You do Chiropractic on kids?!!!

"You do Chiropractic on kids?!!! They're so small, doesn't that hurt them?  Why would they need Chiropractic?" In the 12 years of Chiropractic service to the community, it seems like I have heard this a million times.  If a new patient has never had Chiropractic before, one of the most important things as a Doctor of Chiropractic is to teach.  Doctor means teacher.  It is our duty to teach people natural ways to help with common health problems.  Most people who come into my office have  pain in their low back or neck.  Why do they have pain?  Is it a pain killer deficiency?  Is it a muscle relaxer deficiency?  Nobody has a pain killer deficiency or muscle relaxer deficiency.  Their body is telling them something.  That something is their body's response to a pinched nerve which can lead to many other complaints of muscle weakness and muscle spasms.   We specialize in finding what areas in the neck or low back is pinched, relieve the pinched nerve which then allows the body to be in balance and function at its peak.
First time to a Chiropractor?
I like to explain to first time Chiropractic patients the basic concept that if a nerve is pinched because of a misaligned vertebra in the spine, it can cause pain.  Once they have grasped this truth, which I call Chiropractic 101, I like to take it up a notch and tell them what Chiropractic was founded upon.  This is where awesomeness happens.  I show them a standard nerve chart found in any anatomy book or medical book.  I show them how every muscle and organ is controlled by the nervous system.  I show them how every function in the body like our immune system and stress response system is controlled by the nervous system.  In order for our body to fight off bacterial infections or viral infections, it is essential to have optimal nervous system function to be able to recognize the invaders coming into the body.  I emphasize how important this is for infants and children to develop a stronger immune system and that's when I usually get the surprised interruption, "YOU WORK ON KIDS?!"  And I respond with an exciting "ABSOLUTELY!"

If you have children, do you remember how many times they fell down learning how to walk?  Fell off their bike? Fell of the couch?  Running on the sidewalk and tripping on the imaginary tripper something and fell face first?  When they learned about gravity at the playground?  How about the child birth delivery?  Was it an easy delivery or were forceps used?  Was it a c-section?  When you start to think about it, you realize how many times your kids have had traumas.  These traumas all add up and can take a toll on their body.  There is more than just bumps and bruises going on I guarantee it.
What is the problem with all of this?
Kids are very resilient to pain.  Once the tears are gone, you might think they are ok and kiss their boo boo and watch them discover gravity again. But one major problem is kids have different pain tolerance responses than adults.  They are growing so fast that the body will minimize the pain receptors in their spine and joints and use them for emergency purposes like a broken bone or dislocation.  A misaligned  bone in their spine might not be painful to them but could have a drastic affect on their posture along with their immune system and stress response system.  It is worse than ever with children and teenager's posture with cell phone addictions and hand held gaming system addictions.  They are training their bodies to constantly look down. Their posture develops into what is called Anterior Head Carriage.
3 Things I Check Every Patient
You take your kids to the dentist to see if they have cavities to prevent their teeth from decaying,  The dentist  is finding any problems before it's too late.  You could look at their teeth and think there is nothing wrong.  Chiropractic is the same concept.  Chiropractors can find something wrong with the spine in the child's neck, back, shoulders, hips and more.  When a child comes into my office, I look at 3 things.  Posture, Function, and Subluxations.
Posture:  The first thing I look at is their posture.  When looking directly at them, is one shoulder higher than the other?  Does their head tilt to the left or right?  Do their hips twist forward or is one hip higher than the other on one side and the body above compensates?  When looking at their posture from the side, does their ear align above their shoulder which should align above their hip which should align above their ankle?
Function:  I muscle test major muscle groups in the body.  I muscle test their hip flexors, IT Bands, glut medius, glut maximus, trapezius, posterior deltoids, anterior deltoids, and sternocleidomastoids. With any type of misalignment of the hips and spine, there will be a slight dysfunction of the muscle's strength hence why all athletes get Chiropractic before their game.  I say everyday is a game to a child.  Now as children grow, the muscle dysfunction can cause more imbalance and be more susceptible to injury
Subluxation:  What bone or bones are misaligned causing the posture to be off?  Like a dentist finding the cavity, I find the misaligned bone.  This is called a subluxation.  Children can have multiple subluxations.  I correct the subluxations to help regain their posture and restore proper function in their body.
Feel Great Again!
With 1000's of adjustments in 12 years, correcting subluxations and posture has changed children's lives!  It has been very rewarding to have parents tell me their children are sleeping better, have longer attention spans, prevented tonsillectomies, bed wetting improvements, stopped ear tubes being put in, recurrent strep throat issues went away, inhaler reduction for asthma, digestive issues went away, posture is normal, improvements in their athletic performance, and reduced the amount of times they get sick in a year.  If a child does get sick, Chiropractic treatments help their body fight the sickness faster.  What if every parent knew how amazing Chiropractic could be for their children?  What if every child was under a Chiropractor's care?  Can Chiropractic be the revolution needed to change our Sick-care system into an actual Health-care system?  Absolutely.

In great health,

Dr. Chris A. Hengesteg D.C.