Why in the world would a baby get adjusted?!?

When I mention to patients that I specialize in pediatrics and adjust babies, I often get a confused look and an "Oh, that's interesting." Or, if they are completely honest about their thoughts, I get "You adjust babies?!? Is that safe? Why would a baby need to be adjusted?" The questions are understandable. Many adults see a chiropractor for back pain, for which chiropractic adjustments are very successful at resolving. But babies don't usually have back pain.

Let me start by defining the basic premise of chiropractic. Chiropractic corrects subluxations. A subluxation is when the spinal bones misalign and become stuck in that misaligned position, thereby irritating the nerves that exit between those bones. The pain and muscle spasm that result from this is most often what brings an adult in for chiropractic care. But this process can also happen to a baby. If you have ever seen even a "normal" birth, you would understand how the birth process could subluxate a baby's neck. Even positions in utero could start the subluxation process. Let's assume that the baby wasn't born with a subluxation. Even so, 95% of babies fall from some height by age 1, almost always landing on their heads. Then there are the growth spurts, heads cocked to one side in the car seat, learning to walk and falling numerous times, etc. There are a million things in the first year that could cause vertebral subluxation in babies, and the need for them to be checked by a chiropractor and adjusted.

Like I said, subluxations affect the nervous system. The nervous system controls everything in the body. Common symptoms in babies with subluxation are poor sleep, irritability, nursing only from one side, poor latch when breast feeding, frequent illness, reflux, colic, and ear infections. Some babies even have a persistent head tilt to one side by the time they are about three months old. When they are "stuck" like this, it is called torticollis and they absolutely need chiropractic adjustments. I also teach parents how to gently and effectively massage and/or stretch their babies at home to facilitate healing and holding the adjustment.

Adjustments for infants and children are extremely safe and very gentle. The force used to adjust an infant can be compared to the pressure needed to test the ripeness of a tomato. I usually use the Activator, a special adjusting instrument, that is very light. On very young and tiny babies, I use the Activator over my thumb or pinky! Because the instrument is so fast and specific, it gets the job done with almost no force.

The great thing about adjusting babies is that I see chiropractic miracles all the time. It usually only takes one adjustment to see a drastic improvement in a baby's health and contentment. I have had cases where it took several adjustments, but still not as many as an adult usually requires. The longer a problem is present, the harder it is to correct. That's why it is so important to get your baby checked early! Like they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.