All children are born with their spine in a “C” curve. The secondary curve of the neck develops when the child is placed on his or her stomach. This position allows the baby to lift its head and develop the arch of the neck. As the baby creeps and then crawls, the secondary low back curve develops. Today, many of the baby contraptions we place babies in inhibit the development of these curves. Baby seats and swings hold the spine in a “C” configuration, preventing the secondary curves from developing. A baby’s immature spine cannot tolerate the upright posture imposed by jumpers, playpens and walkers. All devices train the baby’s balance mechanism to accept the upright posture, encouraging early walking before its spine is ready to support the weight of standing erect. Premature standing causes a flattening of the lower back, or kyphosis. Low back kyphosis puts improper pressure on spinal discs and can cause disc wedging and vertebral misalignments, or subluxations. The spine will tip to one side and then the other, to compensate, creating a curvature, or scoliosis. Because the child’s spine is still developing, they will adapt to this curve, unless the subluxations and disc wedging are corrected before puberty. For the sake of your children’s posture, forsake all the modern devices and get their spines checked Regularly!
WHAT IS SCOLIOSIS?
Scoliosis is a term used to describe abnormal curvatures of the spine. From the side, the spine forms 3 curves at the neck, midback, and lowback. When you look at the spine from the back, it should form a straight line; if it curves, instead, it is called scoliosis.
WHAT CAUSES SCOLIOSIS?
Scoliosis is rarely (10-15%) by a serious problem such as tumor, infection, cerebral palsy, or birth deformity. In most cases, the cause of scoliosis is “idiopathic” or unknown. There may be a herefitary component since scoliosis tends to runs in families.
All children are born with their spine in a “C” curve. The secondary curve of the neck develops when the child is placed on his or her stomach. This position allows the baby to lift its head and develop the arch of the neck. As the baby creeps and then crawls, the secondary low back curve develops. Today, many of the contraptions we place babies in inhibit the development of these curves. Baby seats and swings hold the spine in a “C” configuration, preventing the secondary curves from developing. A baby’s immature spine cannot tolerate the upright posture imposed by jumpers, playpens and walkers. All devices train the baby’s balance mechanism to accept the upright posture, encouraging early walking before its spine is ready to support the weight of standing erect. Premature standing causes a flattening of the lower back, or kyphosis. Low back kyphosis puts improper pressure on spinal discs and can cause disc wedging and vertebral misalignments, or subluxations. The spine will tip to one side and then the other, to compensate, creating a curvature, or scoliosis. Because the child’s spine is still developing, they will adapt to this curve, unless the subluxations and disc wedging are corrected before puberty.
Recent research suggests that scoliosis may be caused by a neurological defect which affects the proper functioning of the body’s growth.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD HAS SCOLIOSIS?
Chiropractors are specialists when it comes to bones, muscles, and nerves. They can detect changes in spinal alignment before a curvature becomes very noticeable, as early as 5 years old. Often a full spine x-ray will be taken to confirm the diagnosis and assess the severity of the curvature. Unfortunately, most children’s spines are inadequately evaluated by medical pediatricians or school nurses who do not diagnose scoliosis until the curvature has become very obvious, often very close to puberty. Early detection by a chiropractor means that any alignment problems can be taken care of before the curves become disfiguring.
Some signs of spinal misalignment to look for as a parent include: uneven hem lines (dresses always look crooked), uneven shoe wear, consistently tripping over their feet, poor posture, one shoulder higher than the other, and chest pain.
It is a great idea to bring your child into a chiropractor for regular spinal checkups, just like you bring them to the dentist to make sure their teeth are healthy.
THE CHIROPRACTIC APPROACH TO SCOLIOSIS
Chiropractors don’t treat conditions, including scoliosis, per se, but instead can detect any vertebral subluxations and correct them with gentle chiropractic adjustments. Research shows that chiropractic has had good clinical results in scoliosis control, reduction, and correction. A report of 100 chiropractic patients revealed improvement in 84% of the patients and no worsening of the curve in the other 16%.