Will Play for Donuts

I was doing some reading today on the ICPA website and came across this article.  WILL PLAY FOR DONUTS It seemed very appropriate after signing two of my girls up for soccer last week.

What kind of message are we sending to our children if we feed them high sugar, low nutrition food even when they are exercising.  We need to be teaching them good eating habits.  Instead of giving them a cookie or pastry after working their bodies, give them fruit (sugar but with fiber to slow the absorption) or something with protein (to help build that muscle that they just worked).  They will learn that they actually feel better when eating better. 

If we are going to have a positive influence on the health of our children, we need to be willing to make the hard choices that are sometimes unpopular.  But isn't that what being a parent is about?  Making the right choices so that our children can learn how?

Headache

So you have a headache....Your eyes hurt, your forehead is pounding, your neck is sore and tight, your scalp feels as if it is being slowly removed, lights bother you, noise sets your teeth on edge, and then there are your children, the house, dinner, your husband/wife and the daily demands of life. You would like to stop the world and get off!

Thousands of children and adults are afflicted with this headache "thing". As a matter of fact, headaches are the most common reason people seek chiropractic care. Headaches have been sold to the public as a problem which needs to be "treated", as a disease, or some sort of condition. We have gingerly been taught to believe that headaches need to be remedied. Millions of dollars of advertising are spent annually on the benefits of drugs for the treatment of headaches. And we have bought into this carefully contrived thinking.

So let’s look at this "headache thing" from a different perspective.

The word "Headache" simply means - ache in the head. It is NOT a disease. It is simply an ache. A pain. A symptom. I am not even remotely making light of it though - this symptom can be severe and debilitating. It is said that there are different types of headaches; migraines, cluster, tension, occipital, sinus, etc. All of them seem to have a different pattern, location, severity, and, of course drug, to deal with it.

There seems to be no weight given to the idea that there might be a reason why a person might be experiencing headaches - no weight as to the "WHY".

Let’s look at this closer.

I mentioned that a headache is a symptom. It is simply your body literally "talking" back to you. We need to be able to interpret that language. Most people I meet are so busy treating their pain, they forget that it has a reason for being. A headache is a sign your body produces to let you know that it is having a difficult time handling something. The vast majority of headaches are found at the base of the head or in the region of the temples or over the eyes.

As a profession we have found that the vast majority of headaches are simply signs of a vertebral subluxation - a distortion of some of the vertebrae of the neck area mostly affecting the function of the nervous system. You would be surprised to learn that most of all subluxations I see in adults and children, can be traced to a difficult delivery. We call this Traumatic Birth Syndrome. Even an average, uncomplicated delivery can be traumatic for a child and can produce vertebral subluxations.

These subluxations affect the manner in which the nervous system transmits information and can be very catastrophic. When this occurs, certain neck muscles are called into play to protect the nervous system from damage and you experience a "tension" headache. Very often, pain is transmitted to the face and people have been trained to think it is their sinuses at fault. They reach for sinus medication and the profit cascade begins. And then there is the temple, pounding pain - a migraine; again different drugs. And the headaches which come in clusters - cluster headaches; more drugs.

I am describing the vast majority of headaches. There are others, however, that are not caused by subluxations. These can be caused by diet and poor nutrition - hypoglycemia, for instance. I see many of these in my practice. Some are caused by an aneurysm, a disease process, toxicity, a tumor, etc. The point I am making is that no headaches should be taken lightly - it is always a sign that something is not OK.

If you or your child is experiencing headaches, it would take a case history, comprehensive examination and possibly x-rays to determine the reason for your headaches.

Case Study: Help for Child with Developmental Delay, Colic and Acid Reflux

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health just published a case study on a 15 month old girl that presented with developmental delay to a chiropractic office.  Her developmental delays included not standing, walking or talking for her age group.  It was noted that she had previously had chiropractic care for colic and GERD (basically acid reflux) which had resolved quickly. 

Subluxations were found by the chiropractor in the upper neck and very low back.  After 18 visits this little girl was able to walk unassisted and speak 3-4 words in Greek and English. 

This is an example of how chiropractic care can help make a world of difference in a young person's life.  Chiropractic care is more than pain management, it is about identifying areas of the body that are not functioning as they should and training them to work correctly again.

How Does Chiropractic Care Help with Ear Infections?

For anyone who still associates chiropractic care only with back pain, they have a hard time understanding how an adjustment can have any effect upon an infection in a child's ear.  It comes down to the fact that the nerves are responsible for communication in all areas of the body.  Simply, if the nerve coming from the brain and going to the tissue around the Eustachian tube (the tube that drains the fluid from the inner ear) is being irritated, it can cause inflammation around the Eustachian tube and not allow it to drain properly.  When the fluid, that is naturally present, is not allowed to drain it builds up in the middle ear.  This excess fluid is a great place for microbes like viruses and bacteria to grow.  If an antibiotic is given, it may kill the bacteria but will do nothing for the fluid.  Chiropractic adjustments on the other hand restore the normal communication of the body, reduce the inflammation and allow the fluid to drain.  If the fluid is not allowed to build up the microbes have nothing to grow in.

 

Infantile Colic Help

One of the most frustrating situations that new parents can find themselves in is trying to console a child suffering with colic. A study conducted in South Africa by Mercer and Cook may point them in the right direction. Thirty infants who had been diagnosed by a pediatrician with colic were randomly divided into two groups. One group received chiropractic care while the other group did not. All infants in this study were newborn to 8 weeks old. The framework of the study was that the infants receiving chiropractic adjustments received care for a two-week period with a maximum of six adjustments.

The results of the study were very impressive. In the group that received chiropractic care, 93% of the infants had complete resolution of their symptoms within the two-week period. Even more impressive was that in a follow up survey performed one month later, none of the infants had experienced a recurrence of problems from colic. The chiropractic care rendered in this study was spinal adjusting.

Chiropractic adjustments to an infant consist of gentle pressure to restore the normal motion of the individual bones of the spine.  Although the goal is the same as with adults, to allow the body to function properly, the technique is quite different.  I have been trained with the ICPA and have had many years of experience adjusting infants and newborns with colic.

How Early is Too Early?

So how early is "too early" for a newborn to be adjusted? 

As soon as they have misalignment in their spine they are able to be adjusted.  There was a study done to assess the percentage of deliveries that resulted in trauma to the newborn's neck.  The researchers found that 12% of the babies born at that hospital, had demonstrable neck trauma.  If your child falls into that 12% the number is way to high. 

A simple check at the chiropractic office on the way home from the hospital, or the first trip out if you deliver at home, and you can set that newborn on the road to better health.  Chiropractor's who are trained to assess infant's spines for subluxation can easily let you know if there was any trauma done to your little one's spine.  If adjustments are needed we are also well equipped to start correcting the damage that was done and head off problems that may have been in store for him or her.

Back Pain in Pregnancy

Are you having back pain in your pregnancy? You have probably been told that that is a normal part of pregnancy and that you should just try to deal with it the best you can. Obviously with your body changing as much as it has been it is experiencing different stresses than it has before. That does not mean that you have to suffer through it or that you have to take medications that may effect the health of your baby. Here are some simple things that you can do to try to relieve the pain naturally. By the way it is a good idea to start practicing now, since the stress on your back doesn't usually just go away when you start carrying your baby on the outside.

1. Stay active: Always consult about exercise with you health care provider. If you were exercising before pregnancy, continue. If you were not, try to do some short walks while focusing on you posture. Keep the buttocks tucked in and the shoulders back and down as you walk. This helps to train the muscles to hold you in that position. If you have access a pool can be a great option for prenatal exercise.
2. When you are sitting don't cross your legs, slightly elevate your feet and change positions often. Watch your posture here also. Keep your shoulders back and your chin tucked in so that your head is over you shoulders. Also try to get up and move around about every 15-20 minutes, even if it is to just walk around you chair and sit back down. This will keep the muscles active.
3. When you sleep, sleep on your side with your knees bent and a pillow between them. This takes some pressure off of you low back. Also try using another pillow or a body pillow to rest your arm on to prevent twisting of the spine.
4. Limit what you lift. This one is much easier said than do usually, but if you do have to lift something squat with your legs instead of bending at your waist. If you have to hold a small child, do what you can to avoid lifting them up. Allow them to climb on a chair (if it is safe for them to do so) and the take them into your arms.
5. If the pain that you are feeling is a sharp, hot, acute pain try icing it for 15-20 minutes (with a thin towel between the ice pack and your skin). If the pain is more of a dull ache try a hot water bottle or a warm bath. If you are not sure how to describe the pain, err on the side of icing it.
6. Many moms-to-be find benefit with massage therapists that specialize in caring for pregnant moms.
7. Support belts can be helpful in certain situations, but I would recommend them as a last resort and only under supervision of your prenatal health care provider.
8. If you are still experiencing back pain after trying a few of these suggestions, consider contacting us for a free consultation, if you are in the Twin Cities area. If you are not please contact the ICPA for help in locating a chiropractor in your area that cares for mothers during pregnancy.