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Chiropractic care plays a crucial role in ensuring the optimal development of a child’s nervous system. The early years are a critical period for brain and nerve system growth, and proper spinal alignment and motion helps facilitate healthy communication between the brain and body. By identifying and addressing spinal dysfunction and nerve interference, chiropractic care can support a child’s overall well-being from infancy through adolescence.
🟢 Postural Changes: With increased screen time and sedentary activities, children are more prone to poor posture. Chiropractic care can help correct spinal dysfunction, poor posture and supports healthy spinal development.
🟢 Bed-Wetting: Chiropractic care may assist in managing bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) in children by enhancing nervous system function and improving communication between the brain and bladder. Spinal dysfunction, particularly in the sacral area, can disrupt nerve signals that control bladder function. Chiropractic adjustments aim to restore proper spinal alignment, potentially aiding in the reduction of bedwetting episodes.
• Researchers found that after 10 weeks the children receiving chiropractic care had on average dropped from 9.1 wet nights over a 2 week period to 7.6 wet nights. The control group of children on the other hand didn’t really change at all, going from 12.1 wet nights before the trial to 12.2 afterwards.
• If your spinal dysfunction was manifesting as clumsiness then this is likely to improve with chiropractic care. If your spinal dysfunction was manifesting as back pain then this is likely to get better. If colic or bedwetting were related to the spinal dysfunction, then this may well improve. (Haavik Research www.heidihaavik.com)
🟢 Ear Infection Prevention: Ear infections are a common concern for many parents, with up to 27% of children under 5 affected in New Zealand each year and up to 80% of children will experience a case of otitis media during their lifetime, and between 80% and 90% of all children will experience otitis media with before school age. These infections can cause significant discomfort, irritability, and frustration for both kids and their parents. Recurrent ear infections can result in repeated antibiotic use, which may disturb the gut microbiome and impact the immune function. For parents, this cycle can be exhausting, prompting a search for safe, effective ways to support their child’s ear health naturally.
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🟢 Anxiety in Children: Although Chiropractic doesn’t directly treat anxiety, we know that Chiropractic care changes the function of the prefrontal cortex in the brain. The prefrontal cortex is the ‘conductor’ of your brain and is directly involved in the regulation of:
• Empathy, sequencing/time management, gastrointestinal challenges, decision making, maintains focus on goal directed tasks, reward based tasks, mental health, emotional regulation, social interaction, immune system regulation, inflammation, processing of pain and the emotional response to it, rational thinking, attention and focus
• Chiropractic care for your child can help their body better regulate itself.
🟢 Colic: There have been many research studies that have looked at the effect of chiropractic care to help babies with colic. The researchers found that after 10 days excessively crying babies were almost 12 times as likely to cry significantly less if they received chiropractic care compared to babies not receiving care.
🟢 Supports Immune Function: Chiropractic adjustments may enhance immune system function by optimising nervous system communication, potentially reducing the frequency of common illnesses and contributing to overall wellness.
🟢 Encourages an Active Lifestyle: Chiropractic care is not just about spinal health—it also promotes movement, flexibility, and an active lifestyle, encouraging children to develop healthy habits early on.
🟢 Improves Sleep Quality: Chiropractic care may help improve children’s sleep by supporting healthy nervous system function. The spine protects the nervous system, and when spinal joints are restricted or not moving properly, they can place stress on the nerves that regulate rest and recovery. Chiropractic adjustments help restore proper movement and reduce this interference, allowing clearer communication between the brain and body. With a calmer, better-balanced nervous system, children are more able to shift out of “fight-or-flight” mode and into the restful state needed for deep, restorative sleep.
• Many parents report improved sleep patterns in their children after chiropractic care, as adjustments help reduce discomfort and promote relaxation.
🟢 Natural Pain Relief: Children can experience various types of pain, including headaches, growing pains, and sports injuries. Chiropractic adjustments can provide relief without the use or need for medication.
🟢 Aids in Recovery: If a child experiences an injury, chiropractic adjustments can help facilitate faster healing by:
• Making sure there is no compensation or change in general range of movement after sprains, strains, or falls so kids can heal properly
• Reduces pain and inflammation to help aid the recovery process to be more comfortable
• Supports faster tissue repair by improving circulation and joint function
🟢 Sports Performance: For active kids, chiropractic care can improve flexibility, strength, and coordination, helping to prevent injuries and enhance athletic performance.
🟢 Promotes Healthy Development: Chiropractic promotes healthy nervous system development in kids by keeping the spine—which houses and protects the spinal cord—moving and functioning properly. When joints in the spine become restricted and don’t move as well as they should (from falls, poor posture, or rapid growth etc), they can create stress on surrounding nerves and interfere with how the brain and body communicate. Chiropractic adjustments help restore this movement, reducing irritation and allowing signals to travel more clearly through the nervous system. This helps children’s bodies coordinate growth, movement, and healing more effectively. By supporting optimal brain–body communication during key developmental years, chiropractic care may contribute to better posture, motor control, and overall wellbeing as kids grow.
🟢 Gentle, Holistic Approach to Health: Chiropractic care for children is safe, gentle, and specifically tailored to their needs. By fostering a healthy spine and nervous system, chiropractic care helps children grow, move, and thrive—allowing them to reach their full potential physically and emotionally.
Overall, chiropractic care is gentle and tailored to meet the unique needs of children, helping them thrive physically and emotionally.
Chiropractors undergo specialised training to adapt their techniques for newborns, infants, and children, using gentle and safe methods suited to their growing bodies.
Further reading: Click the links below for evidence based research:
Article 1: Well adjusted – Dr. Jennifer Barham-Floreani
Article 2: Colic
Article 3: Breastfeeding
Article 4: Is Chiropractic care safe for Children and Babies?
Article 5: Bed-Wetting
Article 6: Growing Pains
Article 7: Immune Function
Article 8: Headaches
Our Chiropractors at Waitaki Chiropractic are registered professionals, holding their practicing certificate from the New Zealand Chiropractic Board to safely conduct care within New Zealand. Max and Maree are ACC accredited and can help with ACC claims and treatment plans for injuries and musculoskeletal conditions.
Maree has also completed an additional course by Backbone Academy in Australia for veterinary chiropractic which is recognised and certified by the IVCA (International Veterinary Chiropractic Association), AVCA and COAC in addition to holding her certification by the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) as a permitted equine therapist.
