How Often should Children see A Chiropractor
Why do children need to see a chiropractor?
Parents often wonder if their children need chiropractic care, because people often associate chiropractic with pain complaints. But chiropractic is most beneficial in preventive care. Thus, children having healthy and growing spines makes them the perfect candidate!
A small spinal curve, developmental delays, and other issues can be easily spotted in a chiropractic exam and quickly addressed. The spine is similar to a young tree that begins to grow crooked. If you do not give it the support to grow straight, you will end up with a tree with a curved trunk. Children are much the same.
What role can chiropractic play in a child’s healthcare?
In addition to a routine spinal assessment, chiropractic can play an important role in your child’s healthcare through many stages of development. Here is a break down of some commonly seen conditions in our clinic.
- Newborn 0-12 months: colic, trouble breast feeding, trouble sleeping, failure to thrive, constipation, reflux/stomach upset, and ear infections
- Toddlers 1-3 years: low back pain, trouble walking, unusual stride pattern, clumsiness/tripping/frequent falls, failure to start walking, trouble sleeping, night terrors, ear infections, and constipation
- Start of school 5-7 years: knee pain, growing pains, trouble adjusting at school, playground injuries, colds, swimmer’s ear, and bed wetting
- Adolescence 11-15 years: scoliosis, growing pains, menstrual troubles, and sports injuries
- High school 15-18 years: Growing pains (more common in boys at this point), sports injuries, and menstrual troubles
- College to adult: At this age, their bodies start responding more like an adult, so regular chiropractic rules apply
Do children enjoy the adjustments?
Most children like getting adjusted and are often excited to come in for their visits. Infants will frequently sleep through the visit. Many times they smile while being adjusted. We use various techniques on children depending on their health needs, and occasionally, we can we give them a choice of the method they like best. We use techniques such as craniosacral therapy, activator and non-force techniques as well as manual adjustments, which use fingers and hands.
How often should they be seen?
We recommend that children get their spines checked twice a year, much like you would do for a dental check-up. This is helpful in preventing scoliosis and other childhood problems such as ear infections, growing pains, and sleep issues.