Whether or not children should see chiropractors is the subject of much debate. People generally believe that chiropractors are only for adults and are skeptical of the benefits of pediatric chiropractic care. There are many false claims made about pediatric chiropractic care that contribute to this skepticism. Here’s what you need to know both about the benefits pediatric chiropractic care can offer and about what it cannot do.
Why Does Pediatric Chiropractic Care Exist?
Chiropractic care is not restricted to adults and has long included those under the age of eighteen. This is because adults are not the only people who suffer from misalignment and other musculoskeletal issues; children under 18 do, as well. These issues do not start at 18; as long as you have a musculoskeletal system, it can go out of alignment or have issues, which is why pediatric care exists.
A major argument in favor of pediatric chiropractic care is the fact that since children are still growing and developing, that makes seeing a chiropractor to ensure everything is in alignment is especially important, to ensure that children’s development isn’t impeded by preventable issues. Here’s what you should know about what pediatric chiropractic care can do for children.
What Pediatric Chiropractic Care Can Do
While true that there are claims that some chiropractors make for chiropractic care doing things that have no scientific evidence, this does not invalidate the very real benefits chiropractic care can indeed provide for children. What chiropractors can help with with children is musculoskeletal conditions, as you may expect, with their area of expertise being the musculoskeletal system.
As mentioned above, children are in a constant state of development. In order to be able to grow correctly, their bodies require proper alignment. Chiropractors can help with this. Chiropractors are experts at finding misalignments in the spine and righting them, ergo assisting with proper development.
If you’ve ever had back pain or neck pain or the like, you’ll know how that affects everything you do. If your back hurts, that likely means that sitting hurts, standing hurts, walking hurts, lying down hurts, etc. This hurts and annoys adults; and even more so affects children. Chiropractic care can relieve stress and anxiety and sleep issues through alleviating this pain by getting to the root of the pain itself.
Since your central nervous system is in your spine, this means that pressure on your spine can cause pressure on how your nerves communicate with each other. Relieving that pressure and fixing alignment issues can help not just adult’s but also children’s nerves communicate with each other better, in addition to helping it grow properly. Since pain can be a major cause of bad moods and behavioral issues in children, treating the source of the pain can help with those things, if it is caused by musculoskeletal issues.
What Pediatric Chiropractic Care Does Not Do
There are many reasons why people are wary of pediatric chiropractic care, and many of them stem from false claims some chiropractors make. While many chiropractors may promote themselves as a primary care provider and claim that they can help with such issues as colic and more, science does not support this. This belief is often spread by biased magazines with no clinical studies to support and prove their claims.
It’s important to be wary of chiropractors who make such claims and to consult with a physician about health issues such as colic and the like. There is a substantial lack of evidence for the theory that subluxated vertebrae cause illnesses in children, and you don’t want to expose your child to unnecessary radiation of an x-ray trying to prove this.
However, there are people who make false claims in every industry, no matter what it is. These do not invalidate the very real benefits that pediatric chiropractic care can offer. If you have any questions or concerns about pediatric chiropractic care, it’s important to consult with your doctor and a legitimate chiropractor in order to make an informed decision.
The Takeaways About Pediatric Chiropractic Care
The fact is that chiropractic care offers similar benefits to children as it does adults, as well as some additional ones in helping with development. So long as a chiropractor is trained in how to work with a developing child, pediatric chiropractic care could be a good choice for you, especially if your child is at risk for misalignment, through playing sports or some other activity.
Pediatric chiropractic care can help with musculoskeletal issues, and since those can snowball into issues that affect your overall health, to an extent, it can also help improve your overall well-being through treating a problem that could be impacting it.
Pediatric chiropractic care can help with children’s overall mood, health, and happiness through treating pain and alignment issues that could be impacting them. It can also help with proper development through their childhood.
Are You Considering Pediatric Chiropractic Care?
Here at Health And Wellness Clinic, we offer professional, informed pediatric chiropractic care. We are happy to help your children grow up strong and healthy. To schedule an appointment or for any questions, please feel free to contact us today!