Chiropractic for Babies?

          Probably about 80-90% of all people that enter this office will come in with a symptom like neck pain, back pain or headaches. These are all manifestations of a nervous system that is struggling to adapt due to misalignments of the spine which are called subluxations. These subluxations will happen for a variety of reasons like poor posture or slips, trips, falls or motor vehicle accidents. The chiropractic adjustment is an amazing tool to remove a subluxation and help restore the body to optimal function and fewer symptoms. Everyone can appreciate the need for a child or adult to be adjusted because they can see how the physical stresses can create these subluxations, however, almost everyone is shocked to see a newborn baby in my office. The most common question I get is “Why does a baby need to be adjusted?” To answer this you must know about the birthing process. During a normal vaginal delivery the mom is laying on her back and pushing a baby into this world. The doctor that is assisting will give a pull and twist on the head as it exits the vagina. That pull and twist has been measured up to 70lbs of force and pressure on a spine that has little muscle or ligament tone. The force and pressure on the neck and pelvis is increased if it is a c-section or breech birth. These forces on the spine have the ability to create the first subluxation. The problem is that babies have no way of telling us that they are suffering other than to express it through fussiness and crying. Most parents that bring their babies into our office will have a baby that is colicky, won’t sleep, won’t feed properly or is not reaching their milestones like lifting their head, rolling over or sitting up. Chiropractic has been shown, not only in this office but also through research, to be extremely beneficial to helping eliminate these symptoms. Not only is it a great idea to eliminate these symptoms but it is also a great idea to allow a spine and nervous system to develop healthily and to help avoid the problems that most adults enter my office with by ensuring it doesn’t become a problem as a child.

          The youngest patient I had was a 1 day old infant. The mom brought him into me as she was driving home from the hospital for a wellness check to ensure the birth process didn’t cause any subluxations. As it turned out there was one in his upper neck and it was adjusted with ease. The mom reported in the days and weeks after that this was by far her easiest baby and she credits the adjustment for that.

          I want to leave you with one of my favourite testimonials;

          “My infant son cried all the time in the first few months after he was born.  Everyone kept telling me it was colic and that he would ‘grow out of it’, but we found his crying bouts to be unbearable for everyone.  Nearing six months old, I noticed that in addition to his inconsolable crying, he also was not meeting his movement milestones (sitting up, rolling over etc) and I became concerned.  I had recently become a patient with Dr. Kramp, and he suggested that chiropractic care might also help my son.  After just one treatment, the difference was unbelievable;   the inexplicable crying stopped, that night my son slept 8+ hours uninterrupted and the very next day he began to roll over and sit up on his own. Literally overnight my son became a different child who instead of crying uncontrollably now smiles, giggles, laughs and plays.  Dr. Kramp is gentle, knowledgeable, and passionate about his profession and I wish that we had met him sooner. Truly, chiropractic care changed our lives in so many immeasurable ways and we feel blessed to have a happy, healthy baby boy.” Cheryl and Jeff H.

          The chiropractic adjustment is safe and effective for babies. If you’ve never seen a baby being adjusted and want to know more then ask one of the doctors when you’re in the office next and we’ll show you.