Archive for the ‘pediatric chiropractic’ Category
The most widespread purpose for visits to a pediatrician is earache. By the age of three years, more than 70 percent of children will have had at least one episode of earache, and about a third will have had three or more incidents. What you might not know, however, is that earache is also the most common basis for children under the age of five years to be escorted by parents to the chiropractor’s office.
How Chiropractic Care Relates to Earache and Ear Infections
A pediatrician who determines that a child with an earache has a middle ear infection will usually prescribe antibiotics as a typical course of treatment. New study, however, has ascertained that such practices are often ill-advised. Antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, and since the child’s middle ear infection may be generated by a virus, antibiotics are ineffectual. This may be the explanation for a child’s chronic ear infections.
One of the intentions of a Honolulu chiropractor is to establish whether or not the body’s inability to combat the earache or ear infection is produced by irritation of the small nerves in the spine (called free nerve endings).
An undue tension in the small muscles of the neck is produced when these nerve endings are inflammed. Pressure created on the lymphatic drainage ducts as a consequence of muscle tension can stop adequate drainage from inside the ear. This condition keeps the body from naturally fixing the problem. In addition, balance can also be affected.
Assessment by a chiropractor of such a problem is made by the finding of increased tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles. Generally more tension is felt on the side of earache. In addition, the chiropractor will check to see which spinal vertebrae are either moderately out of alignment or not moving within their normal range. This problem may have been the result of any one of the variety of bangs, jolts and falls that almost all children undergo in the early years of their life. Frequently, a short regimen of spinal adjustments and manipulation of the neck muscles will assist in restoring normal lymph drainage. If your child is experiencing the pain of an earache or an ear infection, call your Honolulu chiropractor as soon as possible.
Advanced Research and Guidelines
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ear infection, the most prevalent childhood illness after the common cold, accounts for nearly 30 million doctor visits every year. What’s more, at least 6 million courses of antibiotics are extraneously prescribed for the affliction. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines for treating pediatric ear inflammation, and definitively recommended a period of “watchful waiting” since, in many cases, infections clear up on their own, without medication.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) applauds the AAP on the guidelines and emphasizes that chiropractic treatment is a “good first option” for treating ear infection conservatively. “Doctors of chiropractic have been treating children for decades with great success – helping them to avoid painful ear infections, antibiotic overuse and resistance, and ear tube surgery,” said ACA President Donald Krippendorf, DC. “Particularly when dealing with young children, drugs and surgery should be an absolute last resort.”