Should Babies Get Chiropractic Care?

By Christina Salvo

Dr. Ron Salvaggione, a chiropractor at Alta Vista Chiropractic, sees patients every day of every age. The youngest he's ever adjusted was a 2-day-old newborn named Katlyn Durham.  

"As soon as mom got out of the hospital she ran over here and said, 'Check my daughter,'" said Salvaggione.

The adjustments take only a couple minutes and consist of Salvaggione giving a light tug to both her legs and gently holding her neck on both sides.  "It's very gentle. We just do very light pressures mostly it's about traction," said the chiropractor. 

Why So Young?

Beyond the fact Salvaggione said "When babies are born, oftentimes there's a bit of trauma from mommy pushing and doctor pulling," Durham's mother explained "It's a healthy alternative to preventing sickness instead of giving shots or vaccines."

Many of us may think of chiropractic care as something just to treat aches and pains, but Salvaggione said the goal is not just quick-fix adjustments, but to help heal and prevent future problems through lifestyle changes.

So whether it's an adult, child or baby, Salvaggione will adjust his patients with the premise that no matter what age, the body is its own best healer, and his job is to make the adjustments that restore the body's proper alignment so it can operate at its optimum. "When the body is working at 100 percent it has the best chance of healing and fighting disease and illness," explained Salvaggione. "The research is compelling to suggest chiropractic care improves your overall health, which means it improves your immune system."

Dr. John Kucera, M.D., agrees studies show chiropractic can be effective, but whether it's safe for babies, he said there are no studies he knows of which address that.  "I'm not aware of any studies that show in a double-blind placebo-controlled study -- 'these children given pretend chiropractic and these children given real treatment' -- so we don't have that kind of study. At least I'm not aware of it," said Kucera.

But going off of his own clinical experience and experiences from patients, Kucera said he's never heard of a patient or child being damaged by chiropractic. He does stress the importance of the chiropractor being skilled and trained in the specific manipulative techniques for infants and children.

Does It Work?

Taylin Monson was eight years old in April when she started having severe back and neck spasms.

"If you looked at her she looked like she was being electrocuted," explained Dana Monson, Taylin's mother.

After trips to the emergency room and seeing specialists up in Denver, Taylin's treatment was valium and Tylenol-Codeine for children -- drugs her mom was not comfortable with. So they went to see Salvaggione and within three weeks Dana said Taylin was off the drugs and pain-free.

The problem that Salvaggione found and eventually fixed was that Taylin was essentially growing off balance.

"Through the coarse of the year she was growing and over-compensating on one side. She had 40 pounds on one side and 50 on the other. So as her body was changing and growing she was just off balance and grew along with it until all of sudden her body reacted," explained her mother. Dana Monson said the natural change they saw in Taylin was enough to get the whole family going to see Salvaggione -- all of whom didn't have any aches or pains to speak of. "Adjustments may be what we think of, but really it's only one piece of the larger puzzle. It's really a lifestyle," said Dana Monson.

Chiropractics At Any Age?

A generation ago Kucera said many in the medical field were skeptical of chiropractic because of the fear that it may delay patients from seeking medical care to diagnose serious illnesses like cancer or heart disease.

But on the other side, he offered, medical treatment or surgery are sometimes inappropriately used when an adjustment of the spine or some kind of less invasive type of therapy might have been tried sooner and maybe prevented the need for medications with side effects or surgery with potential risks and complications.

Ideally, Kucera believes patients would benefit the most by the two fields working together.

"Doctors are trained to treat diseases and recognize these symptoms and apply the appropriate remedy, medication, procedures. Chiropractors are often more focused on wellness and prevention" on a more consistent level, said Kucera.

Source: http://www.coloradoconnection.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=375251