Should Children Receive Chiropractic Adjustments?
One question we often receive from parents at our practice is, “Should my children receive chiropractic care?” To which our answer is always a resounding, “Yes!”This can come as a surprise to many, but remember: just because kids don’t often experience the same aches and pains as adults, it doesn’t mean their nervous systems can’t benefit from receiving healing chiropractic adjustments. In fact, all children can benefit from chiropractic care, no matter how old they are! Here’s why:
Four Reasons Why Kids Should Be Adjusted
1. To facilitate proper growth. From day one, children undergo traumatic spinal stress. The birth process itself creates subluxations – i.e., misalignments – in the spine, which can lead to issues such as colic, constipation, asthma, allergies, sleeping troubles, and more if left untreated. Additionally, these subluxations can hinder proper growth throughout the body. Children as young as newborns can safely be adjusted in order to remove subluxations and promote proper growth.
2. To build immunity against sickness. The nervous system is housed in the spine, which means – you guessed it! – a healthy spine means a healthy body. If your child continually comes home from school with a new sickness every month, the other students may not be to blame. Rather, a subluxated spine may be hindering the nervous system from properly doing its job of eradicating bad bacteria. By correcting misalignments in the spine, your child will be set up for success with a strong, healthy immune system, helping them – and consequently, you – to prevent sickness.
3. To facilitate brain and nerve development. If your child struggles with listening, focusing, perception, or awareness, it may be due to nerve restriction caused by spinal misalignments. The communication between the brain and the body happens through the the nerves that stem from the spinal cord, contained in the spine. If any vertebrae are out of alignment, one or more nerves may be pinched. Much like a garden hose with a kink in it, the nerves will try to communicate information, but won’t properly be able to send it to the right place. By correcting misalignments, the nerves will once again be able to fully transmit messages between the brain and the body.
4. To correct minor misalignments before they become major issues. Children’s bodies are much more likely than adults’ to quickly respond to chiropractic adjustments. This means that catching and correcting minor issues in the spine at a young age will be significantly easier than trying to correct childhood subluxations as an adult. By having your kids adjusted now, you will set them up for success as they grow up.
As you well know, children’s spines are impacted regularly due to growing, sports injuries, roughhousing, and – especially as they grow older – spending prolonged periods of time sitting at desks. Receiving regular chiropractic care ensures that misalignments caused by these activities are corrected before they manifest as pain, illness, neurodevelopmental disorders, and other health challenges. If you’re worried about how your child might respond to chiropractic adjustments, know this: since children’s bodies are much smaller than adults’, the adjustment process is significantly gentler. In fact, a chiropractor that’s specially trained in pediatric care only needs to use light pressure to correct subluxations in children.
Safe and Effective Chiropractic Care for Kids
Still have questions about whether or not chiropractic care is right for your child? Our own Dr. Natalie Lyle has 22 years of pediatric chiropractic experience and is certified in the Webster technique, and has a passion for helping families determine whether or not chiropractic care is right for them.Don’t hesitate to give us a call at 303-440-0500, or check out feedback from past pediatric patients on our testimonials page. And remember – kids receive complimentary exams if at least one parent receives care at our office!
