Otitis media (middle ear infections) represents the most frequent reason for physician visits for children under the age of fifteen in the U.S. Otitis media also serves as the most common infection in children for which doctors prescribe antibiotics. Approximately 10% of infants will experience at least one ear infection by the age of three months. 50% of children experience more than three episodes of ear infections by age three. The annual cost associated with the management of pediatric ear infections exceeds five billion dollars!

Observation period

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) determined that clinical practice guidelines for the management of an ear infection should begin with an initial observation option period. The observation option period refers to deferring antibiotic treatment for 48-72 hours. A concerning survey showed that only 15% of physicians use the observation option. The reason for concern stems from the proven reality that antibiotic treatment causes very damaging effects to gut health.  It is believed medication should not be a first option, especially in children unless absolutely necessary. Additional research published in 2010 shows that every infant under the age of 6 months old who consumed two or more rounds of antibiotics experienced an alarming 72% higher risk of asthma.

What is the medical approach?

A prescribed medical course of treatment typically consists of a 7-10 day course of antibiotics. Amoxicillin tends to be the recommended first line therapy for antibiotic management of ear infections. A child experiencing multiple ear infections in one year often receives a surgery recommendation from their doctor. Doctors perform millions of ear tube surgeries on children each year. Many of these procedures result in little to no success.

What causes ear infections?

A common characteristic amongst many ear infection sufferers traces back to a traumatic birth experience. One author has stated that birth trauma and caesarian section children become naturally susceptible to a higher incidence of ear infections. These findings trace back to a lack of cranial molding during the birth process or a small, subtle misalignment of the upper cervical spinal bones called subluxation. Subluxation produces interference in the central nervous system, increasing the susceptibility of an ear infection.

The Chiropractic Solution

Numerous studies demonstrate the effectiveness of a Chiropractic adjustment to help an infant or child overcome an ear infection. One study showed that 93% of all ear infection episodes improved while under Chiropractic care with 75% of them improving in ten or fewer days. 43% experienced improvement with only one or two treatments. Another study showed that children receiving Chiropractic care experienced fewer overall episodes of ear infections, a reduction in uses of antibiotics, fewer surgeries, and more surgery-free months.

Chiropractors do not seek to treat the ear nor does the adjustment cure the infection. The body already possess tremendous ability to heal or prevent an ear infection. The Chiropractic adjustment scientifically reduces stress from the nervous system, improving immunity and the ability for the body to drain and heal the ear infection. All parents and children benefit from understanding the benefits of Chiropractic adjustments for children with ear infections.

The post Ear Infections Hurt! Receive Comfort from Chiropractic first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

A baby’s spine also differs from an adult in proportion to the head. A baby’s head tends to be oversized and needs spinal and muscle growth to enable better support and bracing capabilities. Instability in the spine requires underdeveloped neck muscles to carry a greater load when supporting the oversized head. These factors do not represent a flaw in development, but a design and function more sophisticated than the world’s most advanced supercomputers. The infant spine began successfully supporting and protecting newborns thousands of years ago. Modern science simply developed into an academic understanding of the importance of spinal health and alignment from birth into adulthood.

A child’s neck represents the most common location of spinal injury. Chiropractors locate and correct small neck injuries in children caused by falls, sports, accidents, and general rambunctious play. The most predominant type of neck injury occurs to a baby’s neck and spine through the trauma of the birthing process. Labor, delivery, and pregnancy factors also play into the risk and cause of neck trauma as an infant’s transition from the cramped womb and birth canal into mother’s arms.

A 2015 study found a variety of factors which led to higher risk of injury during birth. Factors include maternal pelvic mobility (the mother’s pelvic alignment and movement), type of labor, number of births for the mother, fetal head delivery, labor augmentation, caesarean delivery, and duration of labor. The most startling finding from the study correlated the duration of labor to an increased risk of spinal dysfunction in newborns. Longer labor and delivery revealed more areas of injury to the baby’s spine. The upper neck represents the most commonly compromised location of spinal birth trauma. Even normal labor and deliveries assumed to be without complication still result in neck problems for newborns.

Chiropractors specialize in the detection and correction of subtle, yet significant injuries related to birth trauma. Most birth trauma and injuries go undiscovered and unaddressed by pediatricians and delivery specialists because babies cannot express a source of pain, irritation, or discomfort. Neck problems within a fragile and flexible infant do not usually manifest as pain. The spinal stress usually presents through altered neurological function which develops in the form of ear infections, colic, or nursing challenges. The study made very clear that the identification and treatment of altered spinal and neurological dysfunction led to improved health in newborns.

Chiropractors specialize in detecting and correcting areas of misalignment and reduced motion in the spine for all ages – infants to adults. A baby’s spinal size certainly measures smaller than that of an adult, but an incredible number of similarities also exist between these precious bundles of nerves. Regular Chiropractic care for the whole family improves spinal and neurological function, mobility, and whole-body health. An optimally functioning spine represents an invaluable source of life and vitality for infants, children, and adults. Chiropractic works for the entire family.

The post Why Babies & Children Need Chiropractic Attention… Study shows longer labor time leads to higher risks 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.