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Infantile Colic without a chiropractor? Now that’s something to cry about!

May 08, 2023

Integrity Chiropractors understand that when a baby is in distress and inconsolable, it’s not only the child who suffers. A colicky infant affects the psychological, emotional and physical health of the entire family. At Integrity, all of the doctors are parents too, we get it.

According to medical literature, infantile colic is diagnosed by the rule of three:

Crying for more than three hours per day
Crying for more than three days per week
Crying for longer than three weeks in a month for an infant who is well-fed and healthy. 1

Experts have yet to come to a consensus regarding the cause of colic, but the most common theory is that the infant is having digestive difficulties, including excessive gas or reflux Breastfeeding moms are even recommended to avoid dairy products to see if it helps reduce the symptoms of colic. 2

Chiropractors and even some medical doctors agree to look at the spine. Childbirth can be traumatic for the immature human spine, with the neck and head experiencing a great degree of compression, rotation, extension and traction. Even an uncomplicated birth can have some negative effects for baby.

When an infant is brought to Integrity Chiropractic for colic issues, we first take vital signs and go through a history with the mother. Afterward our doctors examine ranges of motion, primitive reflexes, perform orthopedic/neurological tests and examine the child’s spine. For infant care, Integrity chiropractors locate areas of the spine that have decreased mobility or are not moving properly, and then apply gentle pressure to reestablish proper mechanics for the involved vertebrae. The result: happier babies, and happier parents!

In a case study, a 7-week old infant presented for chiropractic care with a medically diagnosed colic with reflux and disturbed sleep that was persistent since birth. Vertebral subluxation (spinal fixation) patterns were noted in the spine of the baby. In less than three weeks of treatments, this infant achieved complete resolution with chiropractic adjustments to the spine. 3

Additional published case studies support the use of chiropractic care for babies who are experiencing infantile colic symptoms. Often, only a few adjustments are needed to produce dramatic results. 4-6

In a prospective survey study, 316 infants with moderate to severe colic (average 5.2 hours of crying per day) were treated with chiropractic care. Responses to care were tracked by their mothers and compiled.

Ninety-four percent of the children showed a favorable response with an average of only three treatments within two weeks. Twenty-five percent of these infants showed great improvement after the first chiropractic adjustment! 7

In 1999, an RCT study was performed to investigate the effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic versus medication. Fifty infants were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups: Dimethicone medication daily for two weeks or spinal manipulation for two weeks by a local chiropractor. The infants in the chiropractic group received an average of 3.8 adjustments. During the two-week treatment period, the parents kept a colic diary and nurses visited the families and administered a weekly infantile colic behavior profile.

All of the chiropractic patients completed the entire course of treatments (100%). However, 9 out of 25 subjects (36%) dropped out from the medication side. When parents were asked why they left the study, two described their child's condition as "worsened" and two others described it as "much worsened." Had these four infants completed the study, they would have significantly lowered the apparent positive effects of dimethicone.

The results above shows the number of Colic Hours per day were reduced 50% better in the chiropractic group than the Dimethicone group, which strongly suggests that chiropractic is a valid treatment option for children with infantile colic. 8

In our office, Integrity chiropractic, we see 15-20 cases like this every year, and just as the research found, colic symptoms reduce favorably in just a few short weeks. So if your baby has colic symptoms, or the next time you hear someone complaining about their baby’s incessant crying, mention to them that chiropractic care may be able to help.

References and Sources:

Am Fam Physician. 2004 Aug 15;70(4):735-40.
Hill, D et al. Effect of a Low-Allergen Maternal Diet on Colic Among Breastfed Infants: A Randomized, Controlled Trial. Pediatrics 2005; 116: e709-e715.
Hipperson, AJ. Chiropractic Management of Infantile Colic. Clinical Chiropractic 2004; 7(4):180–186.
Van Loon, M. Colic With Projectile Vomiting: A Case Study. Journal Of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics 1998Aug; 3(1): 207-10.
Sheader, WE. Chiropractic management of an infant experiencing breastfeeding difficulties and colic: a case study. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, 1999; 4(1).
Pluhar GR, Schobert PD. Vertebral subluxation and colic: a case study. J of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation 1991; 7:75-76.
Klougart N, Nilsson N and Jacobsen J. Infantile colic treated by chiropractors: a prospective study of 316 cases. J Manip Physiol Ther 1989; 12(4):281-288.
Wiberg JMM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N.The short-term effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic: A randomized controlled clinical trial with a blinded observer. J Manip Physiol Ther 1999; (22): 517-22.

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As a Sports Injury trained Chiropractor, with over 150 post-doctoral training hours with the American Board of Chiropractic Sports Physicians, Dr. Leatherman often has to discuss this topic. When our Integrity docs see someone stretching BEFORE running, cycling, tennis, swimming, or any other sport, they worry that the person doesn't know much about muscles. Integrity docs further know that they are actually INCREASING their injury potentials.

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SIZE MATTERS!! … LOW BACK PAIN & OBESITY

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Low back pain is an established worldwide problem. At Integrity Chiropractic, we deal with this debilitating issue on a daily basis. It’s estimated that approximately 80% of the North American population will experience significant low back pain at some point in their adult lives. Word wide estimates range between 50–80% of adults experiencing low back pain in their life. (1,2,3) in fact, low back pain (LBP) is the second most common cause of disability in US adults with an estimated 149 million days of work lost per year. (4) It is no surprise that people are increasingly seeking chiropractic care to find relief. The link between low back pain incidence and obesity is alarming. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease control, CDC, the prevalence of being overweight was 70.2 % in 2013-2104 using NHANES data. Just the obesity portion of that number was 42.4% in 2017-2018. (5,6) Evidence confirms that obesity seriously impacts the spine and musculoskeletal system, increasing the risk of low back pain as well as osteoarthritis, spondylolisthesis, degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis. (7) Studies have even shown that people who underwent surgery to help them lose weight experienced less low back pain, the link is genuine. (8, 9)

Integrity Chiropractic and Shoulder Problems … What’s the Connection?

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SCREECH! BANG! CRASH! The deceiving nature of WHIPLASH!

08 May, 2023

The traffic light is red. Your vehicle is completely stopped … and then B-A-N-G! Your vehicle is thrust forward, your spine lengthens and rises in the seat, your head snaps rearward, your body bounces off the seat-back into the harness system, the harness restrains your torso, your head and neck now rebound shifting forward, (this all happens in less than 600 mili-seconds) you’re dazed! Then the realization …. You were just smashed from behind! Was it an accident? NO! Accidents are when you trip, spill milk, or drop things. This is a MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH (MVC). (1) When your vehicle is rear-ended, the neck and head bear the brunt of the forces. Nerves, ligaments and muscles are stretched beyond their natural limits due to abnormal motion in the lower neck vertebra which differs from normal motion. Injuries also happen in normal ranges of motion. (2) It’s the transfer of energy in less than ½ a second that causes the damage. Whiplash Injuries often occur at speeds less than 2-5 mph as well because vehicles bounce instead of crushing which increases the forces to the occupants of the vehicle. In fact there is no known minimal threshold for injury! Despite possibly feeling fine afterward, you may have just received a common yet serious whiplash injury. Dr. Leatherman and Dr. Bak will tell you that it’s a deceiving injury, because whiplash is NOT a diagnosis, it is a mechanism. Pain may come on quickly or you may not develop symptoms for hours, weeks, or months. Your neck (cervical spine) contains muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, joints and nerves confined to a relatively small area. Whiplash mechanism can injure all these body components. Although it happens most frequently in rear-impact crashes, whiplash can occur in other crash directions: side-impact, frontal-impact, and offset angular impacts. Besides the head, neck and upper back, pain from a whiplash Injury often extend into other areas of the body, such as the shoulders, arms, as well as the low back, hips, legs, knees and feet. You may also suffer muscle stiffness, spasms, burning or tingling sensations as well as headaches and numbness. Even if you don’t have any immediate whiplash symptoms, you should visit a chiropractor who has been trained in MVC injury as soon as possible.

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction, A PAIN in the BUTT!

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Patients presenting with Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain tend to think they either have sciatica or tail-bone pain, and its common practice for doctors to the link low back pain with protruding disc even when neurological signs are absent. Pain caused by sacroiliac joint dysfunction can mimic discogenic (pain from the disc) or radicular low back pain, although, SI joint dysfunction is a distinct condition of its own. At Integrity Chiropractic, our doctors are keenly aware of the differences of pain presentations and utilize diagnostic skills to diagnose the SI joints, vs. facet joints, vs. disc, vs. ligamentous instability as the source of your pain.

POSTURAL IMBALANCES: THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY

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Remember the days of parents and grandparents nagging you to “stand up straight” and “STOP slouching”? Wasn’t that annoying? Well … they were right. Posture has huge influences on health. Gradual shifts of body position over time slowly weaken the muscles and ligaments while wearing away at joints and discs. Forward head posture is one of the leading causes of neck, upper back and shoulder pain. Chronic pain syndromes, headaches and jaw issues may appear if arthritic changes progress and postural imbalances remain uncorrected. 1,2,3 Research has shown that not only can faulty posture be a pain in the neck, but the effects of poor posture can also pose significant health risks to many systems in the body, specifically the respiratory, circulatory and digestive systems. 4

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Chiropractic Adjustments for Pregnancy and Newborn? Really? … But of Course!

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Did you know that Moms, fetuses and babies all have spines? Chiropractic physicians know it, and have been adjusting pregnant mothers and treating pregnant and infant spines for over 100 years. At Integrity Chiropractic, we have been treating pregnant moms and babies for over 16 years with the consent and encouragement of their midwives and OB/GYN’s. In fact, OB/GYN’s count for the largest amount of medical referrals to the Integrity Chiropractic office. Even now, this care is sometimes scrutinized and criticized by some medical personnel who are not familiar with the benefits. Interestingly enough, published research as far back as 1911, 1918, 1946 and 1952 in the osteopathic profession has shown the benefits of spinal manipulation in pregnancy. (1,2,3,4) Growing research has shown chiropractic care to be a safe and effective treatment for pregnant mothers. Studies have reported that 50% of all women complain of lower back pain during pregnancy, and 75% experience back labor. (5,6,7,8) Dr. Leatherman and Dr. Bak’s wives were both adjusted throughout their pregnancies, and even in the delivery room. As the baby grows, the additional weight increases stress on the back, postural shifts rapidly occur, and hormonal changes begin to relax the supporting ligament tissues of the spine and pelvis. This often leads to increasing aches and pains among other problems.