Just recently, the U.S. Health Care Task Force has been looking at ways to curtail the costs of the nation's health care. In these times of upward-spiraling health care costs, parents also are looking at viable low-cost alternatives for providing for their family's continued good health.
Parents are sometimes surprised when made aware of the possibilities of chiropractic as a health care alternative, especially for their children. "Why were we not told by our medical doctor?" parents frequently ask, when, after months and sometimes years of medical treatment, their children's health conditions rapidly respond to a gentle spinal adjustment performed by a chiropractor.
Health fund administrators who reimburse for children's health care, and parents who have to care and comfort sick children will appreciate the frustration of having a child with recurrent illness caused by common childhood disorders, for which all the best medications do not seem to provide help.
Some of the children's conditions which are frequently associated with slight spinal misalignments include earache, sore throats, headache, neck pains, asthma, growing pains, colic, backaches, and bedwetting. A confusing feature for parents is that although all of these childhood problems can be associated with the spine, they rarely show any symptoms of spinal pain. It is only after a thorough spinal evaluation by a chiropractor that such problems can usually be detected.
An appropriate question might be, "Could our pediatrician find that problem in the spine?" The probable answer to that is -- unlikely. Since pediatricians are not trained to recognize the spine as a possible cause of these childhood complaints, spinal evaluation for the subtle misalignments which can cause these problems is not one of their skills, or even an area with which they would be concerned.
Children's spinal adjustments usually have no side effects and their spine is quite able to cope with the light finger-tip forces used to make the correction. The incidence of complications from children's spinal adjustments is more than 100 times less than the incidence of a child dying from a routine vaccination. Children's spinal adjustments are light, gentle, specific, quick, painless and sometimes even can be fun.
Why Choose Chiropractic Care for Kids?
A thorough evaluation of a child's spine is not commonly performed by pediatricians; yet back pain due to spinal problems affects over 80 percent of the adult population.
Chiropractic care is designed to identify if your child has a developing spinal problem. Spinal evaluations for children are more thoroughly performed by chiropractors.
A typical program of chiropractic care for a child with a specific problem may involve no more than a few visits and the results are usually evident much more rapidly in children than in adults. The doctor of chiropractic can usually quickly identify if the cause of the problem is one that can be helped through adjustment of the spine.
Are X-rays Necessary?
Sometimes it is necessary to have a child's spine x-rayed. X-rays are most commonly taken to identify if there are any reasons why the spine cannot be adjusted. In the few instances when x-rays are necessary, the doctor of chiropractic will carefully examine those x-rays for signs of degeneration caused by wear and tear to the spine; pathologies; diseases of the bones and soft tissues; abnormal development of the structures of the spine; or finally, for the effects of trauma, such as fractured bones or dislocated joints. An extensive part of the training of a doctor of chiropractic is the ability not only to interpret x-rays, but more importantly to recognize when x-rays are required. In very few instances will it be necessary for a doctor of chiropractic to x-ray a child's spine before performing a spinal adjustment.
Summary
The cost of chiropractic care for children can be significantly less than the cost of equivalent medical care, especially for the more common childhood disorders. Many parents are beginning to realize that the medical profession does not have all the answers to children's health problems and are beginning to seek out pediatricians who will utilize a collaborative approach incorporating the chiropractor on their child's health care team.
Hundreds of thousands of parents who take their children to chiropractors are finding the real benefit of having their children's spines regularly checked for the results of the traumas which growing children are involved most every day. A frequent benefit of children having a chiropractic spinal check-up is not only correction of their health problems but also continued good health, without using medication.
Not all children's health conditions can be treated by a chiropractor; however chiropractors are certainly trained and qualified by state license to identify most children's health problems. They also know when treatment by a medical doctor is more appropriate and will refer when necessary.
Choosing appropriate, safe, and effective health care is a primary responsibility of all parents. A thorough knowledge of all the available options is perhaps a parent's greatest strength in reaching an informed decision. Chiropractic, a drug free, non-invasive, cost effective alternative, has a vital role to play in our children's health care.
Peter N. Fysh, DC
Sunnyvale, California
Editor's Note:
Dr. Fysh is currently conducting pediatric seminars. He may be contacted at (408) 720-8042.
