“My
kids are way too young for spinal problems…”
During
my years in practice, people have often asked why we check so many
kids in the office. Most people are under the impression that
children are way too young to have a structural problem in the spine.
For the most part, you would be absolutely correct. About 60% of the
kids we check in the office have no structural problems at all, and
thank goodness for that.
However,
statistics from the Center for Disease Control show some alarming
numbers. Each year, over 1 million children between the ages
of 0-5 will be hospitalized due to a fall. Another 700,000
will be hospitalized from an accidental trauma. That’s not even
including the number of kids who will suffer a trauma to the spine,
but are never taken to the ER!
Now
think about this, most people will never even know or think about
taking their kids to a chiropractor following a fall or trauma.
The great news is that kids are extraordinarily resilient to injury.
They bounce back up, and their ability to heal is just much better
than that of an average adult. However, structural problems in the
spine don’t necessarily cause neck pain and back pain, especially
in children. What they can do is create other secondary conditions.
Whenever there is pressure in the nerves at the base of the brain
from a structural misalignment at the top of the neck, many kids can
show conditions like:
- Asthma
- Allergies
- Immune problems
- Ear infections
- ADHD
- Torticollis
These
are just some of the common conditions that parents bring their kids
to chiropractors for. While it’s not a chiropractor’s job to
treat these symptoms, they are signs that the nerve supply from a
child’s spine is compromised. On many kids, this can be tied to a
difficult or traumatic birth process.
The
best part of all is how much kids love getting gentle adjustments.
It’s often times a parent’s worst nightmare to take their kids to
a doctor. The screaming and tantrums on display at a pediatrician or
a dentist can unnerve even the strongest parent. A child and infant
adjustment is very different than adults, and you’ll usually see
kids jumping on to my tables excited to be checked!
But
the most important reason that kids should be checked early is just
because it makes sense. When most of us adults
develop some bad secondary conditions, x-rays usually show that a
problem has been growing in the spine for 15+ years. Why let kids
develop the same problems that us adults have had. Just like we take
our kids for a dental check-up to ensure that they are free of
cavities, our kids deserve a structural check-up to prevent the
damage of a developing spine.
