Chiropractic Care for Children

CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR CHILDREN

Doctors of chiropractic hear from parents that they appreciate the importance of regular check-ups for their child’s teeth, eyes and ears, but they draw a blank when it comes to a spinal check-up. Yet that could be one of the most important check-ups your child will ever have. You might be surprised to learn that most adult problems chiropractors deal with actually have a start in childhood. For example, the growing pains of a 12-year-old boy can become crippling low back and leg pains in adulthood: the jolly jumpers used by a toddler can cause spinal curvatures (scoliosis) in the adolescent.

Your child’s spine is his or her lifeline. Running through it is the spinal cord containing billions of nerves that send messages and information from the brain to every part of the body and back again. Yes, we all have our very own Internet! As long as none of these messages is interrupted, your child should have optimal function and the best health possible. If, however, there is any interference with this information highway, the message sent by the brain will not reach the part of the body it intended to reach. As a result, the body starts to work improperly. Chiropractors call this a malfunction. It can be a serious threat to health. This interference will often affect the immune system, lower body resistance and leave your child prey to various bugs and infections.

THE FUNCTION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

It is generally agreed that the immune system is very closely linked to the nervous system. As a matter of fact, Dr. Stephen Marini, who is both and immunologist and a chiropractor and who is on staff at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, feels that the immune system is like a circulating nervous system. He also feels most diseases that children get are really the result of the improper functioning of that system. This interference in your child’s nervous system is what chiropractors refer to as a vertebral subluxation- small misalignments of the bones of the spine pinching delicate nerves.

HOW DOES YOUR BABY’S SPINE LOSE ITS NATURAL ALIGNMENT?

Vertebral subluxations have many causes. The major cause of most is actually the process of being brought into the world – birth. For an infant, it can be very stressful. Subluxations associated with birth trauma can cause hyperactivity, lowered resistance, ear infections, asthma and bed wetting, as well as signs of central motor impairment. According to Dr Gutman, a German specialist, a spinal check up after birth should be obligatory.

As a matter of fact, certain hospitals in Australia are having chiropractic doctors check the infant spine immediately after delivery to ensure a healthy spine and nervous system, free from subluxations. As babies get older, they are often subjected to some uncomfortable traditions: wearing tight diapers that do not allow proper hip development; jolly jumpers which place an infant in an upright position long before the spine can deal with gravity; poorly designed school desks and poor mattresses, just to name a few. Then of course there is the usual process of crawling, walking and running. As your child matures, other incidents and activities can also create vertebral subluxations. For instance, falling off a bike or down stairs, hockey, football, skateboards and roller blades.

As example, the so-called growing pains I mentioned earlier that children often experience in their legs have traditionally been explained away as part of childhood. Worried parents hear such nonsensical statement as “it’s nothing-they’ll grow out of it”, or my very favorite, “it is because they are growing”. Many parents tend to buy these excuses. But when we really think about it, those explanations simply do not make any sense. After all, when did it ever hurt to grow? And why only the legs? Don’t the arms also grow? Why don’t they hurt?

From a chiropractic perspective, these growing pains are often called sciatica in adults. In other words, a vertebral subluxation in the low back affecting the sciatic nerve which controls the legs. These pains can also often be caused by a functional pelvic imbalance. In simple terms, it’s a subluxation of the pelvic bones which then changes the way a child walks. These pelvic imbalance subluxations can lead to the development of early Scoliosis (spinal curvature), knee problems and difficulty with balance. These are often the children who are wrongly labelled as klutzy.

If allowed to remain, subluxations are the starting point of nerve system and body malfunction. When a vertebral subluxation has existed for some time, it will eventually produce symptoms (pain is the most common) as a warning to let you know that something is simply not okay, that there is a threat to health and well-being. One must remember that symptoms are similar to a fire alarm. They let you know that there is a fire. At this point you have a choice. You can put out the fire (correct the subluxation), or turn off the fire alarm (using medication) to make yourself feel better. Which is more logical?

Chiropractic care is for everyone who wants to experience wellness, but is especially important for children. It can make a huge difference in their lives. Conditions easily corrected by chiropractic care at an early age are often neglected and can be carried by a child as a burden throughout a lifetime. I firmly believe that all children should be checked by a chiropractor to ensure a normally functioning nervous system and a healthy body.

Author: Dr. Ogi Ressell

If you have any questions about the health of your children or you would like to bring them in for a spinal check-up, please give us a call at 918-935-3432. Our passion is for the health of our community and we take our mission of wellness very seriously. Thank you for your time reading our blog.

Sincerely, Dr. Travis

www.mytulsachiro.com

God Made Dirt.... Dirt Don't Hurt

You are wondering why such a zany title. After all you hate dirt. As a matter of fact, so does our family, friends, and the vast majority of North Americans. We are obsessed with dirt and uncleanliness. We are fastidious, fussy and clean obsessed. Let me show you. How many of you take off your shoes when entering the house? Look at a glass before drinking? Wash your hands compulsively? Wash your clothes after wearing them only a few hours? The list goes on.

So why do we do this?

Well…we have been taught that germs are bad. That one can get germs from anything and everything. That germs should be eradicated, wiped out, killed. That no mercy should be shown. Take no prisoners our parents told us. So we do what we have been taught. This sterile obsession we then pass onto our children and the myth is propagated.

Our obsession with cleanliness is causing our own demise. I am not referring to personal hygiene; rather, I am referring to our “everything-spotless” mentality. More and more authorities are convinced that everyday dust and dirt is actually good for you. Our search and reach for sterility is actually harming us and our children. I realize this may sound a bit alarming for many of you, but read on!

Our health is based on a properly functioning nervous system, immune system and endocrine system. The new science connecting these components is called, pyschoneuroimmunology. Many feel that the immune, endocrine and nervous systems are one and the same. This new science investigates the relationships between these systems and how they integrate and interact together for the health and well being of the individual.

What has this to do with dirt you ask?

Bart Classen MD, of Classen Immunotherapies in Maryland, a vaccine researcher, told me in a personal communication, that the immune system of today’s child is in serious trouble. He feels that because of our search for cleanliness and sterility, our immune system is no longer being exercised as it has been in the past. These thoughts are echoed by Steve Marini D.C., a chiropractor and immunologist, Philip Incao MD, and countless others. More and more scientists are realizing that most of the childhood diseases are innocuous and are there in order to exercise a young immature immune system of a child. You probably think that a child having measles, chickenpox, etc., is a terrible thought. Not so. These diseases actually teach the immune system how to deal with the myriad of viruses and bacteria of the world. This is a good thing.

I tell my patients that even the common cold and flu has a place; they teach the immune system how to fight! This is good. Just because you feel sick when you have the flu doesn’t mean you are. It simply means your body is doing exactly what has been programmed to do. This is not sickness. This is an expression of health! I am not saying you have to like it, but it is ultimately for your benefit. To circumvent this system is not in your best interests.

Let some dirt in your life. You’ll be a healthier person for it.


I look forward to hearing from you to set up your complimentary consultation. I can be reached at 918-935-3432, or you are more than welcome to visit my website.

Thank you for reading,

Dr. Travis

www.easternoklahomachiropractic.com