Facts About Growing Pains

Growing pains are the most common reason for musculoskeletal pain in children, from toddlers to young teens.

The name came about originally because medical researchers thought the pain was caused by bones growing more quickly than tendons. That’s since been disproven, but the name has stuck. Some current theories about the causes of growing pains include:

• Joints that are too flexible, leading to muscle strains with activity
• Overuse of muscles due to greater physical activity
• Flat feet
• Low pain threshold
• Poor bone strength, possibly due to diet deficiencies

Although growing pains are temporary and benign, your child’s pain is upsetting and can be disruptive to your family’s life.

Growing Pain Symptoms

Typically, children feel pain in both legs, especially in the calves, shins and front of thighs. This aching or cramping pain usually strikes anywhere from late afternoon to overnight, especially after an active day. It may last for a few minutes or for hours. Although the discomfort can be strong enough to interrupt sleep, the pain is gone the next morning and during much of the day.

Some kids are affected by their growing pains every day, while others may go longer, even several months, between bouts of pain.

Solutions for Growing Pains

You can offer your child relief with some precautions, natural treatments at home, and gentle chiropractic care that helps to alleviate the sources of pain. Here are some tips:

• Gently stretching and massaging the painful muscles
• Applying heat to the muscles
• Having your child fitted with shoe inserts for flat feet, if needed
• A warm bath before bed
• Good hydration to help prevent leg cramps
• A nutritious diet for strong muscles, bones and joints
• Keeping variety in your child’s activities, with frequent breaks, to prevent overuse problems
• Making sure your child’s backpack isn’t overloaded and causing muscle strain
• Proactive chiropractic therapies to align the spine and ease muscle tension

How Chiropractic Care Relieves Your Child’s Pain

During the early years of childhood, the growth of your musculoskeletal system sets the stage for how you move for the rest of your life.  Good alignment of your child’s spine creates a foundation that helps to prevent joint and muscle strain that may contribute to growing pains.

Your chiropractor can diagnose the condition and help ease the discomfort of growing pains. Gentle chiropractic adjustments and other therapies for your child help to:

• Align the spine
• Loosen tight, uncomfortable muscles
• Improve joint and nervous system function
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve mobility and flexibility
• Relieve pain

All chiropractic therapies are non-invasive and involve no use of medication.

Your child can feel better soon, safely and naturally.

Contact Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic for Your Free Consultation

We’re here to help your whole family maximize their health potential. Give our Broken Arrow office a call today at 918-940-4630.

The post Your Child’s Growing Pains: Chiropractic Care and Other Effective, Natural Remedies first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

As a family-centered wellness practice, Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic provides the care and advice your child needs for a safe, fun and successful athletic experience.

Sports and Your Child’s Musculoskeletal System

As the saying goes, children aren’t simply smaller versions of adults.

Because their muscles and bones are still growing, kids are at a higher risk of injury from impacts or overuse than the typical adult. At the ends of young bones are areas known as growth plates. These have weaknesses that can intensify injuries, even interfering long-term with normal bone growth.

Common Injuries in Youth Sports

Children are typically injured in two major ways during sporting activities:

Acute injuries (such as broken bones, sprains and bruises) occur suddenly, from a fall, twist or impact.

Overuse injuries (such as tendinitis or shin splints) happen gradually from repetitive motions, especially when the child’s body doesn’t get enough rest time between activities.

Parents and coaches should be alert to signs that a child may have an overuse injury. These include swelling, pain, and reduced performance or interest in practicing.

Common sports injuries in children include:

• Fractures
• Dislocations
• Lower back or neck pain
• Knee injuries
• Shin splints
• Achilles tendon injuries
• Sprains or strains
• Swollen muscles

Tips to Help Your Child Prevent Sports Injuries

The good news is that lots of injuries are preventable with good safety practices, such as:

• Scheduling a sports physical exam for the child before starting a sport
• Using the correct protective gear, such as padding, helmets or shin guards
• Playing a variety of sports, with rest breaks, to avoid overuse injuries
• Doing proper warmups, stretches and cooldowns for physical activities
• Performing strength, aerobic and flexibility exercises that are appropriate for the child and the sport
• Not playing if in pain or fatigued

Also, be sure to encourage healthy habits:

• A balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and fewer processed foods
• Plenty of sleep—at least 8 hours nightly
• Good hydration—especially before, during and after sports

Helping Children Reach Their Best Fitness Potential with Chiropractic Care

Chiropractors work with athletes of all ages and even professional sports teams, providing treatments that align the spine and promote:

• Improved posture
• Reduced chance of injury
• Improved joint function, flexibility and range of motion
• Less pain and inflammation
• Faster recovery
• Better athletic performance

Your child’s chiropractor provides care that is noninvasive and safe. They diagnose and treat the source of pain and coordinate with other medical professionals for your child’s care.  Spinal adjustments are gently modified for children, using only light pressure.

As a bonus, you’ll find that many overall benefits of children’s chiropractic care–such as better immunity, stress relief, and optimized brain development–also carry over to your child’s success in whatever sports they choose.

Contact Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic to Schedule Your Free Consultation

To get your child started on achieving their best physical fitness potential, call our Broken Arrow office at 918-940-4630 today.

The post Chiropractic Care for Kids Who Play Sports: Why It’s Important first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Starting off with a chiropractic checkup will also help your child have a pain-free school year. Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic provides safe, gentle care for children to help their spines weather the demands of getting back to school.

Promoting Good Posture at School 

Correct posture is essential for keeping your joints and bones aligned, reducing strain on muscles and ligaments that lead to painful disorders.

Learning good posture early on will make your child much less prone to pain and injury, at school and throughout life. Practice good posture at home with your child so that it will become second nature at school. 

A few tips to keep in mind:

Keep the spine straight, whether sitting or standing. No slumping forward, twisting or arching the back. Shoulders should be relaxed and not hunched.

When sitting, keep both feet on the floor with ankles a bit in front of knees.

Check your child’s posture while standing. Their ears should be directly above their shoulders and their head straight, not tilting to the front or back.

Backpack Safety 

A properly used backpack distributes weight evenly, allowing the abdominal and back muscles to handle the weight. This prevents cutting off of circulation and helps to avoid injury.

Your child’s backpack should:

• Have a waist strap and padded shoulder straps that can be fitted correctly to the child’s body
• Be worn on both shoulders, not hanging to the side
• Be made of lightweight material such as canvas (no leather)
• Be limited in size to avoid overpacking and excess weight, which could throw off the child’s balance and strain muscles
• Be no more than 10% of the child’s body weight when filled
• Have multiple pockets so items can be packed evenly, with the heaviest items close to the body

More Ways to Promote a Healthy Back

• Avoid prolonged sitting at home
• Get regular exercise that helps develop strong core muscles
• Eat a balanced diet and stay at a healthy weight to minimize back strain
• Wear comfortable shoes to school that supports the foot—no flip-flops or backless shoes

Chiropractic Care to Protect Your Child’s Back

Chiropractors provide many therapies for children that help them to have a safer, more productive experience at school. A gentle, modified type of spinal adjustment for children assures that their spine is properly aligned, helping to increase their mobility and improve posture. 

Chiropractic treatments give students a solid framework of stability to ensure that the good posture and backpack habits they practice at school are most effective.

A Complimentary Consultation is Available at Our Broken Arrow Office 

A strong, healthy spine for all ages is our mission at Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic. Call us at 918-940-4630 today.

The post Back to School: Caring for Your Child’s Spine first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

But good posture affects the whole body, and studies have even shown it can affect self-esteem. Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic helps the whole family achieve spinal alignment that will positively influence their health for years to come.

Why is Posture So Important?

For children and adults, good posture aligns spinal bones and joints and keeps back muscles working effectively. When your spine is aligned in correct posture, you sleep and breathe better, enjoying better brain and hormone function.

Bad posture is especially harmful to children, with an increased risk of causing the spine to grow abnormally. This can strain joints and muscles, leading to backaches, fatigue, and future problems such as arthritis.

Causes of poor posture in a child include having weak back muscles, carrying a heavy backpack, sleeping on a poor-quality mattress, being overweight, and hunching over when sitting.

Children’s posture is at risk more now than ever before, as so many have been learning remotely from home, spending hours sitting in front of computers instead of going to in-person classes.

Self-Esteem Benefits of Good Posture

Posture can even affect your child’s self-confidence. Studies show that standing straight and tall may help kids feel better about themselves and influence their interactions with other people.

Last year, researchers studied groups of fourth graders to learn how posture changes may affect children’s confidence.  They divided children into two groups, instructing them to hold specific positions for one minute each. One group was shown how to do “power poses,” such as standing tall with arms out in a confident position. The other group took more closed positions, with arms drawn inward and heads down.

Afterward, the children engaged in psychological testing to gauge their emotional state.  The research found that those who had held the open power poses expressed better self-esteem and mood, as well as more positive feelings about school.

Improving Your Child’s Posture Includes Chiropractic Care  

Your chiropractor plays a vital role in your child’s spinal health.

Dr. Ring provides gentle, specially-modified spinal adjustments and other therapies for children that ensure their posture is straight and their spines have the alignment needed to grow properly. These treatments increase children’s mobility, improve spatial function and balance, and help their nervous system to operate optimally.

You can also help your child improvep their posture at home with simple practices such as:

• Taking breaks from the computer to move around
• When sitting, scooting all the way back in the chair, keeping shoulders back
• Standing straight with their shoulders back and chin up
• Getting lots of physical exercise to strengthen back muscles

Great posture is a gift you can give your child to set them on a lifelong path to their best physical and emotional well-being.

Make a Complimentary Appointment at our Broken Arrow Office

To improve your family’s posture and spinal health, call Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic at 918-940-4630 today.

The post Good Posture Builds Your Child’s Health and Confidence first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Millions of children wake up in the morning with wet pajamas and wet sheets from undeveloped bladder control. Bed-wetting, officially known as enuresis, presents as a condition in a child age 5 or older who wet the bed at least one time each week. Most cases involve children who continue to wet the bed after infancy, but some do involve children who appeared to develop bladder control but regress back to regular wetting. Children do not generally wet the bed on purpose and a few sources and causes prove to be the general culprit. Chaotic emotions contribute to bedwetting at times, but most cases involve issues with the nervous system and sensory control of bladder function.

What are the causes?

Children learn bladder control at different ages. Toddlers under the age of four often wet the beds or clothing because they cannot yet control their bladder. These control issues tend to resolve by age five or six and allow children to stay dry through the night. A healthy brain to body communication system provides a child with the best opportunity to control and coordinate proper bladder control. Chiropractic spinal adjustments empower children to improve and overcome enuresis. The spine and nervous system maintain responsibility for alerting a person when the bladder reaches capacity. Without this advanced warning within the body’s communication system, children find themselves compromised in repeated cases of bed wetting.

How does chiropractic help?

Numerous studies prove the influence of Chiropractic care on bed-wetting in children. Research published in 1994 and again in 2012 proved a significant link between bed-wetting and nervous system function. Children receiving regular Chiropractic adjustments to correct areas of spinal subluxation experienced a substantially higher rate of overcoming enuresis than children who did not get adjusted. A subluxation represents an alteration in the alignment and movement of a spinal vertebra. A subluxation creates imbalances in autonomic nervous system function, leading to interference between the brain and the nervous system. One outcome of interference in a child’s communication system manifests in an inability to fully control the bladder. The autonomic nervous system directs all involuntary vital functions such as breathing, immunity, impulse control, and digestion.

An imbalance in the autonomic nervous system leads to altered physiology. This leads to a wide variety of symptoms and conditions, including bed-wetting. Science and research clearly prove that most babies and children risk acquiring subluxations through natural physical stressors like birth trauma, falls, and accidents. Children suffering from bed-wetting often feel ashamed or embarrassed. These emotions tend to lead to further mental and emotional problems as they develop. Parental frustration may even match that of the child. The solution begins with getting to the root cause of a condition like bed-wetting. A child needs to be empowered to control their body before they take ownership of resolving the issue. Chiropractic provides unique solutions backed by evidence-based research. Before seeking drug therapy or medicinal interventions, families and children deserve the chance to conquer bed-wetting naturally by empowering the body’s natural ability to heal and overcome at the source. Chiropractic works.

The post Bed-Wetting Helped by Chiropractic… Research Evaluated Chiropractic for Kids first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Being healthy matters. Laser focus, sound concentration, freedom from pain, and adequate energy levels represent important factors in reaching greater potential. An old adage states that a healthy human envisions thousands of goals, dreams, and aspirations; but someone facing sickness envisions only one. The adage speaks to the value of a healthy future for all growing children. A new school year marks a transition to new grades, new obstacles, new social interactions, and new environments. Chiropractic care provides a health and performance advantage for infants and children of all ages.

Extensive, evidence-based research documents how Chiropractic adjustments facilitate improved health and function. Over 120 years of science details how Chiropractic adjustments improve brain and nervous system health. An intimate connection exists between the spine, brain, and central nervous system. The health of the spine directly influences the health and function of the entire body. Chiropractic care intentionally focuses on unlocking health potential by creating harmony within the body, allowing organs and systems to function at their greatest capacity. Children under Chiropractic care report improved health, better intellectual and physical performance, and the reduction of unwanted symptoms related to previously existing conditions. A healthy spine creates opportunities.

Research from 2016 showed Chiropractic adjustments impact the pre-frontal cortex in the brain. The prefrontal cortex manages all executive function. Examples of executive function include focus control, concentration, learning, and personality. This study showed that a Chiropractic adjustment improved performance in the pre-frontal cortex by more than 20%. Numerous other studies also emphasize the impact and benefits of Chiropractic care on children of all ages.

Spinal adjustments do not focus on treating one specific condition. Chiropractors emphasize pain-free and drug-free solutions for parents who want the brightest future possible for their children. One in every four children currently suffers from a chronic ailment for which they receive medication. Proper spinal alignment reduces interference in the brain and nervous system and allows the body to utilize tremendous potential to heal and resolve digestive, cardiovascular, mental, and immunity concerns. Unlocking health potential in the body translates into limitless opportunities for all children. Bright futures shine even brighter with Chiropractic.

The post Kids of ALL Ages Deserve the Chiropractic Advantage first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Don’t fret! This is the perfect season to keep kids active and increase your own fitness level as well. Make a deal with your children that this summer will be the healthiest and most fun one yet, then brainstorm together for activity ideas. To help get you started, here are a few activities to add to your list.

Park-a-Palooza

Dedicate one day each week of the summer to Park-a-Palooza! Pick multiple parks you love or have always wanted to visit and hit them hard. Set your timers for 30 minutes at each, then move on to the next one! Pack H20, healthy snacks and a blanket so you can break when hunger strikes.

Family Dance

TV shows like Dancing with the Stars are as popular as ever, so join in on the fun and have the whole family learn to dance this summer. Check out videos at your local library or surf YouTube for free lessons. Check out the fantastic, interactive dance video games available for all age levels via Wii and Xbox. And don’t forget to practice your new skills at a weekly Friday night Family Dance Party!

Go Old School

The games of your youth will slip away unless you teach them to your kids! Sure, they may already know tag and hopscotch, but what about Kick the Can, Sardines, Red Rover, Four Square, Mother May I? and Capture the Flag? Don’t remember all the rules? A few quick clicks on Google will lead you right to them. Invite the neighborhood to “Old School Game Night” and you’re sure to make—and rekindle—some awesome childhood memories.

Family Bike Rides

Bike riding as a family is a fantastic way to exercise and spend time together. Take your first few journeys at different times of the day to see what works best in terms of family mood and lighter traffic. Ensure everyone’s tires are full of air, their helmets fit and you have water bottles in tow.

Camping

If your kids love the outdoors, s’mores and the idea of sleeping under the stars, it’s time for a family campout. But no need to travel, camping can be an adventure in your own backyard or the yard of a willing friend. If your children are old enough, consider letting them spend an entire day and night outdoors as if they were at a campground. Have them create the plan for the items they’ll need to spend a day in the “wilderness.” You’ll be amazed at just how creative and resourceful your kids can be.

Walkabout

There’s nothing better than ending the day with a leisurely family walk. Keeping kids active can also be fun. Take turns hitting the pavement with each of your children—they’ll love the one-on-one time and you’ll love this low key way to learn about what’s going on in their lives. At least once a week, venture out as a family. You’ll be surprised at the personal connections the whole family makes when out of the house, enjoying nature and staying fit together.

The post Keep Kids Active, Moving and Engaged All Summer Long first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

All children function better with 100% nerve function. All kids deserve the right to express their fullest potential. Chiropractic care is safe, gentle, and effective. It allows for the opportunity for maximum potential for well-being and immune system function.  The first subluxations occur at birth as an infant!!!

A chiropractor’s purpose is to remove interference to the natural healing power running through the body. When that power has unleashed the healing the results may be profound.  Our pediatric patients typically respond quickly once the low-force adjustments are administered.  We see great results with our kid chiropractic patients.

Today we find more parents bringing their children to chiropractors for day-to-day health concerns we’re all familiar with: colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, infections, pains, falls, stomach-aches, and the hundred and one little and big things children go through as they grow up.

Earache & Ear Infections:

Earache is the most common reason for office visits to pediatricians. By the age of three years, more than 70 percent of children will have had at least one episode of earache, and about a third will have had more than three episodes. It is not surprising, therefore, that earache is also the most common reason for children under the age of five years presenting to the chiropractor’s office.

When a child with earache is diagnosed with a middle ear infection by the pediatrician, the usual treatment involves a course of antibiotics. New research has determined that this is often misguided. The cause of the child’s middle ear infection may not be due to bacteria, and since antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, frequently there will be no response. Since numerous cases of middle ear infection can be caused by a virus, and viruses do not respond to antibiotics, this may be the reason why children develop chronic ear infections.

The chiropractor’s task is to ascertain if the reason for the body’s inability to combat the earache/ear infection is caused by irritation of the small nerves in the spine (called free nerve endings). When these nerve endings are irritated, an abnormal tension is produced in the small muscles of the neck. This muscle tension can place pressure on the lymphatic drainage ducts resulting in inadequate drainage from inside the ear, thus preventing the body from being able to naturally correct the problem.

Identification of such a problem is made by detecting increased tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles, usually more tension is felt on the side of the earache. The chiropractor also looks for spinal vertebrae which are either slightly out of alignment or are not moving within their normal range. This problem may have been due to any one of the numbers of bangs, jolts, and falls that most children experience in the early years of their life. Often, a short course of spinal adjustment and manipulation of the neck muscles can help restore normal lymph drainage.

Birth Trauma:

Chiropractors have been stressing for years the importance of having a newborn checked for vertebral subluxations. The importance of a developing child is free from nerve interference from subluxation cannot be understated.

Trauma during birth is associated with physical injury to an infant during the birth process. Health consequences to the newborn from birth trauma range from immediate and severe to hidden problems that may take years to surface. Some of the more immediate and tragic results that have been documented are spinal cord and brain stem injuries, brain bleeding and swelling, neurological deficits, breathing problems, and even sudden infant death syndrome.

The long-term consequences are as varied as the nerve system itself. Some of the more commonly mentioned problems that have been linked to traumatic birth are learning disabilities, headaches, visual and hearing problems, certain palsies, and a host of immune functional problems.

Many studies have relayed scientific documentation of damage that occurs to the nervous system in the neck of newborns during the common birth process. This damage ranges from mild subluxations in the upper neck to more serious subluxations involving spinal cord damage and central nervous system problems.

Many studies suggest the position of the mother coupled with the pulling from the delivering physician has a lot to do with the creation of these subluxation problems. When the delivering mother is lying on her back, she is not only working partially against gravity, but she has reduced the pelvic opening size. These two factors then require the attending physician to pull harder on the head of the child. This increased pulling and twisting during the birth process, coupled with a decrease in the pelvic opening and a non-alignment with gravity often set the stage for birth trauma, subluxation, and the resulting problems.  The less force used, if any, the better.

Colic:

Infantile colic was first described as indigestion. While different diagnostic criteria have emerged since then, there has never been complete agreement on what colic is, what causes it, or how to treat it. The most widely accepted definition of colic today is “unexplainable and uncontrollable crying in babies from 0 to 3 months old, more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for 3 weeks or more, usually in the afternoon and evening hours.”

As your child is born, the neck and back vertebrae can become misaligned due to the stretching and compressing of the body as it emerges into the world. If your delivery included a prolonged pushing stage, forceps or vacuum extraction, or other forms of assisted delivery, the chances of a misalignment are great.

If the subluxations (misaligned vertebrae) are severe, the functioning of major systems in the body can be compromised. The digestive system can be affected and ineffective digestion of breast milk and formula can cause major discomfort in your baby, leading to colic episodes. Studies have not only shown that chiropractic adjustments were effective in reducing colic symptoms, most notably the average hours per day spent crying, but also that the use of drugs was not particularly effective, and certainly less effective than chiropractic care. Your chiropractor can evaluate your child’s condition and recommend the best approach for maximizing health and wellness.

Bed Wetting:

Bed-wetting or enuresis is the involuntary passage of urine. Bedwetting is an issue that affects millions of kids every night. It is very common among kids who are 6 years old or younger. About 15% of 6-year-olds wet the bed, while about 5% of 10-year-olds do.  Commonly, bedwetting is blamed on immature sleeping patterns or small urinary bladder capacity. One of the common causative factors involved in nocturnal enuresis is categorized as bladder innervation disorder.

Chiropractic studies have indicated that bed-wetting has been resolved when vertebral subluxations (nerve interferences) are corrected. When nerve supply or communication is disrupted from the brain to the spinal column, ultimately to all other parts of the body, one or more parts of the body begin to fail. By minimizing nerve interference through chiropractic adjustments, the natural strengths of the human body are maximized increasing the body’s capacity to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.

The post Why Children NEED Chiropractic Adjustments For Their Well-Being first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.