2011 November

Do you remember taking a tumble or two as a kid? And how many times have you seen you own kids falling or banging themselves somewhere while busy playing and having fun? Yes, kids are active and playful, so it stands to reason that most kids will have several falls during their youth!

The shocking stats
It is said that on average, before the age of seven, a child will fall approximately 2500 times, and that even before age three, they will have had three major falls. It is also estimated that 47.9% of children land on their head in their first year of life – obviously you can’t do a lot about the forces of nature on this, but you can help your child with preventative and post-fall chiropractic!

Your child’s developing spine is a precious thing. From the moment a baby is born and starts inhabiting our world full of man-made objects, like furniture, beds, changing tables, etc., the possibility of falls is very high.  In fact, almost 50% of one-year-olds fall from high places. Unfortunately, it goes with the territory.

Childhood falls and the brain
There are literally hundreds of ways a child can fall, whether it happens from a “natural” fall, or from outside factor like a sibling pushing them. And every time they do, they can be subluxated. Not only that, but as your child’s body is developing, so is their brain. And if they sustain any injuries in the first two years of life, those injuries can manifest in brain health problems over their entire lifetime.

In fact, studies have shown that 65% of neurological development (brain and nervous system0 happen in the child’s first year. The nervous system controls every cell – tissue and organ in the body.  Even just being born places a huge amount of stress on the spine, depending on the position of the baby in the uterus. Studies of 1000 infants  have shown 80% had some form of nerve dysfunction and other problems such as:

• breathing weakness
• irritability
• regurgitation
• colic (incomplete protein breakdown)
• sleeping issues
• headaches
• hyperactivities
• ear infections
• behavioral problems
• difficulty feeding/latching
• bedwetting and digestive issues
•  assist in sleep issues

A good reason to get to a chiropractor early on!

Natural resiliency isn’t what it’s cracked up to be
It’s true that children can seem “resilient” – they seem almost as pliable as clay and able to bend and twist in any number of directions, falls or not. But don’t let that fool you. Besides the obstacles in the home and in the yard your child will face even more as they head to kindergarten and school.

Whether child or adult, when we fall, much like a cat, our muscles immediately tense up as we brace for impact (which can be voluntary or involuntary). Guess what that does to the spine? That’s right. More sublaxation.

Chidren’s chiropractic is safe and gentle
Did you know that chiropractic is safe for children, yes, even babies, too? Chiropractors use different techniques than they do with adults and are trained in how to carry out these special techniques. Keep in mind that just because your child may easily “get over” falling when they stop crying, doesn’t mean their spinal alignment hasn’t been adversely affected. Problems can easily linger if not checked.

When you think about all the times a child falls, can you see why you’d need to have regular chiropractic visits?

And don’t forget there is more than the spine to think about. Your child’s head and neck are a key part of the body they need to rely on for every move they make. It’s fairly common for children to suffer with head and neck aches. But it shouldn’t be. A headache doesn’t always mean they’ve had too much sugar!

Childhood is not the end of spinal problems of course. Many adults fall or are injured in any number of activities. What about the man who stoops over to get something off the bottom shelf of the fridge and “click”, his back suddenly goes out, and he ends up bedridden for days? Do you think that injury just happened in that moment? It could very well be an unhealed injury from childhood – and that injury may have been just as “slight”, but as you can see, its effect is far from slight. Now that the injury has been “woken up”, it’s not likely to go away.

10 reasons parents now take their children to see a chiropractor:

• overall health and well-being
• to strengthen the immune system – decrease incidents of colds, earaches, and general illnesses. Research is showing that regular chiropractic care – more than seven times per year increase resistance to common childhood diseases – chiropractic patients in a research study had 200% greater immune function then non-chiropractic ones
• colic
• breathing difficulties and allergies
• posture and scoliosis detection
• to improve child’s ability to concentrate
• to assist in behavioral disorders

As a parent, you always want to give your child as good as chance as possible for a healthy and happy life. And if you start chiropractic at the right time, in their formative years, it will go a long way to helping make that happen!

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