Save £32 on all initial consultations until March 3rd 2025
Chiropractic care may not be something you immediately think of in relation to your child’s health and wellbeing! However, chiropractic for children can offer many benefits because – spinal misalignments don’t just happen to adults! They can happen to anyone, including children and even infants.
In this post, we explain the benefits of chiropractic for children. We also discuss why visiting a children’s chiropractor can help kids develop into structurally healthy, functional adults. Plus, your paediatric chiropractor may also be able to help resolve some common childhood ailments. But first –
Spills, falls, mishaps, heavy school backpacks, and even the trauma of birth are a natural part of growing up. Although mostly harmless, they can also result in spinal misalignments and various associated musculoskeletal problems. If these are not identified and corrected early, they can have detrimental long-term impacts on a child’s:
They can also contribute to the development of unhealthy compensatory mechanisms like postural and gait changes, and force adaptations in muscle use patterns.
Paediatric chiropractic care can offer support for all the common conditions associated with chiropractic care – back pain, misalignments, and so on. It can also offer indirect support for a surprising range of other common childhood conditions!
However, to understand the ‘how’, it helps to understand the ‘why’, or the bigger picture about chiropractic care.
Good health and wellbeing starts with the brain. Our brain keeps our body running like a well-oiled machine. But, in order to do this, it relies on the nervous system.
In mammals, the nervous system is a complex communication network. As the body’s central command system, it relays messages to and from the brain that controls everything from muscle movement to organ function.
Our spine, or in this case, your child’s spine, plays a vital role in protecting this network. It houses the spinal cord, the brain’s direct communication link with the rest of the nervous system (the peripheral nervous system).
Together, the brain and the spinal cord form the Central Nervous System (CNS). A healthy spine is therefore key to a healthy nervous system. A healthy nervous system in turn is important for a healthy body.
However, sometimes things ‘happen’ to the spinal cord that affects its ability to function correctly. This in turn impacts the brain’s communication with the nervous system.
The consequences may be minor, and local. Or they may be felt in the far reaches of the body, in systems that appear to have little to do with the spine.
Why? Because those systems rely on various parts of the peripheral nervous system to function! And the peripheral nervous system relies on the CNS, AKA the brain, and spinal cord.
A case in point is the autonomic nervous system (ANS), an important part of the peripheral nervous system.
Crucially, it controls (directly and indirectly) our ‘automatic’ bodily functions. This includes heart rate, blood pressure, blood circulation, breathing, digestion, immune system function, sweating, and so on.
What does all this mean?
It means that – in simple terms – a damaged or dysfunctional spinal cord (possibly caused by a spinal misalignment) can indirectly impact almost every system in our bodies. This includes our cardiovascular, metabolic, immune system, and so on.
This is why addressing spinal issues that may be contributing to spinal cord dysfunction can potentially help with diverse conditions issues like:
Pediatric chiropractic care therefore focuses on maintaining a healthy spine, and a healthy body. When the body is healthy, it can fight off infections, heal itself, and overcome a lot of issues on its own.
With all this in mind, what are some of the benefits that may be gained from visiting a children’s chiropractor?
As mentioned above, the spinal cord, as part of the central nervous system, has far-reaching tentacles. Via the peripheral nervous system (autonomic system), it indirectly helps regulate both the immune system and digestive function.
Thus, correcting spinal misalignments that impact the spinal cord can help support better immune system function and digestive health in children.
When we are uncomfortable or in pain, it affects our sleep. The same holds true for children, although they often can’t tell us specifically what’s wrong.
By disrupting spinal cord function, spinal misalignments can cause a considerable amount of nerve dysfunction, and muscle pain and discomfort. This can show up in unexpected parts of the body (courtesy of those ‘tentacles’).
Adjusting the dysfunction at the source – the spine – can help alleviate pain and discomfort for children. As a result, they often sleep better because they’re not in pain, or uncomfortable.
Spinal misalignments can have ramifications for the entire nervous system. This includes sensory processing, motor control, and various other neurological functions.
Paediatric chiropractic care can help support the child’s nervous system by adjusting spinal misalignments that may be contributing to nervous system dysfunction.
We aren’t claiming to be behavioural psychologists! However, when children are in pain, uncomfortable, or have some type of nervous system dysfunctionality, it can play out in their behaviour. Or misbehaviour…
Adjusting misalignments that may be contributing to nervous system dysfunctionality may therefore positively influence their behaviour by improving nerve function.
A child’s spine and musculoskeletal system is still developing. Misalignments sustained during childhood can interfere with this process and impact proper growth. This can have long-term implications for their posture and overall musculoskeletal health.
Correct spinal and musculoskeletal alignment is therefore essential for correct growth. Chiropractic spinal adjustments can help with this. Realigning misaligned spinal joints, and promoting optimal nervous system health and functionality promotes healthy, proper growth.
Chiropractic care for children may potentially help improve brain development both physiologically and psychologically.
For example, addressing spinal cord dysfunction caused by misalignments may:
Chiropractic care – paediatric and adult – takes a holistic approach to health and wellness. By recommending supportive activities and options such as diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes as an adjunct to adjustments, a chiropractor can help improve your child’s overall health and wellness.
Chiropractic for children can provide many benefits by addressing spinal misalignments, supporting optimal nervous system function and promoting overall healthy growth and development.
With a focus on maintaining a healthy spine and through that, a healthy body, paediatric chiropractic care also offers support for a range of common childhood conditions.
Unit 1B, Beacon House, Northumberland Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 1DS
Branding & website design by theshapingbay.com