The First Adjustment

He won't remember it, but our newborn, David, just had his first adjustment. After analyzing his spine, several adjustments were made. The adjustments did far more than just address the complications of birth.

• Any subluxations that could hinder his proper growth and development were eliminated. While I don't have the research papers to prove it (yet), we know he will grow much stronger and enjoy greater vitality because of this and many future adjustments.


• The adjustments inspired health within his body. We won't be making all those trips to the pediatrician's office. That's not our first choice of care, but more importantly, because we don't have to. David will be much healthier than most babies whose parents rely on a constant stream of "medication" (drugs) to sustain what they call "health" (the absence of those symptoms that are the most obvious).


• We've started David on a deliberate lifestyle of wellness that will carry him throughout his life. Our two eldest sons, Josh and John, understand the importance of wellness through chiropractic. Even as young children they knew when it was time to see our chiropractor. One of my sons would say, "Dad, I need to go see Dr.J." They were still too young to pronounce Dr. Jungblut's name.

David's trip to the chiropractor was an incredible event. We took nearly an entire roll of pictures.

As I watched David being adjusted, I couldn't help wonder about all the babies that were beginning life without that first adjustment.

How would the quality of their lives be lessened? How many unnecessary illnesses would they succumb to? How much school and fun would they miss out on?

Would they meet their full potential when they played sports in high school? Would the absence of that unmistakable look of wellness and good posture erode their physical beauty?

It's easy to see how this first adjustment will impact a child at every stage of life. Notice also that the repercussions intensify as the child gets older.

It didn't take much force, but that first adjustment (and the many to come) was a life-affirming event that will affect David's future in so many ways that he won't appreciate until he's older. Some people will watch him grow and call his good health "luck." We know better.

According to the December 14, 1998 ChiroPoll, less than 10 percent of your patients (on average) are children. That number is probably much smaller when considering babies (children less than 2 years old). And yet, the impact you can have on their lives is so dramatic, that these should be your most important patients.

With some DCs they are. I know of one chiropractor who provides the first adjustment (and analysis) for babies and children at no charge. He knows that this is one of the best ways to begin the wellness way of life. He is now giving first adjustments to the babies of the people he gave first adjustments to when he began practice.

If it's not a policy you have in your office, perhaps it should be. Maybe you'll need to have a "Child Wellness Month," where all new child patients are provided free care for the month.

There are obviously many different strategies for raising the number of child patients you see each month. You'll want to institute one that works best for your practice and community.

But the goal is still the same: affect the lives of the children in your community as only chiropractic can. This will yield great rewards as your watch them grow in health and wellness.

You have so much to add to the future of the children. Chiropractic can play a powerful role in their lives. Make it a priority for you and your staff. As you see parents each day, ask them to bring in their children.

Make wellness their way of life.

If you'd like to see the pictures of David's first adjustment, you can view them at: [url=http://www.chiroweb.com/firstadjustment]http://www.chiroweb.com/firstadjustment[/url].