Paediatric Care in Graceville
Parenthood can present us with many little hurdles, particularly in the early days. Problems ranging from latch and breastfeeding issues, head favouring positions, flat head, poor sleeping patterns, developmental delay, colic and reflux, constipation and unsettled babies are just a few reasons parents seek help and guidance from our clinic.
Many developmental milestones in babies such as learning to hold up the head, sitting upright, crawling and walking are all activities that may be affected by spinal alignment and are important times to have your little one checked by a Paediatric Chiropractor.
As our bodies grow and develop there are many situations that may cause issues. These can begin in-utero, during the birthing process, with bumps and falls as they begin to walk or developmental/postural changes as they go through growth spurts. Falls from prams, high chairs, tumbles down steps, constant bumps to the head and bottom whilst learning to walk, falling out of trees and trampolines, sporting and car accidents all contribute to accumulated stress on the framework of a child’s body.
Such stresses may upset the normal mechanics of the child’s body, contributing to damage and imbalance of spinal and other joints, ligaments and muscles. This in turn upsets nerve pathways. Your nervous system controls the way your body works. To ensure your child is developing at the correct rate with no physical issues, a check-up from a chiropractor can be one of the most important decisions you can make!
Chiropractic care is beneficial for children of all ages – your child does not need to be in a serious accident or suffer an injury to benefit from regular care.
Benefits of Paediatric Care include:
At Thrive Health we provide specific chiropractic care for people of all ages. This means that our practitioners provide specially tailored, delicate care for new borns, infants and adolescents.
Our Paediatric Chiropractor uses only gentle techniques on babies and children, and there is no ‘cracking’ or manipulating. Treatment focuses on releasing tightness and restriction with gentle and subtle movements. Using cranio-sacral release work and gentle mobilization techniques. We have had babies only hours old sleep through their first adjustment! Birth is very arduous and traumatic for both mother and baby, so it is important to have your little one assessed for any muscle and joint imbalances.
Some common musculoskeletal problems manifest in babies as;
- Irritable and fussy behaviour
- Poor sleeping patterns
- Head favouring position
- Breastfeeding difficulties
- Babies who dislike car trips, tummy time or clothes and nappy changes
- Head shape irregularities
- Not reaching milestones (like rolling or lifting head)
As a child grows it passes through developmental milestones such as learning to hold up their head, sitting upright, crawling and walking. These exciting times in a child’s life can also be causes of stress to their spine and nervous system as when children are learning these acts there tends to be a few falls, twists and bumps along the way. Then as the child grows older and starts going to school there are new stressors in their life such as screens, sitting for longer periods and potentially bad posture. All of these things have the ability to cause spinal dysfunction and therefore interfere with the nervous system.
Spinal dysfunction and nervous system interference can cause many different signs and symptoms in the body and many parents around the world bring their children to a paediatric Chiropractor when they need help with:
- Poor posture or slouching
- Poor coordination
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Knee and hip pain
- Flat feet and knocked knees
- Poor sleep due to pain
- Slow to reach developmental milestones
- Sports injuries
- Falls
We all know that the childhood years are crucial to our overall development, and if problems are not resolved then we often carry them through life. Many of the problems we see in adults have had their origins way back in childhood. Children are not just tiny adults, their bodies are different, changing, developing and growing rapidly. They are also treated differently with chiropractic care.
