When it comes to your kids, you will do anything to help them stay healthy. You prepare nutritious meals (to varying degrees of acceptance), you make sure they ride in the safest car seats, you make sure they get adequate sleep, and you limit their screen time. But sometimes, your children need a little more than the basics to help them stay as healthy as possible.
“Normal” Childhood Issues Aren’t Necessarily Normal
Conditions such as bedwetting and colic are sometimes viewed as normal developmental hiccups. Oftentimes, physicians will either prescribe medication or advise a “wait and see” approach to common childhood complaints. For parents who are reluctant to medicate their child, or for those who view these issues as an indicator of an underlying problem, the process of visiting the doctor for every complaint can be frustrating. You may find yourself constantly calling your pediatrician because your child is experiencing:
- Colic
- Excessive spitting up
- Chronic Ear Infections
- Bedwetting
- Sleep problems
- Anxiety
- Hyperactivity
Best Treatments for Childhood Ailments
The solution is not necessarily more medication, more visits to the clinic, and more worry. The answer to the most common childhood ailments can be found in a natural, drug-free approach that addresses any underlying problems.
Chiropractic Care
All too often we associate chiropractic care with back and neck pain when it is actually the restoration of the nervous system. Every organ in your body is controlled by one or more nerves that originate in your brain or spinal cord. The vertebrae (the bones in your back) guard these sensitive nerves as they send and receive signals throughout your body. If the bones shift out of place, the nerves become pinched. As a result, the muscles and organs these nerves control don’t function the way they should. Chiropractic care realigns the spine and allows the nerves to send and receive messages the way they should, often relieving conditions like chronic ear infections, reflux, excessive spitting up, colic, and bedwetting in the process.
Acupuncture
As strange as it may sound to have your child treated with acupuncture, this safe, drug-free treatment method has been used for centuries to relieve pain and treat illnesses in people of all ages. Thin, small needles are strategically inserted just below the skin, stimulating the body to heal itself and function the way it should. While many parents worry that acupuncture causes pain, often the child undergoing treatment experiences a sense of relaxation and well-being.
Massage
Massage has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce pain levels, and stimulate the immune system, especially in children. Babies treated in the NICU are often touched, held, and gently massaged in order to help regulate breathing and encourage digestion. With parents present, massage therapists can not only treat children for a host of physical and emotional conditions, but they can also instruct parents on how to perform massage therapy treatments at home.
Whether your child is experiencing a physical symptom or an emotional one, drug-free treatment options may be the key to helping them overcome so-called “normal” childhood problems. Trust your gut and call our office today or schedule a consultation online.