A children’s chiropractor. Someone who has experience seeing infants, children, and teens. Dr. Jon Saunders has over 21 years experience in his family chiropractic practice.

The Modern Lifestyle and Its Impact on Children’s Health

With today’s lifestyle, filled with long hours of sitting, frequent use of video games, and active participation in sports, children are more susceptible to developing spinal and postural issues. This can lead to discomfort and pain.

A children’s chiropractor can help with:

1. Prolonged Sitting and Poor Posture:
In the digital age, children are spending more time sitting than ever before. Whether at school, doing homework, or playing video games, the amount of time they remain seated can negatively impact their posture. Slouching, hunching over screens, and poor ergonomic setups can lead to strain on the neck and back.

2. Video Games and Screen Time:
The popularity of video games has skyrocketed, and while they can be a fun and engaging activity, excessive screen time can take a toll on a child’s musculoskeletal health. Long hours in front of a screen can lead to forward head posture. It can also lead to other postural distortions which is often a precursor to tension headaches, neck pain, mid-back pain, and even lower back issues.

3. Sports and Physical Activities:
While staying active is crucial for a child’s overall health, sports and physical activities can sometimes lead to injuries, especially in growing bodies. High-impact sports, repetitive movements, and improper technique can cause joint misalignments, muscle strains, and other musculoskeletal issues.

Why a Children’s Chiropractor is Essential for Children

1. Early Detection of Spinal Issues:
Children’s spines are still developing, making it an ideal time to ensure that they are growing correctly. Chiropractic check-ups can help detect any spinal misalignments, scoliosis or postural issues early on. This can help prevent them from developing into more severe problems in the future.

2. Natural, Non-Invasive Care:
Chiropractic care is a natural and non-invasive approach to maintaining optimal health. Unlike medications, which may only mask symptoms, chiropractic adjustments aim to address the root cause of discomfort by realigning the spine and improving the body’s overall function.

3. Improved Nervous System Function:
The spine plays a crucial role in protecting the nervous system, which controls every function in the body. Misalignments in the spine can interfere with nerve signals, potentially leading to various health issues beyond just pain. Regular chiropractic adjustments can help ensure that the nervous system functions optimally, supporting your child’s overall growth and development.

4. Enhanced Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention:
For young athletes, chiropractic care can be a game-changer. Regular adjustments can help maintain proper alignment, improve flexibility, and reduce the risk of injury. Moreover, if an injury does occur, chiropractic care can aid in a quicker recovery, allowing your child to return to their favorite activities sooner.

Chiropractic care is not just for adults—children can benefit greatly from regular check-ups as well. With the pressures of modern life, including prolonged sitting, excessive screen time, and sports activities, children are increasingly at risk of developing spinal and postural issues. This can lead to pain and discomfort. By incorporating chiropractic care into your child’s routine, you can help ensure they grow up healthy, strong, and free from the aches and pains that can accompany an active and modern lifestyle.

What is Involved in a Children’s Chiropractor Check-Up?

A children’s chiropractic check-up is a gentle and comprehensive process designed to assess a child’s spine, nervous system, and overall musculoskeletal health. Here’s what typically happens during the visit:

1. Initial Consultation

• Health History Review: The chiropractor begins by discussing the child’s medical history with the parents. This includes any past injuries, illnesses, birth history, developmental milestones, and current concerns or symptoms.
• Observation: The chiropractor may observe the child’s posture, gait, and general movement patterns to identify any visible misalignments or areas of discomfort.

2. Physical Examination

• Postural Assessment: The chiropractor will examine the child’s posture, checking for any imbalances or misalignments in the spine and shoulders.
• Spinal Examination: The chiropractor gently palpates the child’s spine to feel for any areas of tightness, tenderness, or misalignment.
• Range of Motion Tests: The chiropractor may guide the child through simple movements to assess the flexibility and range of motion in the neck, back, and limbs.
• Neurological Assessment: This may include checking reflexes, muscle strength, and coordination to ensure that the nervous system is functioning properly.
• Orthopedic Tests: If necessary, the chiropractor might perform specific tests to check for issues like scoliosis or other musculoskeletal conditions.

3. Chiropractic Adjustment (If Needed)

• Gentle Adjustments: If the chiropractor identifies any misalignments or areas of concern, they may perform a gentle adjustment. For children, these adjustments are extremely light and often involve using just the fingertips a specialized tool, or specialized drop-table bench. The pressure applied is similar to what you would use to test the ripeness of a tomato.
• Education: The chiropractor explains to the child and parents what the adjustment does and why it’s necessary, helping to alleviate any anxiety or concerns. As well, posture or strengthening exercises will often be given.

4. Follow-Up and Home Care

• Recommendations: After the check-up, the chiropractor may provide guidance on posture, ergonomics (e.g., how to sit properly at a desk), and exercises to support spinal health. They might also suggest modifications to daily activities, such as limiting screen time or adjusting sleep positions.
• Regular Check-ups: Depending on the child’s needs, the chiropractor may recommend follow-up visits to monitor progress and make additional adjustments if needed.

5. Addressing Specific Concerns

• If the child has specific issues such as headaches, digestive problems, or trouble sleeping, the chiropractor may explore these in relation to the spine and nervous system. Adjustments and care plans can be tailored to address these concerns.

Children’s chiropractic check-ups are designed to be non-invasive and comfortable, ensuring that the experience is positive for both the child and the parents.

If you would like your infant, child, or teen to see our children’s chiropractor for an assessment, book here.

The post Children’s Chiropractor in Newmarket appeared first on Chiropractic on Eagle, Dr. Jon Saunders.

Research

Here is what the research shows:  Dr. Francis Smith, a Scottish MD performed MRI studies on the spines of 154 ten-year-old’s.  He found that 14 of 154 (almost 10%) had spinal arthritis.  That’s right, 1 in 10 kids had early spinal arthritis without any symptoms! ¹

A study published in 2015 showed that 37% of 20-year-olds had spinal arthritis without any symptoms!²   How is this possible?  Lack of motion in spinal joints (subluxation) cause the degenerative process to start.  I can bet in the future these numbers will be even higher due to our lifestyle in 2016 and beyond.

Improved motion of spinal joints and improved posture reduces risk of developing spinal arthritis, even in infants and children.  We see this clinically and the evidence is clear.  Many of the adults we see in our office have significant spinal damage that could have only begun when they were children.

Another study by Dr. Beiderman³ found that many infants from the birth process experience upper neck trauma – the most common factors causing suboccipital strain (upper neck area) were intrauterine malposition of the fetus, the use of forceps or vacuum extraction during the birth process, prolonged labor and multiple fetuses (twins, triplets, etc.), but even the “normal” birth process can be traumatic.

The resulting symptoms included restricted motion of the cervical spine, torticollis, cervical scoliosis, facial scoliosis, asymmetric muscle tone, retarded development of the hip joints, opisthotonos (retraction of the head and arching of the back, with infant unable to hold the head erect), deformities of the feet, restless sleep, not eating or drinking well, and slow development of motor skills.  Why wait until these symptoms manifest when they can often be avoided all together?

Stress on the spine and nervous system should be removed as soon as possible in order for infants and children to grow and be at their best – as the twig is bent, so grows the tree.  Healthy habits start young.  Get your kids checked today.

Be Well,

References

1) December 2003 research performed in Aberdeen, Scotland by Dr. Francis Smith: 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America

2) American Journal of Neuroradiology 2015 Apr;36(4):811-6.

3) Biedermann H. Kinematic imbalances due to suboccipital strain in newborns. J. Manual Med (1992) 6:151-156.

The post My 10-year-old has arthritis!? appeared first on Chiropractic on Eagle, Dr. Jon Saunders.

Forward Head Posture Treatment in Newmarket

FHP is a bad postural pattern that not only gives you that “old” unsightly posture but it can also create long-term problems – some of the most common ones I see in my office are – headaches, neck, mid-back, and low back pain, tingling in the hands and fingers, shoulder pain, dizziness, TMJ (jaw joint), carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, pinched nerves and even concentration problems and low self-esteem.

Some of the most frustrating things I hear regarding FHP are:

• Everyone has it – not true in my office!
• Exercise alone can fix it – not true; if it was that easy, no one would have it!
• It cannot be fixed – not true, addressing each component of FHP is necessary for correcting it.

How We Can Help

The most important components of forward head posture that need to be addressed are the nerves, muscles, and ligaments.  Each of these tissues need to be very specifically addressed in order to correct the problem.  Most people are unsuccessful in correcting their FHP and subsequent problems because they usually only address one of these tissues and they have no objective measurement to compare where they started to where they end up.  Click here for a video describing FHP and the way to properly diagnose it.

Combining specific adjustments directed at correcting the neurology (nerves) with appropriate muscle activation (e.g. head weights) in conjunction with a precise ligament stretch (Dennerol), correcting FHP is possible.  The good news? It only takes minutes a day to accomplish this.

In summary, find the cause of your FHP and get an objective measurement of its severity.  Then target the specific tissues that require rehabilitation and get to work.

Be well,

Book Now

The post How to Correct Forward Head Posture (FHP) appeared first on Chiropractic on Eagle, Dr. Jon Saunders.

Nervous System and Development

Let me explain.  Most people understand how the brain (computer) sends messages down the spinal cord (lifeline) out through the nerves to all body organs and systems.  Furthermore, they understand if there is interference along this pathway (subluxation in the spine), then the message from the brain (computer) will not get through, resulting in body malfunction and dis-ease. What most people are unaware of is that not only does information travel ‘down’ from the brain to the rest of the body, but also, information travels ‘back’ to the brain from the external environment-this fact is crucial in a child’s brain development.

Messages to your brain created by proper movement (especially of your spine) have been called an essential nutrient for brain function and development. This is especially true for children because spinal joint receptor stimulation plays an integral role in the development of the child’s brain and nervous system.

Essentially what happens is that information that a child takes in from his/her environment travels back to the brain through the nervous system and when it reaches the brain, new brain cells are formed.  Yes that’s right, brain cells are formed which is the groundwork for a developing brain! (As an aside, this is a good thing, we want the brain to develop, no?)  “Connectivity is a crucial feature of brain development because the neural pathways formed during the early years carry signals that allow us to process information throughout our lives.”

If a child has a subluxation, then they may not able to develop normally (neurologically).   It’s no wonder that a study published back in ’89 in the Journal of Chiropractic Research showed a relationship between regular chiropractic care in children and an increased resistance to common childhood diseases, and hence better development.  Should a child be checked?  Click Here for a check-list.

Yours in Health,

The post Kids Chiropractor: Rationale for care appeared first on Chiropractic on Eagle, Dr. Jon Saunders.

Infants
o When your baby is lying on his/her back, does his/her head seem to tilt to one side?
o Are you having feeding difficulties? Does your baby prefer breastfeeding on one side?
o Does your baby arch his/her back when crying?
o Does your baby have disturbed sleeping patterns; and/or only sleeps an hour or two at a time?
o Is your baby slow to develop adequate neck strength to hold his head up?
o Does your baby have restricted head or neck motion to one side?
o Is your baby delayed in reaching his/her developmental milestones?

Toddlers and Pre-Schooler
o Has your toddler had many falls, tumbles, bumps, or bruises?
o Is there disturbed sleeping patterns?
o Is he/she showing asymmetric crawling? Or walking?
o Is your child delayed in reaching his/her developmental milestones?
o Does your child have restricted head or neck movement to one side?
o Is one shoulder higher than the other?
o Do you notice if the soles of their shoes wear out unevenly?
o Does your child’s back appear to be humped or rounded?
o Does your child experience any pain?

School Aged
o Do your child’s clothes fit properly? Are hems and waistbands even?
o Does your child’s back appear to be humped or rounded?
o When looking at your child from the rear, is one ear higher than the other?
o Does one shoulder blade stick out or appear to be higher than the other?
o Does your child have restricted head or neck movement to one side?
o Is there disturbed sleeping patterns?
o Do you notice if the heels of their shoes wear out unevenly?
o Are there balance and/or coordination problems?
o Is your child complaining of headaches, back aches, neck pain, or stiffness?
o Are they spending a lot of time watching TV, on a tablet or smart phone, playing video games, or on the computer?

Teenager
o Is your teenager often fatigued and have poor concentration at school?
o Is your teenager complaining of headaches, back aches, neck pain, stiffness or soreness in muscles or joints?
o Are they participating in school sports? Have they had a concussion?
o Have they had any sports injuries
o Have they been involved in a car accident or suffered whiplash?
o Do they have restricted head or neck movement to one side?
o Do they have poor posture?
o Are they spending a lot of time watching TV, on a tablet or smart phone, playing video games, or on the computer?
o Do you notice if the heels of their shoes wear out unevenly?

Please call us today to schedule a no obligation spinal check-up for your children by a kids chiropractor: 905.953.1028.

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