Wear flat shoes with arch supports. Your feet become more susceptible to injury during pregnancy, partially due to a rapidly increasing body weight, but also because the ligaments that support the feet become more lax.

When picking up children, bend from the knees, not the waist. Your low back is much more prone to injury during pregnancy.

When sleeping, lay on your side with a pillow between your knees to take pressure off your lower back. Full-length “body pillows” or “pregnancy wedges” are very popular and can be helpful.

Eat several small meals or snacks every few hours, rather than three large meals per day. This will help alleviate nausea, stabilize blood sugar and allow your body to extract the maximum amount of nutrients from the foods that you eat.

Take a prenatal vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid every day; 800 micrograms is even better. Folic acid has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of neural tube defects in a developing fetus. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking any vitamin or herbal supplement to make sure it’s safe for you and the baby.

For example, the birth process may cause trauma to the neck and spine. If left uncorrected, the vertebral subluxation may disturb the delicate spinal cord and nerves which control the infants muscles and organs. An early chiropractic checkup may detect subluxations while they are still easily correctable.

When should I start my child under Chiropractic care?

Your child should have a chiropractic examination as soon after birth as possible. Spinal trauma to an infant’s or child’s spine can occur during the birth process as well as from any number of tumbles while learning to sit up or walk. Your child’s spine grows almost 50% in length during that first year (the equivalent of a six-footer growing to nine feet in just 12 months!). It’s this kind of tremendous growth and developmental changes which make continued chiropractic examinations so important in the early stages of your child’s life.
In Chiropractic we believe it’s much more important to prevent diseases than wait till some illness occurs. Through regular adjustments, as well as awareness on proper diet, exercise and posture, Chiropractic can help you raise a child free of subluxations whose body is structurally and functionally sound. Your child will also learn good health habits at an early age which can be very beneficial to him or her as an adult.

Youngsters suffer numerous accidents and falls while learning to walk, riding a bike, or even while jumping or running around. But after their tears have dried, underlying injuries could go undetected–such as a subluxation during the spine’s most formative period.

Regular Chiropractic spinal exams can provide corrective and preventive care for your son or daughter and peace of mind for you.

It is especially important to have your child under chiropractic care when your child takes part in athletic activities. The “sack” of a young quarterback could twist a young spine. A softball pitcher could throw a vertebra out of alignment. In Chiropractic we can do more than correct these problems, we can also help improve performance on and off the field by helping the body function at its optimum level, naturally without stress and without drugs.

Scoliosis is derived from the Greek term meaning curvature. People with scoliosis have a sideways curve in their spine that makes an “S” or “C” shape. The vertebrae can rotate at the thoracic level of the spine causing this curve and resulting in a hump near the rib cage. If the curve is more than 60 degrees it is considered serious. Usually this curve makes the waist or shoulders uneven. And unlike the normal curvature of the spine, adjusting your posture will not correct the problem.

In some instances, the degenerative diseases of the spine can cause scoliosis. Osteoporosis is when the bones soften and usually occurs in older people. This softening can cause the vertebrae to bend and shape the curve causing scoliosis or kyphosis (round back). If not treated properly, severe back pain, deformity, and difficulty breathing can be some symptoms that will arise.

Chiropractic care can help improve this condition. We look at your overall health examining your spine as well as other factors of your lifestyle. To help identify the problem’s cause, we will discuss symptoms and previous injuries, your family’s health history, and recreational and work-related activities.

Most exams for scoliosis include the Adam’s Forward Bending Test and have been adopted by many schools, whereas they test for this in physical education classes. It requires the person to bend at the waist as someone views the spinal alignment. If there is an abnormal prominence or hump we can help you. We will measure the length of the legs to determine unevenness. We also perform a range of motion test that measures the degree to which the patient has mobility at the waist. If needed, we will refer you to a specialist for further scoliosis treatment.

An orthopedic brace can be used to prevent the curve from worsening and does not limit physical activity. Moist heat will help alleviate some pain. In extreme cases surgery may be required but only after the continuous observation has shown that a brace is not helping. Spinal fusion and instrumentation is a surgery specialized for people with scoliosis whereas rods and hooks are inserted to help align your spine and prevent further curving.

Regular visits to observe the progression of scoliosis, are an integral part of living a full and happy life. Scoliosis can be treated in various ways to help alleviate pain and restore normal functionality. Regardless of the treatment used, physical therapy may be added to scoliosis treatment to increase muscle strength and mobility. If you have any questions about your physical limitations, please contact us.

-Inattention

-Hyperactivity

-Impulsive Behavior

-Difficulty Concentrating

It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD – approximately 2 million children in the United States – and is much more common in boys than girls. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD. However, because many normal children may show some of these same behaviors as well, it is important that a child receive a thorough examination and appropriate diagnosis before any treatment is considered.

It is not entirely certain what causes ADHD, but the current thought is that it is a combination of an overactive nervous system, coupled with a decrease in the brain’s ability to filter out extraneous sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions. Although chiropractors don’t directly treat ADHD, there are a number of things that your chiropractor can do to help eliminate things that stress a child’s nervous system, such as:

-Remove spinal subluxations that irritate the nervous system

-Suggest dietary changes to avoid common problem foods

-Suggest changes to the home to help reduce exposure to toxic chemicals

The most common medical treatment is the use of the drug methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin. Ritalin is actually a stimulant drug that normally speeds up the activity of the nervous system. But for reasons that are not entirely clear, it tends to have a calming effect on those who suffer from ADHD; possibly by increasing the activity in the area of the brain responsible for filtering out extraneous sensation.
The problem with taking Ritalin is that it does not do anything to resolve the cause of the ADHD, it only masks the symptoms. Continued use of Ritalin over long periods of time has also been shown to have detrimental effects on the brain itself. It is important as a parent to look at all treatment options first.

The article in the Ladies Home Journal states, “Chiropractic care is thought to prevent recurrent infections by correcting misalignments (called subluxations) and allowing normal fluid drainage from the middle ear.” What the article took special note of was that 6 months after the chiropractic care was given to the children in the study, 80 percent had not suffered a recurrence of ear infections.

In closing the article did make a profound statement. They made a recommendation to parents on this subject. “If your child is between ear infections and his doctor suggests ear-tube surgery, ask if you can try chiropractic treatment first.” While we agree with that sentiment, we suggest you not wait for a period between episodes, and you don’t have to “ask” permission from any other doctor to seek chiropractic care. As the sneaker company said, “just do it!”

The article in the Ladies Home Journal states, “Chiropractic care is thought to prevent recurrent infections by correcting misalignments (called subluxations) and allowing normal fluid drainage from the middle ear.” What the article took special note of was that 6 months after the chiropractic care was given to the children in the study, 80 percent had not suffered a recurrence of ear infections.

In closing the article did make a profound statement. They made a recommendation to parents on this subject. “If your child is between ear infections and his doctor suggests ear-tube surgery, ask if you can try chiropractic treatment first.” While we agree with that sentiment, we suggest you not wait for a period between episodes, and you don’t have to “ask” permission from any other doctor to seek chiropractic care.

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association lists several studies on their web site ( www.icpa4kids.org ) discussing the benefits of chiropractic for children with asthma. The following are some of those excerpts: “76.5% of patients with bronchial asthma said they benefited from chiropractic treatment. Peak flow rate and vital capacity increased after the third treatment. Significantly lower quality of life impairment rating scores were reported for 90.1% of children after 60 days of chiropractic care. During this same time period the average number of asthma attacks decreased an average of 44.9%, and asthma medication usage was decreased an average of 66.5%. Among parents of asthmatic children who had received chiropractic treatment, 92% considered this treatment beneficial.”

The American Chiropractic Association suggests that children not carry packs weighing more than 10 or 15% of the child’s body weight. The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) also states that improper lifting and carrying by your child can also contribute to spinal stress. The solutions suggested by the Journal-Constitution article suggest lightening the pack as well as making sure the load carried is balanced. The ICA also suggests regular chiropractic checkups for your child to ensure proper spinal and nervous system function.