
A. I often do cranial work on babies. If you have ever had cranial work done, it is very gentle, and actually feels very relaxing. Most babies and adults that I do cranial work on love it. If we need to do any spinal adjusting, the techniques are very gentle and different to those we use on adults, often it is simply a little pressure. There is no ‘cracking’ involved as people often think.
Q. Why would a baby need chiropractic care?
A. If we look at babies, the birth process is very traumatic. Even a normal birth puts significant forces through their spines. If intervention is needed, these forces can be magnified. As a baby grows and develops, they have all sorts of falls and bangs and bumps. These can all cause problems. Having a good checkup can often pick up little things before they become bigger problems. More specifically, if a baby has colic or is irritable or only wants to feed on one side, chiropractic care may be able to help. If your child only sleeps on one side due to a restriction in neck rotation they may develop a flat spot (plagiocephaly). Chiropractic and cranial work may help this (it definitely did with my baby). If your baby is failing to meet its milestones, chiropractic care along with appropriate home help exercises may be a good option. If you want more details on these, please ask.
Q. How often do you need to see a child?
A. This depends on the child and their presenting complaint and is a hard question to answer in this format. In general, children do not need be seen as often as adults as they tend to respond very quickly. Every child can be different though.
Q. Why would an older child need chiropractic care?
A. As children get older, they often have falls, sports injuries etc which can cause problems. With the advent of technology and phones, children often develop poor posture. This can lead to aches and pains and problems later in life, so it is important to be aware of this at an early stage and make the appropriate changes. To me chiropractic care is effective as a way to optimize function as well as an effective way to ease aches and pains. I have written about how technology can cause back problems in a previous post. You can read it here.
Q. What are some of the benefits of chiropractic care for babies and children.
A. In my practice I have seen some great results from chiropractic care. These include things like improvement with colic, better sleep, better bowel function, improvement with plagiocephaly (flat spot on the head) etc. I have also seen things like postural improvement in older children, reduction in headaches, as well as the rapid improvement from back injuries from sports and falls. If you have a child with a specific problem and want to know if chiropractic care may be able to help, please contact me.
These are just a few of the common questions I get asked. If you have any other questions regarding chiropractic care or want to find out more, please let me know. I am happy to try an answer any questions you may have. I do offer FREE spinal screenings for children. The screening involves a scan of the spine or a specific area to see if chiropractic care is right for your child. Feel free to call or come into the clinic to find out more or book an appointment.