Some parents choose to have their newborn babies checked by Chiropractors due to the difficulty on the baby’s body during childbirth. Depending on which person you think would be best, you should speak to your GP, nurse, paediatrician or Chiropractor about how your baby is developing and any challenges your baby appears to be having. For Chiropractic, infants only a few hours old are able to be assessed and managed accordingly.
You should always seek attention from a qualified Primary Health care practitioner like a GP, maternal health nurse, registered nerve, paediatrician or a Chiropractor if you suspect that something is not right with your child.
Other reasons you may consider booking an appointment with the Chiropractor to help your baby are:
If your baby is not crawling evenly or if they’ve had a fall from a change table or bed. And you suspect a musculoskeletal issue.
Common conditions
Babies may have poor neck movement or have undergone significant spinal traction when they have been removed from the womb. You may find that your baby prefers to turn its head one way when sleeping or when playing with toys, this can affect breastfeeding if your baby doesn’t like to turn their head to one side you may always be holding your baby one way while breastfeeding.
Many of these problems will return to normal on their own without needing to see a doctor or Chiropractor.
Torticollis or wry-neck is an extreme example of a neck movement problem in an infant. In this case some of the muscles are in a spasm door short and position in the neck which locks the neck into one position.
Patients are now looking for alternative forms of therapy to improve their lives and their children’s lives. Chiropractic is considered an alternative therapy in that it doesn’t follow the normal medical model GPs and medical doctors follow. Our Chiropractors have a special interest in children’s Chiropractic and a knowledgeable of neurological development and various types of conditions and treatment options.
Although the original Chiropractors believed that correction of spinal joint dysfunction could allow the body to heal itself and reduced disease, this is no longer widely accepted by chiropractors, nor is it taught at the universities. Generally Chiropractors will still assess the spine first and are most well known for their work with the spine and nervous system.
Chiropractors have training in childhood development and brain function of children as well as experience treating infant’s bodies. While the original beliefs of the Chiropractors have been shown to be untrue, Chiropractors now are granted the title of doctor for their ability to diagnose conditions and provide appropriate treatment and management plans for those conditions. Chiropractors will mostly look for joint fixation or joint position errors in your child’s body and determine an appropriate course of action to treat those dysfunctions if they have found any. Many times your child may not need any care from a Chiropractor, in which case theCchiropractor might tell you that your child will develop normally and there is no cause for alarm.
It is not recommended that any thrust or manipulation of a joint that creates a popping sound is applied to any child less than four years old. The reason being is that the brain is not developed enough to handle that kind of intense input that occurs when a thrust is placed into a person’s spine. Instead our Chiropractors use lower force, and more suitable techniques on children such as mobilisation or light activator adjustments with an instrument. While there is still risk involved in these treatment options; we reduce the risk of short-term and long-term problems by employing these slower, more child-friendly approaches to treatment.
Infants in our Chiropractic office will need to examine their strength, how they move, and what the Chiropractor feels in their spine before we create a treatment strategy. Babies will never be sent for X-rays by one of our Chiropractors, but we can review any scans your baby has had in the past. If treatment is performed on a child, the most pressure we would put on your child is about the same amount that you would feel comfortable on your eyeball. The baby may feel discomfort during the examination and treatment process as we encouraged movement into a position of joint restriction.
We certainly do not use any spinal manipulation for children where joint cracking or popping sounds are made. There is no need for this kind of treatment, and it is not appropriate for children under 4. While the treatment is safe for children, it is something that we do not take lightly and in the consideration of need for treatment- benefits must outreach the small risks involved. Chiropractors need to be sure that they can help with your child’s problems in order to start treatment, this goes for our adult patients too.
There have been no scientific studies on the treatment of any conditions in the childhood population. This is because Chiropractic adjustment is very difficult to test into a scientific research. Some Chiropractic associations are looking to change how Chiropractic fits into the scientific world. By creating trials and tests more suited for Chiropractic to determine if the treatment is effective or not.
Parents need to be able to make informed choices about where they choose to get help for their children. Currently, scientists do not have enough information to determine whether Chiropractic care is a good idea for infants. So it’s best to speak to a Chiropractor about your problems and determine for yourself if the Chiropractor seems like they know enough and have enough experience to help with your issues.
The Chiropractors at the Innate Connection in Croydon have a special interest in child, infant or baby Chiropractic techniques. They will be happy to assist with any questions you have concerning your child. Call or email us for further information.
Our Chiropractors, like your nurses and health team, always encourage tummy time where possible. Tummy time promotes neck strength and vestibular development, which is vital for brain development in an infant. It helps infants to gain strength and to begin taking on more upright postures like crawling. Tummy time also reduces the time the baby spends on their back rolling around, which may help with concerns such as a flat spot on your baby’s head. Locate us here.
We have worked primarily with neck pain, back pain and muscular tension associated with headaches & migraines. We have substantial experience with school age children, adults of working age and older people. After spending time learning under Melbourne’s most experienced Chiropractor, we bring those skills to Croydon.
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