Children's Conditions & How Upper Cervical Chiropractic Can Help

Upper Cervical Chiropractic has been proven to help children with colic, chronic ear infections, and more.

If I could just take care of children all the time, I would. No offense to you adults, but children are really fun to take care of.  The thing is, children usually don’t need chiropractic care. However, they should be checked because if they do need it, we want to make the corrections while they’re young so they don’t grow crooked. 

If children don't need upper cervical care, that’s great and that’s the best thing possible. When they’re born, children’s bones are still soft and not totally solidified so they can take a lot of tumbles without sustaining any major damage. There are obviously limits to this. For example, sometimes if a child has some type of in-utero constraint before they’re born, that can cause a neck injury. If a child is born by C-Section, it often becomes a neck injury. A difficult or prolonged vaginal birth also can cause a neck injury. Since the body is meant to take a lot of these stresses, most children are fine when they are born. 

One of the things that give us a clue that a child may have a problem early in life or infancy, is colic. Colic is one of the big things, also when the head twists and they can’t seem to straighten out, often seems to be related. Another sign can be when a baby isn’t nursing well on one side. What we've found is that usually, those children have a neck issue that, once corrected, the neck muscles relax, the muscles in the digestive system relax, and everything starts doing their jobs properly. 

Another symptom that’s usually seen in children as they get a little older is chronic ear infection. However, it’s important to make the distinction between ear infections every once in a while or getting sick every once in a while, versus a chronic condition. Getting sick on occasion is a baby’s natural immunity being built, and it’s important to their overall health as they get older. If a child doesn’t get sick occasionally or if they live in a hermetically sealed environment, they are probably going to grow up and have lots of other issues. But, occasional ear infection or getting sick is perfectly normal.  We just want to ride those out, and give them proper nutrition. Try not to have to give them any drugs that will inhibit them from developing an immune response. 

HERE’S THE DIFFERENCE: If your child develops a chronic ear infection, perhaps their pediatrician is saying they need to use tubes in the ears – In my experience, this is most often a neck problem. Every child that I’ve had come into my office with these issues have seen their symptoms clear up. When we find a neck problem, we corrected the neck problem. The immune system corrects itself, and the body starts functioning properly. In children, the eustachian tubes (the connection between the tongue and the back of the throat) that should remain clear, are fairly straight. Therefore they don’t drain properly and can get ear infections. But, if they get chronic ear infections, a lot of times the muscles around them tighten and so it blocks things. If the neck is out of alignment, the adjustment we make allows those eustachian tubes to open back up again and properly drain. 

Another issue I’ve seen commonly in children a little bit older than the toddler is the bed-wetting. Often that’s just because you know that those children should be able to sleep through the night without wetting their bed. There can be many issues that can cause bedwetting, but one of them does seem to be a neurological issue caused by a problem in the neck. I’ve had some patients come in as children, I’ve adjusted them, and its cleared up, I’ve had some where it hasn’t, it was some other issue but they did have some neck problem and it may have been part of the whole equation. 

If your child is experiencing colic, chronic ear infections, or any of the other symptoms and conditions listed above, we would love to see how we can help. Upper Cervical Chiropractic care has shown tremendous success in helping to eliminate these issues in children.  At Blair Chiropractic Clinic, we want to fix the problem you’re having.  Our motto is “Find it, fix it, then leave it alone”.  Visit www.blairclinic.com or call (806) 747-2735 today to speak with a member of our staff about scheduling a screening.  

https://www.blairchiropractic.com/

https://www.uppercervicalcare.com/healthconditions

Why Is The Atlas Bone So Important? | Dr. Jordan Jensen

Image depicting the Atlas Bone, highlighted in red.

The Atlas Bone is the topmost (or highest) vertebra in the neck. It is the vertebra that is in contact with the Occipital bone– a flat bone located at the back of the head.  It’s named after the Greek Titan, Atlas.  The story of Atlas is based in Greek Mythology.  The short version of the story is this:  Zeus, who was considered to be the ruler of the Greek gods, was known for mistreating and abusing those around him.  He continually humiliated the other gods and cheated on his wife with many lovers, among other things.  Zeus’ treatment of the Titans led to an uprising in the heavens, which included the mightiest Titan; Atlas.  The rebellion was unsuccessful, and as punishment for participating in the rebellion, Zeus sentenced Atlas to forever bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, lest they fall and destroy the earth.

The image of Atlas holding up the heavens is one that is recognizable by many people even today. That image is why Atlas the Titan is the namesake for the Atlas bone in your C-1 vertebrae.  The Atlas bone stands on the top of your spine and body, like Atlas standing on the earth. The head and brain sit atop the Atlas bone, just like Atlas balancing the heavens. The function of the Atlas bone is the same as well; as Atlas was responsible for holding up the heavens, the Atlas bone is responsible for holding your head and brain in place at the top of your body.

If you notice the position of Atlas, he holds the heavens in a way that keeps the weight of the ball balanced on his body.  This is important because it’s this ability to balance the heavens that kept them from falling and destroying the Earth.  There’s a similarity here with the Atlas bone, as well. The weight of the human head and brain is roughly the same as the weight of a bowling ball.  If the balance is off-center, it creates stress, forcing the body to reposition.  The conclusion is, if your Atlas bone is not properly positioned or balanced, it can create stress that gets carried to the rest of the body, and up into the brain. 

Being on our phones as much as we are and working long hours at a desk make us more susceptible to this imbalance and unfortunately, it’s linked to a number of unwanted symptoms and conditions including headaches, neck pain, back pain, migraines, nausea, seizures, colic, trigeminal neuralgia, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and ADHD.  It’s amazing to think about, but every area of your body that has nerves (which is pretty much your whole body) can be negatively affected if the Atlas bone is out of alignment with Occipital bone above or the Axis bone (C2 vertebra) below. 

Thankfully, upper cervical chiropractors primarily study the Atlas bone and seek to restore the bone to its best position; and you don’t need to crack or twist your neck to do it.  Since the Atlas bone connects the head to the spine, the position of the bone can have a significant impact on the body’s nervous system.  Every nerve in the human body leads back to the spine, so there are many things that can be impacted by improper alignment of the Atlas bone.

If you or someone you know is experiencing severe pain or any of the other symptoms and conditions listed above, we would love to see how we can help. Upper Cervical Chiropractic care has shown tremendous success in helping patients get back to normal, without being burdened by chronic pain and debilitating ailments.  At Blair Chiropractic Clinic, we want to fix the problem you’re having.  Our motto is “Find it, fix it, then leave it alone”.  Visit www.blairclinic.com or call (806) 747-2735 today to speak with a member of our staff about scheduling a screening or ask any questions you might have.