How Chiropractic Care Can Boost Your Child's Immunity

Strep throat, stomach bugs, colds, and viruses. This past winter and start to spring has definitely tested everyone’s immune system.

Did the thoughts of “not again” go through your mind as you were driving your child to the doctor’s office? Was your child on one antibiotic after another? Did you ever think there might be an alternative?

Some parents are considering chiropractic care for their children and believe it plays an important role in optimizing their child’s health.

Karen Moriarty, owner and Chiropractor at Northboro Chiropractic Center said that “the number of children under regular care in my practice grows every year. Currently, about 30 percent of my practice is children and they range in age from newborns to college students.”

“First and foremost, it is important to understand that chiropractic care is not a treatment for any disease,” Moriarty said. “Its sole purpose is to reduce interference to the nervous system thus unleashing the healing power of the body.”  

For a child, this interference can be caused by damage to the spine by such events as birth, falls and injuries, sports injuries, heavy backpacks, and postural strain from sitting in a chair at school all day.

“If these small cumulative traumas and postural strains are left uncorrected, they can have far-reaching effects on a child’s health,” said Moriarty.

According to the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), more and more parents are bringing their children to chiropractors for colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, ADD/ADHD, as well as for overall wellness care.

Many still question how chiropractic care helps with health issues relating to a poorly functioning immune system. Moriarty explained that “since the nervous system directs the immune system and chiropractic care improves the function of the nervous system, the immune system can become more powerful.”

The results can be amazing. “My children were raised receiving regular chiropractic care and rarely missed a day of school due to illness,” said Moriarty.

The positive effect on the nervous system is the key in chiropractic care. Moriarty explained that “the nervous system is the master system of the body and, under the guidance of the innate intelligence of the brain, runs all the other systems such as immunity, respiratory, cardiac, and digestion."

“In the pediatric patient," said Moriarty, "it is very important to note that this system also controls their growth, their development and their ability to process information coming in through their senses.”  

She advised to seek chiropractic care as soon as possible. “In a perfect world, every maternity ward would have a chiropractor to evaluate newborns for possible spinal trauma or stress. Many health conditions would never come to fruition if that occurred.”

When searching for a chiropractic practice, referrals are important. Not all practices have pediatric experience. Moriarty has some additional advice. 

“Check out the practice’s website and look for specific references to pediatric care. You can also call the practice and ask the receptionist questions about the doctors experience with pediatrics and how many post-graduate courses they taken with the ICPA. Most importantly, ensure that you and your child feel very comfortable that this doctor is a very caring expert. With the right practitioner, children will look forward to their visits.”

Typically, a first visit to a chiropractor, such as Moriarty, involves a health history, consultation, and a chiropractic evaluation. X-rays are not usually taken for children under age 16.

In Moriarty’s practice she takes the time to address the child and give explanation as to what she is doing and why she is doing it. The adjustment visits has the child laying comfortably on a table as she gently palpates his or her vertebrae and sacrum and performs precise corrective procedures called spinal adjustments. That only takes a few minutes.

Pediatric chiropractic care is a non-invasive, gentle treatment, which helps the child’s body achieve a state of true health. Many parents today are seeking health care options which support their children’s own natural ability to be healthy and to express their fullest potential. 

Moriarty believes that chiropractic care is one such option that every parent should explore.