kids & chiropractic

Many people wrongly assume that children and infants don’t need chiropractic care, however adjusting a child’s spine is one of the best things you can do for your child. Chiropractic adjustments to children are very gentle and effective and can ensure a healthier child, one with higher resistance to disease, a healthier nervous system and proper development.

Almost all adults' spinal problems begin in early childhood. By getting children under chiropractic care, you can likely avoid the problems that many adults face (which is the reason they seek chiropractic care in the first place!). Providing care for their spines as early as possible is important, and at Hovey Chiropractic we feel you shouldn’t wait until children develop problems. Many adults suffer throughout their lifetime with problems that may have been avoided by seeking chiropractic care as children.

Children grow at an incredible rate and they need to be free of any impediments to their development. As their bodies grow, so do any problems that are developing. Childhood is the time that simple, temporary problems become permanent. As the old saying goes, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree." Do not allow your child to remain "bent."

Even the so-called “normal” birth experience can subject a newborn’s delicate spine to excessive pressure and stress, causing spinal nerve interference. This nerve interference (a vertebral subluxation) can affect the infant’s ability to express health to his/her fullest potential. Childhood is a very active time. Running, jumping, falls and accidents are all part of a normal childhood and yet they can cause spinal misalignments. Many parents believe the children are fine because there is no external evidence of injury or obvious symptom. However, resulting spinal injuries are often overlooked and many times are left uncorrected. These vertebral subluxations can block the natural flow of life across the nerves to any part of the body.

Even "normal" delivery techniques have been proven to cause spinal injury. Typical long lever procedures by hand, forceps or vacuum extractor can exert tremendous stresses on a baby's delicate spinal structures. These type of procedures in delivery rooms can cause excess stress upon your newborn’s neck. Forces of 60-80 pounds of traction are considered normal in the delivery room. Medical researcher, Towbin, found that 80 pounds of force produced spinal cord hematoma and 120 pounds caused decapitation. At Hovey Chiropractic, we encourage all our pregnant patients to seek as natural and healthy a delivery process as possible.

Early childhood is the next major hurdle that children go through. Kids have more falls, tumbles and strains in the first few years of life than in the rest of their entire lives. The National Safety Council reports in a study of 536 children that 50% had fallen head first from a high place in the first year of life. This can cause vertebral subluxations to their spine and most often go unnoticed. As the child grows up, they play sports, fall off bikes, fall off beds, etc., going through a typical, normal childhood. These minor disturbances to their spines add up slowly over time to cause problems, either as a child or adult. Remember this nerve interference (a vertebral subluxation) can affect the infant’s ability to express health to his/her fullest potential. The unique qualification of Chiropractors is the detection and correction of vertebral subluxations. See the Vertebral Subluxation link on the our home page for more information.

Pregnant moms: If your baby has not moved into the vertex position (head down) after your 7th month, come visit us today. There is a wonderful natural, gentle method to help turn your baby into the right position. If the pregnant mom’s spine is out of alignment, it can torque the uterus and thus the position of the baby while in the womb. This method, “The Webster’s In-Utero Constraint Turning Technique” has been proven effective in turning the baby in more than 90% of cases when it has been used. Chiropractic care during your pregnancy has been shown to shorten and ease labor and delivery as well.