Chiropractic for Active Children

When most people think of injury, the first thought is trauma such as an ankle sprain, head knock, broken leg e.t.c. Injuries can also be less traumatic in nature such as hours spent on a computer, tablet or in front of a TV! Chronic postural stress and strain is just like any other injury that left uncorrected has life long consequences.

Exercise helps us to stay physically and mentally healthy and plays an especially vital role in younger children. The more stimulation children obtain through movement, the more neurological maturation and development they undergo! For this reason encouraging your children to be physically active and involved in a bunch of sports/play time whilst they are growing is a must.  Unfortunately, accidents  and injuries can be a part of growing up and can be hard to avoid. This is where chiropractic for children can help eliminate any ongoing side effects.

“Many young patient’s who are very active and play multiple sports, carry the after effects of numerous previous overuse injuries. This suggests that for many young athletes, chronic pain and medical treatments are a way of life, likely bringing unexamined and unintended consequences for children’s quality of life now and in the future”

Different injuries can lead to a variety of changes within the body both near and far from where the original injury or stress occurred. It may be an obvious change like a limp, head tilt and altered posture or guarded movements. Less obvious changes include muscle spasm and tension, joint misalignment and other structural compensations.  These changes can be protective in nature and alter the way in which the joints and muscles work. This in turn changes the way the brain perceives that body part and ultimately the way the nervous system works over the longer term. Chiropractic for children rebalances the body so your child does not have to suffer the negative ongoing consequences of childhood injuries. Maintaining proper posture and alignment allows the spine and nervous system to develop as it should establishing a strong healthy body for life.

As a parent it is important to take the time to have a good look at your child (not a passing glance), preferably with their clothes off and make note of what their general posture and alignment is like and whether anything is different from one week to the next. It is amazing the number of parents who in the clinic having certain issues pointed out to them on postural assessment can’t believe they had not noticed the problem before. A parent with a keen eye is always the best first assessment!

So how can chiropractic help?

Firstly Better Health chiropractors look at how your child’s body functions by assessing their structure, alignment and muscle function. Secondly we look at how well children perform neurologically (how their brain interacts with their body) by assessing reflexes, fine and gross motor control and more complex motor patterns such as balance and coordination. Where we find areas that could be functioning better we work to ‘boost’ them through chiropractic care, homework exercises and changes to the child’s everyday environment and activities. By making a few simple changes at a younger ages we can rebalance the body, sidestep bad habits and avoid the chronic and often costly problems in later years. The sooner problems are corrected the better the result always and the less the intervention required.