Posted September 6th, 2024

Kids and chiropractic care: What to know from TPC

With kids settling back into school and fall sports, there’s no better time to ensure their bodies and brains are at peak functionality. Chiropractic care can be integral to your child’s preventative and holistic healthcare.

Chiropractors are increasingly working alongside pediatricians, neurologists, and other healthcare professionals to create comprehensive care plans for children. This integration ensures that chiropractic adjustments complement traditional medical treatments.

Chiropractic care for children has made several advances recently in focus on gentle, pediatric-specific techniques, research-backed methods, and integration with holistic pediatric care, including:

• Gentle adjustments such as fingertip adjustments and specialized instruments are used for precise spinal alignment, ensuring minimal force.
• The instrument method utilizes a handheld instrument that delivers a controlled, gentle force to restore motion to the spine without manual adjustment.

Overall, advances in chiropractic care have uncovered a greater understanding of how spinal health impacts the developing nervous system. This approach emphasizes the role of the spine in improving neurological function, particularly for pediatric conditions, including:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Some research suggests that chiropractic adjustments can support better brain function and behavior in children with ADHD.
• Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD): Chiropractors are incorporating neurological assessments to help improve sensory integration in children with developmental challenges.

Chiropractic care for children is benefitting from new technologies for precise diagnosis and monitoring, such as:

• Digital x-rays to allow for a more detailed and safer method to assess a child’s spine.
• Thermal scanning to measure the function of the nervous system, indicating areas of stress and imbalance.
• Heart Rate Variability (HRV) HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by a primitive part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It works behind the scenes, automatically regulating our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion among other key tasks.

There has been growing research into the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care for babies and younger children showing benefits for conditions like:

• Colic and reflux: Chiropractic care has improved symptoms in infants, potentially due to nervous system regulation.
• Ear infections: Chiropractic care can help with chronic ear infections by addressing upper cervical spine misalignment and reducing the need for antibiotics.
• Scoliosis management: Early detection and non-invasive treatment options have expanded for managing scoliosis in young children.

Chiropractors can also guide parents on exercises, stretches, and ergonomic practices for their children at home and school. This includes education on posture, nutrition, and lifestyle habits to support their overall health.

These advancements reflect the evolving nature of chiropractic care for children, emphasizing safe, effective, and child-centered techniques that contribute to holistic well-being.