Pediatric Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is beneficial for individuals of all ages, including young children and teenagers. An undiagnosed spinal misalignment can have an ongoing impact on a child’s overall health and musculoskeletal development for many years. In fact, everything from allergy problems to sleep problems may be connected to a misaligned spine.

Chiropractic Pediatric Care Naturally Treats Common Childhood Ailments

Research shows that a number of different childhood ailments may be linked to spinal misalignments. When the spine is out of alignment, the central nervous system is unable to effectively send and receive messages from the brain throughout the body. This communication hindrance can exacerbate different health problems, such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), colic, allergies, and much more. Additionally, sports injuries can also affect a child's health and may require manual adjustments to restore proper spinal alignment.

Allergies and asthma are two common health problems affecting younger children. If a spinal misalignment impedes the brain’s ability to send or receive messages, this can aggravate allergy symptoms. For example, frequent sneezing, watery eyes, and a runny nose are all signs that a child’s immune system is overreacting to allergens. When the immune system is weak or under stress, it is unable to tell the difference between an actual threat and an allergen. Many children have minor subluxations within their spine but a doctor may never realize that these misalignments exist because the child is not experiencing pain. Chiropractic pediatric care can help by identifying these subluxations and restoring proper alignment to the spine.

Chiropractic pediatric care in Springfield MO is also beneficial for treating ADHD, a common childhood condition characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, difficulty concentrating and impulsive behavior. Chiropractic pediatric care is a drug-free alternative treatment. Adjustments remove blockages within the body, streamlining central nervous system communication and decreasing overall brain activity. We may also recommend dietary changes, such as avoiding processed foods and artificial flavors or food colorings, to help keep ADHD in check. This may also include your child taking our food sensitivity test.

Call Meek Integrative Health Center to speak to our staff about any questions you may have.

Chiropractic for Kids | Springfield MO

Kids can get checked, too. Do kids need regular blood pressure check-ups or regular tests of their blood glucose levels? Probably not - these simple procedures can be done during a child's annual physical. But kids are very active and more frequent chiropractic check-ups are usually a good idea. Most of us were introduced to chiropractic care when we were adults - and we had to play catch-up for however long a period of time before we really began to feel healthy again. If we began chiropractic care as a younger adult, it probably didn't take too long to restore good health. If we were older - well, the process probably took more time.

If chiropractic care is valuable for you, imagine how valuable it is for your children. Kids are natural explorers - they run, jump, climb things, fall down, and bounce around. And, kids are resilient - this ability to recover quickly is one of the great benefits of being very young. Occasionally, one of these activity-related injuries impacts a child's spine. Nothing obvious has happened and nothing hurts. But there may be subtle injuries to spinal muscles and spinal ligaments that have a long-term effect on spinal nerve function.

Spinal nerve function depends on mechanical integrity of the spine itself. If spinal muscles and ligaments are inflamed or irritated, spinal nerve function is compromised to a greater or lesser extent. In a child, the short- and long-term results may include muscle pain and stiffness, loss of full range of motion in the neck or lower back, frequent colds, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, allergies, and asthma. Of course, when it comes to good health for you and your family, preventing a problem is much easier than treating a problem. In the long run, prevention also costs much less. We all want our kids to be healthy and well. We want them to play full-out, to engage in all kinds of sports, and to have a lot of fun. In order for children to continue to enjoy optimal health, regular spinal check-ups are as important as an annual physical exam. Your local chiropractor is the spinal health expert in your community. She will be glad to help you ensure your child's continued good health.

1 Barkley JE, et al: Reinforcing value of interval and continuous physical activities in children. Physiol Behav April 16, 2009
2 Fecteau D, et al: The effect of concentrating periods of physical activity on the risk of injury in organized sports in a pediatric population. Clin J Sport Med 18(5):410-414, 2008
3 Spinks AB, McClure RJ: Quantifying the risk of sports injury: a systematic review of activity-specific rates for children under 16 years of age. Br J Sports Med 41(9):548-557, 2007


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