Set for Life: Why Your Kids Should Get a Chiropractic Adjustment

By Dr. Molly Casey

Why do kids get a chiropractic adjustment? It’s a common question in my field. A question that, when answered correctly and acted upon by parents, can change the entire trajectory of the child’s health and life. Let me first say, yes, kids do get regular chiropractic adjustments. The benefits are wide-ranging.

Why do Kids Come in to Begin With?

There are two reasons that kids are brought into the chiropractic office to get adjusted, just like adults. First, there are a handful of kids who are brought in because the parents want to improve the overall health and wellness of the child. This type of visit generally occurs because the parents have some level of exposure to chiropractic care as a regular patient themselves or a history of natural healthcare.

Second, just like adults, many kids first come into the chiropractic office because of an issue they’re having with health or body mechanics. It’s common that parents will find themselves walking into the chiropractor’s office when looking for natural and conservative ways to best care for babies with colic or reflux. and children suffering from ear infections and bed wetting or problems sleeping. Additionally, it’s now quite common that parents will also bring in kids suffering from structural problems such as neck pain and arm/wrist pain due to excessive technology use, such as cell phone and computer or tablet use. Just like many adults, it’s common that parents continue to get their kids adjusted long after the initial presenting issue is rectified.

Benefits of the Adjustment for the Kids

So you’ve decided to take your child to the chiropractor. What are the benefits of doing so?

Optimal nervous system function - The nervous system is the communication highway of the body. The brain sends messages down the spinal cord, through the nerves to every single cell, tissue, structure, organ and system, and these also send information and messages back to the brain via the same route. You live and experience your life through this system. The better this system functions, the better the person is set up for a strong foundation of health. This stands true whether one is brand new to this world or has 90 years behind them.

Peak Performance - While many kids are far more sedentary than ever before, there is a group of kids who are heavily engaged with sports and physical activities. These teams and activities are often highly competitive. The better the nervous system functions, the better the body functions. The better the body functions, the better opportunity that child has to increase their performance, whether it be pitching on the baseball field, sprinting around the track, or finishing laps in the pool. Chiropractic adjustments facilitate optimal nervous system functioning and proper spinal motion, which is the foundation of full range of movement and efficiency in performance.

Natural pain relief: - Whether involved in sports and activities, living a sedentary life, or finding one’s self somewhere in-between, pain happens and it doesn’t discriminate with kids. Chiropractic adjustments restore range of motion in the spine and extremity joints. When proper motion is restored, muscles stop guarding or splinting, inflammatory processes decrease, and pain receptors settle. All of these components will assist in pain relief and encourage the healing process. Increasing the number of natural remedies and decreasing the external substances we use to modulate pain and help healing is a great way to promote overall health and longevity of the body.

Are Adjustments the Same for Kids?

Adjustments are based on the individual. Different chiropractors will use different techniques. Often the chiropractors will have a number of techniques in their tool box in order to best suit a variety of patients. This allows them to serve a greater number of people, including children. The amount of power or force used is reduced with kids because their bodies are smaller and they are still in growth periods. To the untrained eye it may look very similar to an adjustment rendered for an adult, meaning the setup or positioning may look similar to adults. The adjustments are gentle and effective and produce phenomenal results.

If you desire to increase the overall health and wellness of your child, improve their performance in their sports, or have found yourself in a situation in which they need natural pain relief, go see a chiropractor. Kids have spines too. Those spines need care just as much as adults; if we care properly for the health of the spine from the beginning of our lives, the function and longevity of the spine is likely to be prolonged.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.