The first two years of a baby’s life are full of developmental and growth-related changes. Chiropractic care for babies is essential in keeping your infant’s nervous system working optimally as it adjusts rapidly.
Your Body’s Hub is its’ Nervous System
A majority of your body’s functions are initiated by your nervous system. Your brain communicates by sending messages down the spinal cord and out miles of nerves to every cell, system, structure, and organ in your body. Those cells, systems, organs, and structures send messages back through the nerves, up your spinal cord, and into the brain. It is your communication loop.
Your spine houses and protects the central part of your nervous system. When the spine is restricted in its range of motion, it can interfere with the nervous system’s ability to function optimally.
Chiropractic adjustments restore the range of motion within the spinal joints and allow the nervous system to function with less interference. In doing this, the body can perform better. This is true for all patients, regardless of their age. So yes, babies can get adjusted and benefit from regular chiropractic care.
The 411 on Chiropractic Care for Babies
When babies are first born, their spines are more C-shaped, whereas the proper spinal alignment in adults resembles an elongated S-shape. As they strengthen the muscles in their necks by learning to hold up their head, they develop their cervical spine (upper spine). As your baby learns how to roll over, the middle part of their back is an area that engages their thoracic spine and surrounding muscles. The final spinal development is the lumbar curve (lower back) as they sit up unassisted, crawl around, and pull up.
Chiropractic care for infants has been found to relieve and soothe colicky babies. In fact, a 3-month long study found that 94% of subjects experienced improved colicky symptoms after receiving regular chiropractic adjustments.
Subluxation misalignment in infants is the most common reason for colic. This means that when their nervous system becomes imbalanced, other body parts work improperly. For example, this can lead to dysfunction in a baby’s digestive system, and may cause them to start crying intensely.
In addition to easing the symptoms of colic, there are many benefits to chiropractic care for newborns, such as:
- Reducing fussiness
- Promoting better sleep
- Supporting neurological development and growth milestones
- Enhancing the immune system
- Pre and post-treatment of lip and tongue-ties
Infant Chiropractic Care at Vaida
A baby’s development is constant and that can pose new challenges (colic, sleep disruptions, digestion issues, allergies, and ear infections, to name a few), and chiropractic adjustments for your baby through the caring hands of Dr. Lydia or Dr. Rachael can address many of these symptoms.
At Vaida, we thoroughly analyze your baby/toddler’s history and learn about his/her birth/delivery. Various fetal positions can complicate the labor and delivery process of your infant and pose potential problems with spinal and neck alignments at birth.
An area of treatment we often focus on at Vaida is ensuring proper head shape formation. In addition to receiving regular adjustments, we suggest using elephant ears, which support a baby’s neck and head and encourage healthy, strong posture development.
Bring your baby into Vaida by scheduling an appointment and ensure that your little one’s growth and development are nurtured and supported. We would love to see you!