C H I R O P R A C T I C

Chiropractic Treatment involves manual therapy including manipulation of the spine, other joints, and soft tissue. It is imperative that the body is maintained in good spinal alignment to allow the nerve impulses to flow from the brain through the spine to the muscles, organs and tissues and back to the brain again. With this cycle working effectively your brain can manage the state and function of your body. When there is interference the brain can not take control over the particular part of the body as either the controlling message from the brain or the informative message (to tell the brain what is going on) to the brain is interrupted. Chiropractic care restores this connection and lets the body function at its optimum. This form of intervention may be appropriate for relieving pain and musculoskeletal dysfunction. It has been shown to be a safe, effective and cost-effective form of treatment for back pain, as well as neck pain and headaches.

Many patients find chiropractic treatment a suitable alternative to taking potentially harmful and addictive drugs as well as a better option than surgery. As chiropractic also focuses on wellness and prevention, many find it a useful complement to their lifestyles of reducing disease and optimizing their health.
You do not need a referral to see a chiropractor, they are primary healthcare providers.

INFANTILE COLIC

One of the more popular and better known reasons for babies to visit a chiropractor is for infantile colic. Studies in Denmark and here in South Africa, comparing chiropractic to drug treatment show that there is a significant improvement (up to 90% of all cases) in chiropractic groups, on a two weeks regime. While the cause of colic is not known; too much gas in the intestines, dietary problems, and birth trauma are all attributed to the condition. Mainstream treatments include pharmacotherapy (buscopan, colic drops etc), formulae changing and baby positioning techniques; however, chiropractic is becoming a more popular choice.

Definition of Colic

The definition of colic is an unexplainable and uncontrollable crying in children from 0-3 months of age, for more than three hours a day, three times a week and for more than three weeks — usually in the afternoon and evening hours.

Why visit a chiropractor?

As you can imagine, the birth process can be quite traumatic for babies. As your baby emerges into the world, the neck and back vertebrae may go out of alignment. These misalignments could affect your baby’s digestion, causing discomfort due to ineffective digestion, leading to colic.

The following article by Cyndra Neal explains:

Your infant is crying constantly, uncontrollably. Your pediatrician is telling you "to wait it out" or worse - prescribing an acid reflux medicine with alarming possible side effects for reflux and colic. Chiropractic medicine may just be the alternative you're looking for. Many parents don't even consider going to the chiropractor for their infants but chiropractic pediatric treatment has been receiving more attention in the last 20 years.

Chiropractors aren't just for adults with bad backs. There are many chiropractic techniques that can help your infant recover from an arduous birthing process also known as Traumatic Birth Syndrome. During birth, the baby can experience trauma to the spinal column especially if a vacuum or forceps are used. Mothers who give birth lying on their backs hinder the birthing process by decreasing the size of the cervical opening and not allowing gravity to help the process.

This can cause the delivering physician to have to twist and pull the baby forcefully, causing subluxations to the spinal column. Subluxations are areas of interference to the nervous system caused by pressure or irritation from spinal bones. If labour is long, it can increase pressure on the neck of the baby and cause stress to nerves that control sucking and swallowing. When the vagus nerve is affected, colic may result due to poor digestion.

Chiropractic medicine corrects subluxations in infants by gently and subtle manipulations - not the snap-crackle-pop that comes to mind with an adult chiropractic adjustment.

Your chiropractor can also suggest natural solutions for colic and reflux due to an immature digestive system. Most office offer homeopathic remedies that can be an effective alternative to prescription drugs. Make sure to do some research into which chiropractors have the most experience working with infants.

Childrens Spinal Development

Children are subjected to two formidable challenges to their musculoskeletal system during development.

The first is the trauma of passage through the birth canal. Here it appears that intracranial structures (structures inside the skull) of apparently healthy newborn individuals display a high percentage of indications of micro trauma of brainstem tissues, and it is believed that exposed structures of the junction between the neck and the base of the skull suffer at least as much as the skull itself. In summary, it appears that injury to both the structures inside and outside the skull are the rule rather than the exception.

The second obstacle a child’s emerging musculoskeletal system has to overcome occurs when the infant has to master the transition from four legs to two legs, mastering the task of maintaining an upright spine in learning how to walk.

Children’s last major growth spurt usually occurs between the ages of 11 and 13, after which time both the complaints and treatment regimens of such individuals become congruent with those of adults.
The goal of all interventions is to eliminate any asymmetries in the spinal structure, posture or gait as well as reduce symptoms such as joint or muscle pain. No adjustment/ chiropractic manipulation is ever prescribed without evidence of a relative decrease in mobility/fixation at a particular joint of the spine.

A typical chiropractic consult for your baby

Your first visit to the chiropractor involves talking about different aspects of the baby’s life, from pre-natal, labour and delivery, to post-natal and beyond.
A chiropractic examination assesses normal developmental milestones, including the nervous system. The chiropractor then focuses on chiropractic 'motion palpation', the feeling for small restrictions in the movements of the spinal joints that may cause irritation to both the nervous system and surrounding muscles.
Specific chiropractic treatment uses very gentle spinal manipulative techniques and mobilizations, tailored to the age of the child, to help relax stiff/irritated joints and may subsequently stimulate the nervous and immune systems with movement. Advice may also be given on feeding positioning, how to carry your child and exercises to aid your child's development. A typical treatment regime lasts 4-6 treatment sessions, taking place every other day, although this varies according to the condition involved and at the chiropractor’s discretion. By relaxing the stiff and irritated joints in the spine, the extra stimulus that may be causing the child to cry and be irritable is decreased and the child can begin to feel more comfortable, with a healthy nervous and immune system that is running efficiently and effectively - helping your baby feel happier and more content!
Chiropractic treatment of children is not a ’scary‘ ordeal. Your child has a lot more motion in their spine than we do as adults, due to the initial lack of spinal curves which cause the restriction in motion in adults. Therefore ’adjusting‘ may look like we are moving their bodies further than they should go - but treatment remains within the normal motions of the child's spine.

Tel: (011) 478.2346 Cell: 082 929 1034 - Fax: 086 545 7838

email: drsonja@chiro-pilates.co.za