Here at Doroski Chiropractic Neurology in the Woodbridge,
Dale City Virginia area I get asked a lot by my patients if adjusting a child
is possible. There are many studies
indicating that it is fine to adjust children and there is a fair amount of research
also pointing towards the benefits of having your child adjusted. I generally tell my patients that if your
child is complaining of back pain which can be associated with heavy back
packs, posture while playing video games or reading and over use of the
computer then definitely bring them in for an exam. Adults complain of pain while dealing with
repetitive stress or posture issues but hardly ever think of it happening to
their kids. Here are some studies and
information about the benefits of having your child adjusted.
According to Dr. David Sackett, the father of evidence-based
medicine, there are three prongs to the evidence-based decision: clinical
expertise, scientific research and patient preference. While chiropractic has
more than 100 years of clinical expertise from which to draw, our profession is
still quite young when it comes to its base of scientific research—a state that
is even more so for one of our youngest subspecialties, chiropractic
pediatrics. Dedicated researchers are working hard to fill in these gaps. Recent studies are beginning to confirm what
our century of clinical experience has already shown—that chiropractic care for
children is not only safe, but also effective for a variety of pediatric
conditions.
Dr. Joyce Miller and her colleagues at the Anglo-European
College of Chiropractic in the U.K. have contributed much to our knowledge of
chiropractic pediatrics in the past few years. Here is a brief summary of some
of their latest studies:
Safety study: Miller et al. examined 781 pediatric patients
under three years of age (73.5 percent of whom were under 13 weeks) who
received a total of 5,242 chiropractic treatments at a chiropractic teaching
clinic in England between 2002 and 2004.¹ There were no serious adverse effects
(reaction lasting >24 hours or needing hospital care) over the three-year
study period. There were seven reported minor adverse effects, such as
transient crying or interrupted sleep.
Nursing study: Miller et al. also performed a clinical case
series of chiropractic care for 114 infants with hospital- or
lactation-consultant-diagnosed nursing dysfunction.² The average age at first
visit was three weeks. All infants in the study showed some improvement, with
78 percent able to exclusively breastfeed after two to five treatments within a
two-week period.
Colic: Browning et al. performed a single-blinded randomized
comparison trial of the effects of spinal manipulative therapy and
occipito-sacral decompression therapy on infants with colic.³ Forty-three infants
younger than eight weeks of age received two weeks of chiropractic care. Two
weeks and four weeks after beginning treatment, the infants in both treatment
groups cried significantly less and slept significantly more than prior to
receiving chiropractic care.
Long-term sequelae of colic: Research has shown that
children who were colicky as infants suffer from poor behavior and disturbed
sleep as toddlers. Miller et al. performed a survey of parents of 117 such
toddlers who had received chiropractic care as infants vs. 111 who had not
received chiropractic care.4 They found the treated toddlers were twice as
likely not to experience long-term sequelae of infantile colic, such as temper
tantrums and frequent nocturnal waking. In other words, colicky infants who had
received chiropractic care were twice as likely to sleep well and to experience
fewer temper tantrums in their toddler years.
That is just a sampling of some of the great work that is
being done by the dedicated and hard-working researchers focusing on
chiropractic pediatrics.
References:
1. Miller JE, Benfield K. Adverse effects of spinal
manipulation therapy in children younger than 3 years: a retrospective study in
a chiropractic teaching clinic. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2008;31(6):419-422.
2. Miller JE, Miller L, et al. Contribution of chiropractic
therapy to resolving suboptimal breastfeeding: A case series of 114 infants. J
Manipulative Physiol Ther 2009;32(8):670-674.
3. Browning M, Miller JE. Comparison of the short-term
effects of chiropractic spinal manipulation and occipito-sacral decompression
in the treatment of infant colic: A single-blinded, randomised, comparison
trial. Clinical Chiropractic
2008;11(3):122-129.
4. Miller JE, Phillips HL. Long-term effects of infant
colic: a survey comparison of chiropractic treatment and non-treatment groups.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2009;32(8):635-638.
Doroski Chiropractic Neurology
3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102
Woodbridge VA 22192
703 730 9588
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