Common Stresses Lead To Need For Chiropractic In Children

In the January/February 1995 issues of the ICA International Review ofMaxine McMullen, D.C. reports on the physical stresses children are

Chiropractic,

subjected to that can lead to spinal problems requiring chiropractic care.

Dr. McMullen, Dean of Chiropractic Sciences at Palmer College, is the chair of

the International Chiropractors Association Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics. In

the article, McMullen points out that stress on the infant encountered during the

medically assisted delivery process (from mechanical extraction, such as forceps,

suction devices or cesarean section) can cause severe problems from too much

force being applied to the infant’s neck. Problems that can result include

irritability, colic, failure to thrive, and lowered immune response syndromes.

Developmental problems also occur as the child grows older. When a woman

breast feeds her baby, movement on one side of the baby’s body is constricted

while freedom of movement is allowed on the other side. This process is reversed

as the baby is changed from one breast to another and allows for a balanced input

of perception into the baby’s central nervous system, a necessity for proper

development. Mothers who bottle feed their babies tend to choose the side that is

most comfortable for them and stick with that position during every feeding. As a

result, there is not a balanced perception input and therefore improper nervous

system development can occur.

When babies starts to cross-crawl at about six months of age, it is important not to

put them into playpens, walkers or hanging baby seats. Forcing erect posture on a

baby too early puts stress on structures not yet ready for such forces. Predictably,

problems result. If the problems are not corrected, as they are under Chiropractic

Care, they degrade into scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), muscle

imbalances, motor dysfunction and symptoms of unknown origin which may not

present themselves until much later in life along with the complaint “but I didn’t

do anything” to make it hurt.

Dr. McMullen closes the report by saying “Those children one cares for

chiropractically on a regular basis develop strong, well-balanced, musculoskeletal

structures accompanied by attitudes [mindful] of the need to take responsibility for

one’s own health, not merely the absence of disease. This trend should be

consistent rather than sporadic as it is at present.”