Do You Adjust Your Kids?

We’re often asked “Do you adjust your kids?”

Chiropractic for kids

It sometimes comes up sarcastically like, “You don’t adjust your kids though.” Many expect us to answer with a resounding, “no”.

However, the answer is a resounding yes! Of course, we adjust our kids! We adjusted both of them the day they were born! It is a very safe procedure. I wouldn’t have an opinion about it if I couldn’t back it up with research. No one cares for the safety of my kids more than I do.

People are often skeptical about adjusting babies and children because they envision an infant getting an adjustment like a healthy, grown adult with the chiropractor putting all their body weight on the child and producing loud popping. Or people watch you tube videos of aggressive adjusting techniques and assume that that’s what all chiropractors do. That would just as careless as giving a child an adult strength Tylenol. We take a much more gentle approach, using light adjusting techniques, implementing gentle adjusting tools, light cranial adjusting, and teaching parents gentle stretching techniques and exercises that they can do with their babies and children at home safely. Usually babies sleep through their appointments, or, like with our kids, they giggle through their appointments.

Why would a child even need an adjustment?

As discussed at the beginning of the blog, we adjusted our kids the day they were born. The birthing process can be quite traumatic for the baby just as much as it is for the mother. Their necks are being put through a very difficult journey no matter how good the delivery was. The baby also spent 9 months fairly contained in a small space and may need help adjusting to the new surroundings. There are several indicators for consulting chiropractic care:

• Colic-like behavior

• Irritability

• Difficulty to latch/eat

• Restricted neck movements or consistently favoring one side

• Sleep disturbances

• Unable to relax arms or legs

• Excessive spit up

• Cranial/head asymmetry

For older children

• ear pressure/pain (preventing recurrent ear infections)

• difficulty in crawling

• Swaying gait of a walking child

• Problems with irritability

• Constipation

• Sleep disruptions

• “Growing Pains”

• Pains described by the child

Every child deserves to have their spine and cranium checked so that they may have the full potential to grow healthily with the best nervous and musculoskeletal system possible. Please know that chiropractic is very safe for your children and that they will thrive with chiropractic adjustments! If you think that your child could benefit from chiropractic care please give our office a call at 507-645-8000. For more information regarding chiropractic care please check out our blog!