Swimming Pool July 9, 2008

I was relaxing next to the swimming pool this past week watching my daughter splashing around and found myself looking around the pool at the kids walking around the pool deck.  As a chiropractor, I find myself looking at postures alot in my spare time.  When someone is in a bathing suit you can really see the postures well. Alot of Myofascial therapists have you come to your session in a bathing suit, so they can see your posture.  So, I am looking at all these crooked little spines, thinking their parents just don’t know!  When I see an adult patient that has degeneration(arthritis) at 20-30 years old, I always ask if there were any serious injuries as a child. Most can’t come up with anything. But, as I look at these crooked little spines, I see future adult patients, because that is when people think going to a chiropractor is normal.  But, if I could get these kids in my office at this age, we could prevent the future appointment where I ask them what trauma they had as a kid that is causing this arthritis in their low back.  You see, if a joint is out of alignment for a prolonged period of time, the disc starts wearing down and your bones start forming spurs. What your body is trying to do is to connect to the bone below it to stabilize itself.  We call this arthritis. So, as you are sitting around the pool, look and see if your child’s spine goes straight up or does it seem to lean a bit to one side. Are their shoulders level? You will be amazed at what you see, if you start looking at your child’s posture.  You have all seen cases of severe scoliosis, which is pretty easy to see, but what I am talking about is very subtle.  Look at your kids a little differently and if they do have some subtle posture changes, get them to a chiropractor now!

What you see, verses what I see !

Ear Infections! June 23, 2008

You are at your witts end, you have searched all the remedies on the internet and you feel helpless!  Somewhere online you read about chiropractic care helping ear infections.  I just wanted to explain a little bit about what I find in my office and how I treat children with ear infections. 

There are many reasons that an ear infection can come on in an infant or child. No two children are the same, but there are some common denominators that I have found over the years of treating children.  The two main things are a mechanical and/or milk sensitivity.  What I mean about mechanical is; the biomechanics of the spine or cranium is altered and fluid can not drain.  This usually occurs at the base of the skull or behind the eyes to the ears.  Look at your child’s eyes and to see if one looks larger than the other, does one eyebrow look higher than the other, do they prefer to turn their head one way verses the other, is their head tilted a bit or are the muscles at the base of the skull tight?  These are just two common things that occur that a parent can see for themselves.  Obviously, there is more to it, but you as a parent may be able to tell if there might be a mechanical component involved. 
When I meet with the parents of a child experiencing ear infections, I look at many things, including what the child is eating along with  biomechanics, as well as their environment. (daycare, exposed to second hand smoke, etc)  Then I thoroughly discuss what I find and what we can do about it, naturally.  The treatment I use is myofascial release, cranial sacral work and maybe some very gentle spinal adjusting depending on the response to the first two techniques.

I was working on a 18 month old today that did sign language and while I was performing his treatment at one point he would push my hand away, then a few seconds later he would do the “more” sign with his hands, then I would return to what I was doing  We did this several times until I felt we were done. So, he was able to communicate with me and actually enjoyed his treatment. ( I let the little ones get away with telling me what to do.)

As chiropractors, we look to cause of disease. 

Welcoming new baby home! May 9, 2008

  Welcoming your new baby into your home can be a wonderful, scary and helpless situation.  If this is your first baby, you know what I mean.  There are some things you can do to help your child be healthy. These are some of the things I have seen over the years and want to share them with you.

First of all, have your infant’s spine checked immediately! Not only can birth be traumatic to the spine, while they were in utero, there could have been some constraint that may have caused some imbalances in their spine.  If your labor was induced, had a posterior baby, forceps, vacuum, c-section or breech baby…then definately have their spines checked.  The nervous system is protected by the spine and cranium, if there is any intereference from the spine on these nerves, then there could be potential health problems.  Babies don’t tell you they are in pain, and they may not be in pain…but there could be interference affecting their function. We see it in our office as ear infections, spitting up, colic, sleeplessness and just irritability. 

Secondly, breast feed as long as possible. It is very important to their growth and nourishment.  There is so much research out there to support breastfeeding and how it affects the baby. I just read today, that the children that are breastfed longer have a higher IQ.  If you are not able to breast feed, contact a leleche club and get some help.  If you are breastfeeding and you notice your child spitting up, becoming colicky, crying alot, then take dairy out of your diet and see what happens.

The third thing, don’t be too quick to get your little one up on their feet walking.  We have all heard how important it is for a child to crawl, there is alot of truth to it!  There is a natural succession of how the nervous system develops and crawling is very important.  Crawling should be done for at least three months, ideally six months!

These are just three things I think every new mom should know. I will add more in another post! Have a happy and healthy day!

More on Pregnancy- my personal story April 2, 2008

The whole goal of a natural enjoyable pregnancy is for you to remain healthy, as well as, thinking of the health of the little one inside of you!  I learned the hard way and want to share my story with you. I had planned on having a natural delivery without any intervention from the medical community except for catching the baby.  Well, after always struggling with my weight, I figured, if I am going to get fat while pregnant….I might as well have fun doing it! The local bakery became my best friend, as I brought donuts in the office for all to share with me. I didn’t watch what I ate and therefore I didn’t end up with my dream delivery.  Instead, I got HELLP syndrome, which is a severe type of toxicity in the late stage of pregnancy. So, at 34weeks pregnant and with this disease, the only way to cure it, is to deliver the baby!  After trying to induce labor for 24 hours without having any success, I was rolled into my worst nightmare…the surgery suite.  I delivered a healthy, very small baby girl.  I am telling you this story because I was very humbled by my experience.  Before this experience I had very strong feelings about having a natural childbirth and feel if I had just taken better care of myself and my growing baby, I could have had my natural childbirth and today my daughter would have stronger lungs.  Now my conviction for my patients is to help them avoid an unwanted c-section.  I now believe there are circumstances that are out there that warrant a c-section, but, there are things you can do to avoid it in in most cases.  Interestingly, I was having a conversation with an obstetrician who had been in practice for many years and he told me that while he was in school they delivered breech babies.  He told me the doctors in training today, don’t deliver breech babies, vaginally.  So, from what I understand, if your baby is breech it will warrant a c-section.  On the flip side, I have a midwife, of whom I have a working relationship with and of whom I think is very courageous, has delivered several babies feet first, in the comfort of her patients home! 

So as in my previous post, there are some great recommendations for having a healthy enjoyable pregnancy. I would suggest finding a Bradley course, or book and learn all the information they have to share.  Learn early in your pregnancy, so you can make sure you are eating the right things for you and your baby.  AND STAY AWAY FROM DONUTS!

Tips for a healthy enjoyable pregnancy! March 19, 2008

This week I want to talk about pregnancy and caring for the little one growing inside of you.  I am going to offer a summary of helpful things to do during your pregnancy, this is just a summary and to learn more feel free to ask me, or do some more research. 

The first consideration for a health pregnancy is Nutrition:

• Get three good servings of protein a day from meats, nuts, beans, or eggs.
• Make sure you are consuming a daily intake of Calcium
• 30 mg of iron during the second and third trimesters
• 400mcg of Folic acid starting one month before getting pregnant
• Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
• don’t salt your food, you will get enough sodium in the foods you eat
• Omega three fatty acids are very important to add to your diet.

The second thing to consider is your biomechanics during pregnancy.  The pelvis and low back go through many changes during pregnancy.  It is very important that they are in line and balanced.  If they are not balanced, this can lead to pain and discomfort for you, but also leads to the position of the baby not being optimal for delivery and may lead to an unplanned c-section.

Chiropractic treatment for pregnant women is safe for both mom and baby.  In my practice I treat many pregnant women and help to alleviate pain and  prevent malposition of the baby, at the time of delivery.  We use the Webster Breech turning technique, which is utilized to balance the pelvis and align it, so the baby delivers head down.

Exercises are also very important while you are pregnant.  I won’t go into specific ones here, but this helps with the alignment of the pelvis, as well as easing the discomfort you may feel as your body changes.

Have a great day and a great pregnancy!

Welcome to my Blog! March 15, 2008

This is a first for me, but my intention is to answer questions parents may have about the health of their children.  I will provide information about natural healthcare for kids and some tips for pregnant moms.  I welcome any questions you may have and will do my best to answer them, timely.