Page 109 - April Issue
P. 109
in focus: toddler
Should your baby be
checked by a Chiropractor?
child can be co-managed by both
healthcare experts.
Your infant is crying Dr Leader, “In fact, what I am How It Works mother, baby & child April 2011
constantly and your expert at doing is examining the
paediatrician is telling spine and its muscles from the In many of the positive effects
you “to wait it out” or top of the neck to the bottom of chiropractic on children and
else prescribing an acid of the spine, and detecting and babies, Dr Leader explains that
reflux medicine with correcting any of the spinal the adjustments have their effect
alarming possible side joints which are not functioning through the autonomic nervous
effects for reflux and colic. properly.” As chiropractors, system. “This is the part of our
Chiropractic medicine this can actually be done at all nervous system which controls all
may just be the alternative ages, from birth onwards. By the automatic bodily functions,
you’re looking for.… correcting the mechanics of any such as digestion,” she says and
poorly functioning segments of this is the case with infantile colic,
What They Do the spine, Dr Leader emphasises a problem affecting many young
that we stimulate the nervous babies. “When my older patients
Dr Pamela Leader, Managing system, which in turn has an realise that I have been treating
Director and Chiropractor in effect on the immune system. a baby or child, they often say,
Chiropractic Dubai says that “Additionally, the spinal “How do you know if the baby
in order to understand how correction helps with the has a spinal problem?” Or, “What
chiropractic can help a child mechanical drainage of fluid, could be wrong with a small
suffering chronic ear infections which may collect in the child’s child’s spine?”
for example, it is paramount ear and be prone to infection,”
to understand the effect of she says, adding, “In these ways Indication
chiropractic adjustment on the a chiropractor can assist the
nervous system and immune child’s own defences to fight Why do mothers take their
system. “A chiropractor would the next infection if it should babies to a chiropractor? One
never say to anyone that they occur.” However she points out reason, says Dr Leader is colic.
can cure ear infections,” notes that mothers are always advised “The baby cries continuously,
to continue seeing their child’s despite all the usual efforts to
paediatrician and in this way the calm him. Clean, fed and cuddled
but still screaming sometimes
for hours and often pulls knees
up to chest,” she says, advising,
“Two to four treatments of
gentle adjustments to the mid
back and upper neck usually
resolves the problem and calms
the digestive system.” Research
in Denmark (1999), which
validated chiropractic treatment
for colic, has made this the
treatment of choice in Europe
and the US, she says. “Another
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