Chiropractic care is popular among adults looking to treat their musculoskeletal ailments. While adults find pain relief from regular chiropractic treatments, many people don’t realize chiropractic adjustments can also benefit children. Chiropractic care performed by experienced pediatric chiropractors can help babies and toddlers with many issues, including sleep problems, poor immune systems and colic symptoms.

If your baby has a tough time falling asleep or gets sick frequently, taking them to a chiropractor may help ease these ailments and improve your child’s general well-being.

What Is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic focuses on the nervous and musculoskeletal systems, which control many aspects of the human body. Spine misalignments can negatively affect your body’s functioning and overall health.

A chiropractor’s job is to perform spinal adjustments with their hands. Chiropractic adjustments are administered to specific problem areas with the goal of restoring proper nerve transmission and helping the body heal on its own. When the body can heal on its own and work at its best, there is no need for powerful pharmaceuticals or invasive surgeries.

Allowing patients to avoid expensive, painful and potentially problematic treatments like invasive surgeries or narcotic medications is one of the goals of this holistic approach to injury care.

Chiropractic can relieve pain, boost the immune system and improve the health for people of all ages, including children, young adults and older adults.

How Does Pediatric Chiropractic Care Differ from Adult Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care is a safe treatment for children. Chiropractors undergo years of schooling to become licensed medical professionals. It’s not uncommon for doctors to suggest chiropractic care to their patients as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.

However, there are some specific differences between pediatric and adult chiropractic care.

With adults, a chiropractor will usually need to apply a significant amount of force to the spine to accomplish adjustments. However, when treating babies and toddlers, the chiropractor will use only gentle force, such as a gentle massage, as a young child’s musculoskeletal system is still largely underdeveloped.

When seeking chiropractic care for your child, it’s important to make sure the licensed chiropractor has extensive experience working on children.

How Can Chiropractic Care Benefit Children?

Gentle manipulations to your child’s spine can result in several profound health benefits.

Better Sleep

As a parent, you know your child needs plenty of sleep. It’s normal and healthy for babies to get anywhere from 14 to 17 hours of sleep per day. If your baby has pent up tension, their sleep can become interrupted, which can negatively affect their overall development and well-being. A pediatric chiropractor can help release stress and improve your baby’s sleeping habits.

Stronger Immune System

Gentle spinal manipulations can improve your child’s nervous system, which in turn has a profound impact on the immune system. If you have a sickly baby or toddler, taking them to chiropractic treatments may help boost their immune system so it can better fight off viruses and infections.

Easier Recovery After Birth

Birthing a child is a difficult and lengthy process for both the mother and her baby. A child’s spine can become hurt during a difficult delivery. While most babies recover from the event on their own, others may need some extra help in the form of chiropractic adjustments.

Ease Colic Symptoms

A baby’s underdeveloped gastro-intestinal system may cause them to develop colic symptoms, such as intense crying, belly pain and gas. If your pediatrician diagnoses your baby with colic, it may be a good idea to take your child to a chiropractor. By gently manipulating the child’s muscles, a chiropractor can stimulate the small intestine to better digest food and prevent gas buildup.

Ensure Proper Physical Development

The spine undergoes extreme growth and development during a child’s first few years of life. Thus, if your toddler develops a spinal misalignment, there’s still time to correct the issue before the spine becomes fully fused. During this critical time, a chiropractor can correct a misalignment by gently manipulating the spine into the correct position.

Relieve Your Pain with the Help of Our Board-Certified Chiropractors

Have you or a loved one suffered a painful injury and needs medical intervention? At HURT911, injured Georgians can get the patient-centered care they need to recover. Our experienced medical specialists and chiropractors will work as a team to diagnose and treat your injuries.

We offer same-day appointments at our Atlanta locations.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-HURT-911.