irritable Baby Syndrome. This is commonly referred to as “colic”.
Other factors that may contribute to Irritable Baby Syndrome include:
* Food intolerance/allergy (cow milk protein or lactose)
* Gastro-oesophageal reflux
A Danish study involving 316 babies with colic showed a 94 % success rate after 2 weeks.(1)
In another study (2) chiropractic care was compared to the standard medical treatment using Dimethicone. After 5 days there was a positive response in 70 % of the chiropractic group and 20 % of the drug group.
(1) Klougart N, Nilsson N and Jacobsen J. ‘Infantile Colic Treated by Chiropractors: A Prospective Study of 316 Cases’, JMPT (1989) 12:281-288
(2) Wiberg JMM, Nordsteen J and Nilsson N. The short-term effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic. A randomised control trial with a blinded observer JMPT (1999) 22(8):517-522
Otitis Media
Middle Ear Infection
Otitis Media, commonly known as middle ear infection, may often respond to chiropractic adjustments. Subluxation (especially of the upper neck) may interfere with the nerve messages to the muscles that control the opening of the eustacian tube – this increases the chance of infection.
A total of 57 patients with recurrent otitis media were studied. (1) 25 received standard paediatric care plus spinal manipulation and 32 received paediatric care only. Those receiving spinal manipulation showed fewer recurrent episodes and fewer cases that required surgery.
(1) Miriam V. Mills, MD; Charles E. Henley, DO, MPH; Laura L. B. Barnes, PHD; Jane E. Carreiro, DO; Brian F. Degenhardt, DC. The Use of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment as Adjunctant Therapy in Children With Recurrent Acute Otitis Media. APAM 2003;157:861-866
What else can help prevent otitis media?
Breastfeeding can help protect babies against ear infections and other respiratory illnesses, according to a 2006 study published in Pediatrics. The study compared babies who received only breast milk during the first 6 months of life with babies who were breastfed for less than 6 months. Babies who were breastfed less were nearly twice as likely to have recurrent ear infections by the time they were 2 years old, and they were 4 times more likely to develop pneumonia than babies who received a full 6 months of breast milk.
What causes Otitis Media?
Middle ear infections (otitis media) develop when bacteria or viruses get inside the ear and begin to multiply. These bacteria and viruses often enter the body as causes or complications of another respiratory infection, such as the common cold or a viral sore throat.
Children are more vulnerable to otitis media than are adults.
Two reasons for this difference in vulnerability are:
1. Children have eustachian tubes which are smaller and straighter than those in adults.
* The eustachian tubes connect the middle ear with the back of the nose and help to stabilize air pressure within the ear. In children, these tubes are smaller and straighter than in adults, a difference in anatomy, which makes it easier for bacteria to enter the middle ear from the nose and throat.
2. Children have larger adenoids than do adults.
* The adenoids are tonsil-like structures located just out of sight at the junction of the back of the nose and the upper throat. Like tonsils, adenoids tend to be much bigger in childhood than later in life. Ear infections may be more likely to develop when swollen adenoids block the nearby openings of the eustachian tubes.
Ear infections are the most common infections in babies and young children. It is estimated that 75% of children under the age of 3 will experience as least one ear infection, and half of these children will have three or more ear infections by the age of 3. Although ear infections themselves are not contagious, the colds and other infections that frequently lead to ear infection can be passed from person to person.
Asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood.
About one in four primary school children, and one in seven teenagers are classified asthmatics. The number decreases for adults to one in ten, which is still a dramatically high percentage. Asthma rates are rising across the world on average 50% every decade, which experts say is partly due to the increase in airborne pollutants, and in the number of chemicals and toxins we are exposed to in our environment.
Numerous studies have shown asthmatic patients show symptomic improvement and reduction in the use of medication under chiropractic care.
Patients under chiropractic care have also shown a reduction in the amount of cortisol they produce, which in turn increases immunity, helping to ward off infections or other colds and flus that are common trigger for asthmatics.
Chiropractic can also help to improve sleep, increase energy levels, decrease muscular tension and enhance people’s quality of life, all of which contribute significantly to managing the effects of asthma.
One of the world’s largest studies on the effect chiropractic care on asthma is currently taking place at Macquarie University, although final results have not yet been published, early indicators are very promising.
Scoliosis
The spine normally has curves that produce the inward sway of the lower back and the rounding of the shoulders. In scoliosis, however, the spine has abnormal curvature, deformity, and rotation; the spine curves from side to side. Think of scoliosis as the spine’s turning on its axis like a corkscrew. On an x-ray, a scoliotic spine looks more like a “S” or a “C” than a straight line. Simply, scoliosis is curvature of the spine. Unlike poor posture, this type of curvature cannot be corrected by avoiding slouching and learning to stand straight.
Types of scoliosis
1. Functional scoliosis
Functional scoliosis is a curvature due to a problem that does not involve the spine, such as having legs that are different lengths or muscle spasms caused by pain. These can cause a child to lean to the side, creating the appearance of scoliosis.
The curvature, however, is flexible and will go away if the problem that causes the child to lean to the side goes away.
2. Structural scoliosis
In structural scoliosis, the spine curvature is not flexible and does not go away with a change in position.
There is no evidence that functional scoliosis will lead to structural scoliosis.
3. Idiopathic structural scoliosis
Idiopathic means we do not know the definite cause of the problem. This is the case for 80% of children with structural scoliosis. We do know that children with idiopathic structural scoliosis do not have other health conditions associated with scoliosis.
4. Structural scoliosis associated with other conditions
In about two out of every 10 cases, children with structural scoliosis also have one of these conditions:
* Born with vertebrae that do not develop normally (congenital scoliosis)
* An underlying problem in the brain or spinal cord, such as a cyst or a tumor.
* A problem with nerves or muscles, such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.
Figure 1: Adolescent female with a scoliotic back. (Image American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org)
What Causes Scoliosis?
It’s unclear what causes idiopathic scoliosis, but because scoliosis runs in families, it’s thought to develop when certain hereditary factors are present. If you have a family history of scoliosis, you are 20 times more likely to develop it, and you should be examined for scoliosis. Idiopathic scoliosis usually develops in middle or late childhood, before puberty, and it is more common in girls than in boys. Although idiopathic scoliosis can occur in children with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and other medical conditions, it is also found in otherwise healthy children.
While scoliosis occurs more commonly during childhood, adults can also develop the condition. Adult scoliosis may actually be the progression of scoliosis that began in childhood and was not diagnosed or treated. A slight or moderate curve has progressed in the absence of treatment. Other cases of adult scoliosis, however, may be caused by degenerative changes. Osteoperosis in older adults, for example, can lead to other spinal deformities such as kyphosis (round back; also sometimes called a dowager’s hump). If allowed to progress, severe cases of adult scoliosis can result in chronic back pain, deformity, and respiratory problems.
Scoliosis screening
Some schools have nurses or doctors who come once a year to check the children if they have a scoliosis. If your child school doesn’t have something like this, it is recommended to have a child screened once a year from 8 years of age, as this is when the spine has large rapid growth spurts, until about 15 years of age by a primary care physician, such as a medical doctor or chiropractor.
Screening by your child’s physician for scoliosis is non-invasive and painless. If scoliosis is suspected, a simple x-ray of the spine can confirm if an abnormal curve is present. Early detection is key to stopping or slowing the progression of abnormal spinal curves.
How to treat my child’s scoliosis?
Treatment for scoliosis depends on the type. Scoliosis can be caused by a functional problem in the body. This type is different from a structural scoliosis where there have been physical changes to the spine to cause it to curve. Both types of curves can be treated by a chiropractor with structural curves only treated up to a certain degree in the curve whereby referral for external bracing or even surgical bracing may be required. Functional curves can be fixed depending on what is functionally causing the curve (poor sustained postures in front of computers and television, muscle imbalance, carrying heavy school bags).
However, the aim for treatment by a chiropractor for a structural scoliosis curve is to relieve the aches and pains that are typically associated with them. The structural scoliosis cannot be reversed by a chiropractor.However, it is important to have children screened for scoliosis as the sooner it is picked up, the quicker any treatment needed can be done. Some tips for keeping a child’s healthy spine is to keep your child’s weight under control, have them exercise regularly, keep good posture, and wear backpacks over both shoulders.