Guest klou Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have an infant who spits up incessantly and we have tried all kinds of things. I have heard from several people now that you can take your child to a chiropractor, specifically one who is familiar with babies and they can do adjustments to help with spitting up. It seems odd to me to take a baby to have an adjustment but I am becoming somewhat desperate and the Doctor keeps saying the spitting up is normal even though everyone who knows us tells us its not normal and their kids didn't spit up nearly as much. What are your thoughts on Chiropractors for infants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I've met people that said it helped their colicky baby. I guess if it is a reputable chiropractor that has experience with babies it can't hurt to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Pediatric chiropractic is controversial and not without risk, especially for infants. Please be careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Here's an overview: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/chiropractor-breaks-babys-neck-a-risk-vs-benefit-analysis/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I would try it. I take my kids to the chiro now as their main "wellness" practitioner. She specializes in kids / babies. I learned that chiropractic adjustments are done as early as newborn, to correct for non-obvious birth injuries and so on. They won't hurt your baby. The chiro I go to is not terribly expensive. I'd say it's worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Have you heard of Rolfing? I would look at that before chiropractic on an infant. Rolfing is more gentle, massage based. We didn't do it with an infant, but we took my son when he was 6 and having a lot of problems with growing pains. She was telling us that she does a lot of work on infants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Come to think about it, I should probably suggest it to my sister for her daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest klou Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I don't know. I feel very skeptical about this, but I can't put my finger on why. My baby had severe colic and at that point I would have probably considered an exorcism if I thought it would help. I still don't think I would have tried that. Not terribly helpful I realize! Although its not terribly helpful I will say I had a good laugh after the exorcism comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I would try it. I take my kids to the chiro now as their main "wellness" practitioner. She specializes in kids / babies. I learned that chiropractic adjustments are done as early as newborn, to correct for non-obvious birth injuries and so on. [b]They won't hurt your baby.[/b] The chiro I go to is not terribly expensive. I'd say it's worth a try. Well, unless the chiropractor breaks the baby's neck. See the link above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollie010 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 DD4 was heading down the same acid reflux road that my oldest daughter was on. I knew we had to try something besides the standard. The results were amazing. Our chiro was knowledgable and informative. I would ask around for recs because not everyone is going to work well with babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Make sure they are certified for kids. Here is how to find one who has the certification www.icpa4kids.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I am skeptical by nature, but at the urging of a friend, I went to a chiropractor who instantaneously fixed something that was not obviously back related. I still have no idea how or why it works, and it sounds like so much hooey (and varies so much by practitioner) that I think it may be more in the vein of supernatural healing, at least in this case. However, when my daughter, who had had a very traumatic birth and was then 6 weeks old, she wasn't really waving her left side around much (as opposed to her right side), and she looked "lopsided." I took her to the pediatrician, who said, "Huh. If she's still like this at 2 months, we'll refer her to PT." Because of my experience, I took her to the chiropractor. Granted, he had five children, had adjusted them all at birth, and saw a lot of babies. He said, "Oh, yeah, this type of subluxation is actually correlated with SIDS." I assume it was a scare tactic, but he held her on his shoulder, cooed at her, and pressed so softly on her, it wasn't any harder or more traumatic than any other patting or what not. But that afternoon she started moving both sides evenly. So, it's only a data point of one, but it's enough that even though I don't get it or even really *believe* in it, I do use chiropractors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinesWife Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 When my youngest was born she had a terrible time nursing. Latching on and off, lots of crying. By day 5 she refused to nurse and would only take a bottle. I found a pediatric chiro. All his patients were kids. Took her in. Said her shoulder was slightly out of place. Fixed it. We went home, she nursed for 20 min straight.. First time ever. Took her in 2 more times just to be sure. Also took her in once when she started crawling just in case but she was fine. I'd take your baby in. Wish I had known about this when my older daughter was a baby. She spit up something awful all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I researched this a lot when my middle kid was an infant. The consensus seemed to be that it could not hurt and it might help, but do not let him or her adjust the neck. This shouldn't be a problem because (according to what I read at the time) a good chiropractor is going to know that they shouldn't adjust an infant's neck. But be careful. I was researching for torticollis, which would have involved neck adjustments. I decided against using a chiropractor and the torticollis resolved on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I would take my infant for that purpose. My chiropractor sees infants and children and did great with my dd's, though we never went as a baby though in hindsight with 1 I wish that I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 We seeing a chiropractor who specializes in peds and pregnant woman. He uses the Torque Release method. Is is not the bone cruncher kind. We have been taking 2 of our grandchildren because of colic and constipation. They are 7 months and 2 years at this point and have been going since last fall. They are different children. Really. Our DD takes her 3 kids to the same chiropractor. Actually she got us started there. He likes to see babies right after their born to get their Atlas back in place after the birth process. So, yes, I highly recommend chiropractic, but I would look for one with this specific method if at all possible, otherwise I would search for one that specialized in peds. I think a younger doctor with more current techniques is important here. I am firm believer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I took my kids in when they were babies. It helped a lot with nursing problems. BTW, they adjust with a touch, a finger. It is very gentle. And I noticed a change right away. I was pretty skeptical but it did help quite a bit. My son was doing something called "clench jaw nursing' and I called OWOWOW!!! The chiro fixed it with one visit. My chiro specializes in babies and children. She is an instructor at a chiro school and teaches others how to treat babies and kids, so I felt very comfortable with her treating my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Yep, I took mine to the chiro when they were each 4 days old. He had four kids of his own and hadn't broken any of their necks. It always fixed the spitting up issue for my first, and usually for my second. They don't twist and crack babies necks. A very gentle pressure that an adult would barely feel is sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyMommy Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 It's funny like some others I never really believed in chiropractors but DD has been in physical therapy since she was 6 weeks old (she's now almost 6) and obviously we're not making any permanent improvements with just that. After hearing 2 different friends mention it within about a week for their children I decided to try it. She's only been going about 2 weeks but the results have been amazing. I didn't mention it to her PT and she told me last week that something had changed. Her balance has greatly improved and now they're able to focus more on building back the strength in her left side that had been lost. I'm a believer now. I only wish our insurance covered some of it. I think it would make a world of difference for me but it's just to expensive at 100% out of pocket to have both DD and I in intensive care at once, maybe once she's in more of a maintenance phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I *wish* i'd taken dudeling in as an infant. he was four when I finally took him in (stating I knew whatever was wrong was neurological and I wanted him checked out.) - he had four seriously misaligned vertebra in his neck. he was delivered via forceps. getting him adjusted was a huge difference afterwards. (I took him in because my favoritest chiro so loathed forceps he demanded his wife's dr to a section before he'd allow them to use forceps.) another of the good chiro's I've seen has adjusted babies, and they've had some big differences afterwards. including one that had a big change in pooping patterns. it was normal after he adjusted the baby. (small ones throughout the day instead of a huge outfit buster that came every day or two or three.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in OK Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Absolutely, yes. I recommend that all of my clients take their newborn in for an adjustment. And if they are dealing with spit up issues, chiro is the very first thing I suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 My son had Pyloric Stenosis and needed treatment. He was actually vomiting though. You should look it up to see if that could be it. The test is just an ultrasound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenvneck Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 The chiro I had years ago would actually come to the birth and adjust the baby then if needed. I ended up seeing her a few weeks after birth for several issues and she never used more than one finger for any adjustments, never on the neck, and usually it just looked like she was rubbing the skin. It seriously helped with colic and reflux, though, as well as making nursing easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 My middle daughter (now 16) spit up all the time and screamed for 6 hours a day like clockwork (infant migraines) until she was 6 weeks old. She went to the chiro and after 2 weeks of visits didn't spit up or fuss at all. She was breech (went to the chiro for that at about 37 weeks and had the Webster done-she flipped on her own after two months of being transverse and breech.) Breech babies often have neck alignment problems too. She was a c-section, terrible for a baby's neck, for a detached placenta at 40 weeks. Chiros also see fussy, colicky and spitting up babies who were vacuum and forceps extracted, again, terrible for a baby's neck. 9 years later she started having 6 hour migraines with vomiting 6-10 times an hour. (The nerve you use when you vomit is right where the base of your skull and the top of your spine meet.) Her pediatric neurologist at PHX Children's Hospital recommended all her headache patients see a chiropractor, an acupuncturist and a neurologist. It helps her a lot as a preventative and the few times it doesn't there are meds that work for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 K had torticollis. With some very gentle exercises I did at home it was fixed very quickly. No need for cracking and twisting bones.My dd allegedly had torticollis too. My ped had me dragging my baby to PT. I personally thought it was a bit ridiculous and must have been a fad that year because I personally knew 3 other babies in that age range who had it also. The PT was like nothing at all IMHO. Seemed like a complete waste of time. We were there like 3 times for minutes each time and she was declared cured. I know there are babies that do actually have problems, but seemed like the peds were being over zealous there for a bit.I had my son into a chiro as a toddler a few times, and it did seem helpful for the issues he was having at that time. I had a OB that was all for chiro/acupuncture. I know parents who swear by for their own kids. Ask for local recomendations from parents who've used one. I would not use one that didn't have training and vast experience with infants and young kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I'll just reiterate that you want a pediatric chiropractor. The icpa website referenced above is how I found my current chiro (although she's not listed on there now for whatever reason). My 8 month old has been going since birth. He and my other kids are adjusted once a month now, the first couple of months he had one every 2-3 weeks. She only used her fingertips to adjust him at first. It's very gentle, and no neck manipulation. She uses an activator for the rest of us, so over all it is very gentle. I prefer this to the drop-table adjustments because it is so much more gentle on the body. When you make the initial call you can ask them what kind of adjusting they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 All of my children have visited our chiropractor in infancy. The first one had colic, which he cured in one visit. He said her neck was out of alignment. I can tell you from personal experience that it is extremely painful to have your neck out of alignment; it is worse than a migraine for me. The other kids saw him on their 3rd or 4th day of life for an adjustment. With babies, they are VERY gentle. I don't know if an adjustment will help with spitting up but it won't hurt the baby if you go to one that is trained to work on babies. My 4th spit up constantly and was eventually on the highest dose of prilosec for her size because of it. It turned out that she was reacting to the dairy in my diet. Once I eliminated dairy, the spitting up ceased. When I ate food with any dairy, even cross-contamination, she cried and puked for 18 hours. I would look into diet for a baby having problems with spitting up or gerd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cz mama Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am a La Leche League leader and LLL officially recommends chiropractic for infants when concerning spitting up and latch problems, etc. Obviously, it would be advisable to find one specializing in babies/children, maybe some referrals from friends...? I have had many moms give good reports. It is also, like others have commented, a gentle technique-- more like finger pressure, not a bone twist...best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexigail Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Absolutely, yes. I recommend that all of my clients take their newborn in for an adjustment. And if they are dealing with spit up issues, chiro is the very first thing I suggest. What kind of work do you do? I'm curious about why you would recommend a chiropractor for every newborn as a matter of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 What kind of work do you do? I'm curious about why you would recommend a chiropractor for every newborn as a matter of course. IIRC from other posts, Heather's a midwife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I wouldn't take my kids. I don't think there is enough good evidence to support pediatric chiropractics to give them my money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 What kind of work do you do? I'm curious about why you would recommend a chiropractor for every newborn as a matter of course. Birth is rather hard on the spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maplecat Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 My daughter was breech and delivered by c-section. She was my third child I nursed and her latch was terrible. At the recommendation of several friends, I took her in to a chiro when she was a couple of days old. Neither my husband or I had ever received chiropractic care and I was incredibly skeptical. The chiro performed cranial sacral therapy. She gently smoothed the plates in my daughter's head and explained that the reason why she was sucking so hard was because she was trying to align the plates in her skull. Since my daughter was born by c-section, the plates were not pushed back as she descended the birth canal. She showed me some movements to do at home and that was it. The difference in my daughter's latch was amazing. It went from being super painful to tolerable. I was used to pumping and her latch felt like someone dialed the suction from one extreme to the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I took younger dd to a chiro as an infant. The adjustments were very gentle. Dd had terrible constipation, and an adjustment would generally result in a dirty diaper prior to us leaving the office. ETA: The chiro did the adjustment on her lower back using finger tips. She did not crack and turn the baby's neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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