"My son has had 6 ear infections over the last 4 years and he is only four and a half years old. We have always given him the antibiotic that the doctor prescribed, but it seems that the ear infections just keep coming back. The doctor wants to put tubes in his ears now, but I am worried since he is so small. Maybe the doctor is right and we need to put the tubes in."
I have heard this same story over and over in my 10 years of practice. The only thing that changes is if it is a boy or girl and how many courses of antibiotics they go through before the ear tubes are recommended. It is such a difficult situation to hear about because you are presented with a parent that cares deeply for the health and welfare of their child, have done what they were told by their pediatrician and now are faced with a situation that may put their child at risk. Are there alternatives to antibiotics and surgery? Why do the ear infections keep coming back if they are getting the antibiotic? and What causes an ear infection in the first place?
I will answer these questions in the reverse order because if we start at the root cause of the ear infection the rest becomes easy to understand. An ear infection or otitis media becomes an infection when a bacteria or a virus grows rapidly within the middle ear. However those microorganisms will only grow in the ear when the conditions are right for them to do so. Every one of us has the very same bacteria and viruses in our ears that is causing the infection in the child's ear. The difference is that in a child that has an ear infection they have a build up of fluid within their middle ear. This fluid which naturally forms in the middle ear to continually wash out the unwanted microbes, will sometimes get backed up within the middle ear cavity. When this happens, the fluid that is present is ideal for the bacteria and viruses to grow in. The primary reason for the back up of fluid is inflammation causing a narrowing of the Eustachian tube. The Eustachian tube is the small passage way that drains that fluid out of the ear and into the nasal passage. The swelling and nervous system dysfunction associated with a spinal misalignment is a likely cause of that Eustachian tube narrowing. Here is a great visual slideshow demonstrating what I just spoke about. Ear infection slide show.
Why do the ear infections keep coming back if they are taking the antibiotic? If the ear infection is due to a bacterial infection the antibiotic will be able to kill the bacteria, but they will not be able to do anything for the fluid that is present. This means that it just takes another bacteria or perhaps a virus, to find its way into the middle ear and start to grow the way that the last one did. This leads to further antibiotic use and the cycle continues on. The next step then is the introduction of tubes in the ear drum to try to relieve the pressure of the backed up fluid.
Is there an alternative to the antibiotics and surgery? Absolutely! Chiropractic care does not directly treat the infection, but gets at the heart of the problem by restoring the proper function of the ear. When gentle chiropractic adjustments are applied to areas of misalignment of the baby's spine, it allows the the inflammation around the Eustachian tube to be removed and the backed up fluid in the ear to naturally drain out of the middle ear. When the fluid is once again washing out the area of the middle ear it no longer gives the microbes a place to grow and thrive.
Stop the cycle of pain and antibiotics, seek help with chiropractic care and get at the heart of the problem not the symptoms.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What is Colic?
The mothers of my young patients often ask me "What exactly is Colic?" That is a good question and there is still some debate as to what causes the inconsolable crying and screaming that a baby suffering with colic has. If you go on the popular site WebMD they will tell you that "Doctors are not sure what causes colic, but it may be the result of a baby's sensitive temperament and an immature nervous system."
Traditionally the word "Colic" is associated with digestive issues such as gas and bloating. However the most reliable information now says that while digestive issues may increase the baby's discomfort they are not the main cause of it. If we go back to WebMD we see that they agree "Colic is not related to health conditions, such as digestion problems. But having gas in the belly can make crying worse." The research is pointing toward the nervous system as the true culprit of the pain and discomfort. This is where we come to treatment options for your baby.
The traditional medical approach has been and still is the prescription of a gas relieving drug such as dimethicone. This approach of course addresses the aggravating factor of colic but not the primary cause. What if you can go directly after the core of the problem that is causing your baby to cry and scream? This is where a chiropractor can help out. The medical community agrees that the likely cause of colic is found in the nervous system, but they do not have a way of addressing dysfunction that can be found there. What they are left with is trying to suppress the symptoms enough so that the parent can survive until the child is older.
Chiropractors on the other had have always worked directly with the nervous system, and to be more precise, removing the dysfunction that can occur in the nervous system. The primary focus of chiropractic care is to make corrective adjustments to the bones of the spine, in order to remove any irritation that the misaligned joints maybe causing on the nervous system. This is the same approach that we take with colicky babies. Of course the adjustments that we perform on babies are even more gentle than with older children and adults.
Babies often respond very quickly and with great results. I remember one mom who brought her son in for care. She looked tired and defeated, and I knew she had come to me as her last option. The morning after the first adjustment she called back and told us that her son had slept through the night! After a few more adjustments he no longer fit the criteria of a colicky baby.
Traditionally the word "Colic" is associated with digestive issues such as gas and bloating. However the most reliable information now says that while digestive issues may increase the baby's discomfort they are not the main cause of it. If we go back to WebMD we see that they agree "Colic is not related to health conditions, such as digestion problems. But having gas in the belly can make crying worse." The research is pointing toward the nervous system as the true culprit of the pain and discomfort. This is where we come to treatment options for your baby.
The traditional medical approach has been and still is the prescription of a gas relieving drug such as dimethicone. This approach of course addresses the aggravating factor of colic but not the primary cause. What if you can go directly after the core of the problem that is causing your baby to cry and scream? This is where a chiropractor can help out. The medical community agrees that the likely cause of colic is found in the nervous system, but they do not have a way of addressing dysfunction that can be found there. What they are left with is trying to suppress the symptoms enough so that the parent can survive until the child is older.
Chiropractors on the other had have always worked directly with the nervous system, and to be more precise, removing the dysfunction that can occur in the nervous system. The primary focus of chiropractic care is to make corrective adjustments to the bones of the spine, in order to remove any irritation that the misaligned joints maybe causing on the nervous system. This is the same approach that we take with colicky babies. Of course the adjustments that we perform on babies are even more gentle than with older children and adults.
Babies often respond very quickly and with great results. I remember one mom who brought her son in for care. She looked tired and defeated, and I knew she had come to me as her last option. The morning after the first adjustment she called back and told us that her son had slept through the night! After a few more adjustments he no longer fit the criteria of a colicky baby.
Chiropractic Care and Colic.
Spinal manipulation is effective in relieving infantile colic.
This is the conclusion of a study done in Denmark on the effectiveness of chiropractic care for infants with colic. The researchers found a decrease in the number of hours of crying by 67%. They compared this to only a 38% decrease in a second group that was treated with dimethicone over the same time period. An interesting note is made in the discussion of the study that there were 9 drop outs in the dimethicone group and none in the adjustment group. The authors comment on this "inspection of the data in the last infantile colic profile completed before dropout show clearly that for all where information is available, the dropout was due to a genuine worsening of symptoms and not parents' bias." The effect of the drop outs and the removal of their data likely, according to the authors, made the data on the dimethicone appear better than it would have if they had remained in the study. The authors concluded their discussion with this statement: "Spinal manipulation is normally used in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, and the results of this trial leave open 2 possible interpretations. Either spinal manipulation is effective in the treatment of the visceral disorder infantile colic or infantile colic is, in fact, a musculoskeletal disorder, and not, as normally assumed, visceral. This study does not address this issue."
References:
Wiberg JMM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. The Short-Term Effect of Spinal Manipulation in the Treatment of Infantile Colic: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial with a Blinded Observer J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1999 (Oct); 22 (8): 517-522
This is the conclusion of a study done in Denmark on the effectiveness of chiropractic care for infants with colic. The researchers found a decrease in the number of hours of crying by 67%. They compared this to only a 38% decrease in a second group that was treated with dimethicone over the same time period. An interesting note is made in the discussion of the study that there were 9 drop outs in the dimethicone group and none in the adjustment group. The authors comment on this "inspection of the data in the last infantile colic profile completed before dropout show clearly that for all where information is available, the dropout was due to a genuine worsening of symptoms and not parents' bias." The effect of the drop outs and the removal of their data likely, according to the authors, made the data on the dimethicone appear better than it would have if they had remained in the study. The authors concluded their discussion with this statement: "Spinal manipulation is normally used in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, and the results of this trial leave open 2 possible interpretations. Either spinal manipulation is effective in the treatment of the visceral disorder infantile colic or infantile colic is, in fact, a musculoskeletal disorder, and not, as normally assumed, visceral. This study does not address this issue."
References:
Wiberg JMM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. The Short-Term Effect of Spinal Manipulation in the Treatment of Infantile Colic: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial with a Blinded Observer J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1999 (Oct); 22 (8): 517-522
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Can Chiropractic Care Keep You From Getting Sick?
For years chiropractic patients have told about their families having fewer illnesses while receiving chiropractic care. They report fewer cold and ear infections in their children and decrease in allergies and sinus infections in themselves. Is this a legitimate benefit to simply having adjustments to your spine?
Here is an article from the magazine Psychology Today. It tells about how during the flu epidemic of 1917 and 1918 it was discovered that those people who were under chiropractic care had significantly reduced rates of dying from the flu compared to people who were not being cared for by a chiropractor. The writer, Katie Gilbert, also mentions a study in which patients infected with the HIV virus underwent six months of spinal adjustments and experienced an increase in their white-blood cell count. In the study the researchers compared these results to another group who received no chiropractic care. The second group had a decrease in the level of their white-blood cells over the same time period.
If people facing a deadly flu epidemic and with an active HIV infection experience such results, what can chiropractic care do for your family? Should chiropractic care be part of your plan to fend off the seasonal flu or the H1N1 virus?
Here is an article from the magazine Psychology Today. It tells about how during the flu epidemic of 1917 and 1918 it was discovered that those people who were under chiropractic care had significantly reduced rates of dying from the flu compared to people who were not being cared for by a chiropractor. The writer, Katie Gilbert, also mentions a study in which patients infected with the HIV virus underwent six months of spinal adjustments and experienced an increase in their white-blood cell count. In the study the researchers compared these results to another group who received no chiropractic care. The second group had a decrease in the level of their white-blood cells over the same time period.
If people facing a deadly flu epidemic and with an active HIV infection experience such results, what can chiropractic care do for your family? Should chiropractic care be part of your plan to fend off the seasonal flu or the H1N1 virus?
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