This is my recent Citizen article published today. I am adding it to my blog because I can't locate the link on the Auburnpub.com website. As I reread the article, I can't over emphasize how many injuries children sustain on an almost daily basis that affects the brain. The foundation of adult health begins during childhood. Whenever I hear someone say, "Oh, he'll grow out of it," I wince because the person is woefully uninformed of the chiropractic advantage.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for telling the truth to your friends and loved ones.
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The recent TIME magazine “Tiger Mom issue” contained another child centered article about the dangers of concussions. A survey shows 3.8 million Americans suffer this head injury every year. The number of ER visits for children has doubled between 1997 and 2005.
Sports such as football are given a lot of the blame but 66% of children’s concussions are attributed to regular play activities. It also doesn’t help that children seem to be attracted to trampolines and extreme sports such as skateboarding.
Mild injuries that do not get the attention of parents, coaches and physicians are of concern to chiropractors. This is because the accumulation of jarring hits to the body can do considerable damage to the developing brain.
A brain injury does not have to be a direct hit to the head, either. Any whiplash like trauma such as a blow to the chest can be just as serious. Neck pain in a child is a warning sign the head was snapped around enough to create brain swelling that erodes vulnerable nerve coverings.
The TIME article noted the suicide death of college football player, Owen Thomas, who didn’t have a history of mental illness. Upon autopsy, it was discovered he had physical signs of brain damage indicating a long term buildup of damage in nerve tissue.
With children, their heads are like bowling balls bobbing back and forth on a neck that is more like a slinky. Babies’ heads are cradled very carefully when held by adults but as they grow older and learn to walk it is a different story.
For younger children who have different health problems it is important to consider trauma to the head and spine. When children don’t meet their developmental milestones or they exhibit difficulty learning, their past episodes of falls should be considered.
Stomach issues or bed wetting in a child can be caused by milder traumas. Children who often have colds or bronchial infections have immune systems that are struggling due to past bumps and bruises.
The most heavily researched topic in pediatric chiropractic is injury to the spinal cord and brain stem resulting from childbirth procedures. Babies can be brought into the world unknowingly injured.
This is why regular chiropractic examinations are so important from infancy to adulthood. Neurologists are necessarily focused on the seriousness of concussions making the public aware of early interventions and chiropractors provide similar interventions, too.
Children often do better than adults with chiropractic adjustments and find the experience very enjoyable. Even when children are too young to express themselves, they quickly respond to the calming effect of a spinal adjustment.
Every parent needs to be aware there is real problem of accumulated damage to a child’s brain and spinal cord. A chiropractic assessment can reveal a great deal of information about stressful interruptions in a child’s development.
While children are at risk of damage from mild or severe injuries, the outcomes are very positive when parents are quick to choose chiropractic care for their families.
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