Chiropractic Care for Kids in Rockaway

We are currently seeing a huge change in society's perspectives on health and wellness, and parents are now, more than ever, demanding alternative methods to medical treatments for their children. Standard medical remedies for conditions like ear infection, colic, and asthma are found to have significant side effects. Chiropractic provides a safe, non-invasive, and effective approach to pediatric health conditions in Rockaway.

Most people acknowledge the value of chiropractic care for adults but are unaware of the benefits for babies and children. In general, a nervous system free of interference can help anyone, but chiropractic fundamentally promotes pediatric health.

Children can acquire subluxations as early as in the mother's womb from intra-uterine constraint. They can also experience insults to their delicate musculoskeletal systems during the birthing process and when the child transitions from crawling to walking. These traumas can have detrimental effects on physical and neurological development.

The nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves) is responsible for your baby's immune, digestion, elimination, and respiratory systems. The skull and vertebrae protect the nervous system, and research tells us that 90% of the nutrition and stimulation to the brain is generated from movement of the spine.

​Chiropractic ensures proper alignment and biomechanics of the spine, which in turn reduces stress on the nervous system allowing for proper brain development in children and overall health. Since proper biomechanics of the spine play an integral part in brain development, restoring and maintaining the integrity of these structures is essential not only for your child's physical health, but for behavioral and emotional health, too.

"90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine."

- Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize recipient

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Intra-Uterine Constraint in Rockaway

The optimal birthing position for baby is head down, also referred to as the vertex position. Misalignments of a mother's pelvis and/or excessive tension in the supporting ligaments of the uterus may prevent this ideal position, placing the baby in the abnormal fetal positions such as breech, face, brow, or transverse. These abnormal positions can place biomechanical forces on the baby, which in turn may lead to alterations to the spine such as scoliosis, torticollis, mandibular asymmetry, and hip dislocation. Additionally, these undesired positions not only place biomechanical stress on the baby in utero, it increases the likelihood of trauma to the infant during the birthing process.

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Birth Trauma

Birth trauma can occur in both natural and hospital settings, however birth trauma is significantly more prevalent in the hospital setting. When giving birth in a hospital, women are more likely to be subjected to labor interventions such as artificial labor induction with Pitocin, forceps delivery, vacuum extraction, and cesarean section. These artificial delivery methods often times lead to health complications in both the mother and child. Infants, in particular, can suffer from excessive longitudinal traction on the spine and a variety of fetal injuries, including but not limited to torticollis, permanent nerve damage, skull fracture, and even morbidity. Additionally, most fetal injuries are left undiagnosed and can lead to a variety of health issues into adulthood.

​It is important to note that most labor interventions can be prevented. To avoid unnecessary interventions, it is important to develop a true understanding of birth. One of the biggest contributing factors to interventions is fear. By educating yourself you can not only eliminate fear, you give yourself opportunity to make clear, conscious, and informed decisions. It is also essential to develop a birth team. This team should consist of health professionals who honor and respect the body and your birth plan, such as doulas, midwives, and chiropractors.

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Other Causes of Pediatric Subluxations

As your child grows and develops he or she will undergo many insults to his or her musculoskeletal system. Most of these insults will self-resolve, but in some cases they will manifest into subluxations that can cause neurological stress and negatively impact your child's development. Here are some more common causes of pediatric subluxations:

Learning to walk: As your baby learns to walk and develops his or her coordination the musculoskeletal system will endure many insults. While the falls associated with learning to walk is a normal life occurrence, these insults can sometimes cause minor injuries and/or strains to the developing spine and nervous system.

Baby Walkers: Not only does the American Academy of Pediatrics discourage the use of baby walkers because of their potential to cause serious injury, it is an ineffective strategy to teach a child to walk. Prematurely forcing a child into an upright position compromises the development of the hips and spine because the fragile bones cannot withstand the baby's body weight in this position. Additionally, skipping or rushing through the crawling phase deprives the child of proper motor and sensory development. A study by McEwan et al., even showed that infants who did not crawl scored lower average performance scores on pre-school assessment tests.

Backpacks: Backpacks can place abnormal stress on a child's spine, and many children complain of back pain attributed to the weight of their backpacks. The stress of a backpack can ultimately lead to poor posture and scoliosis, which is associated with a number of adolescent health issues.

Sports: Over 3.5 million children under the age of 14 receive medical treatment for sports injures every year. These sports injuries can cause the neck to snap in extension, flexion, and compression to the head.

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Signs your child has subluxations:

• Unexplained crying
• Lack of appetite
• Difficulty latching when breastfeeding
• Tendency to breastfeed only on one side
• Allergic reactions
• Chronic ear infections
• Tugging or rubbing the ears
• Poor coordination
• Skin conditions
• Poor concentration
• Abnormal crawling patterns
• Slips or falls
• Frequent colds or flus
• Muscle pains or cramps
• Complains of head hurting
• Constipation
• Sleep issues
• Nervousness or anxtiety
• Scoliosis
• Bed wetting