January 2023

The answer is yes to this question! Chiropractors are taught, as well as any other doctor I think, that the infants’ bones are not fully connected or “fused” together yet. This gives the child greater mobility than an older child or adult. Due to the more malleable nature of their anatomy, infants need much less pressure to adjust their spine or any other joint in their body.

Many chiropractors are trained and competent in adjusting babies. I have heard many chiropractors say this, “The pressure we apply to an infant is no more pressure used to bruise a ripe tomato.” I have to confess, that I have also used that line myself. That should give you an idea of how gentle the adjustments are.

Yours in Health, Dr. Josef Patterson…

Reflux is a fancy word for vomiting or acid coming up the esophagus. This is common in infants especially since their sphincter muscles that open and close the stomach aren’t fully developed until they’re about 9 to 11 months old. There are common reasons why a baby might have reflux. The most common one would be food allergies, and gluten and dairy are the two biggest ones to consider removing from the child’s diet or if breastfed, remove from the mothers diet. Emotional turmoil can be a cause for reflux in a child, birth trauma, or even a stuck vertebrae.

There isn’t much in studies showing that chiropractic care helps with reflux in an infant. Though, I have seen great improvements in babies with their reflux issues in the adjustments I have given to them.

Yours In Health, Dr. Josef Patterson…

A Colicky baby is one who cries for extended periods of time and is difficult to comfort. Things like rocking the child, or playing calming music and using a pacifier have and can help.

There isn’t much in the literature on the effects of chiropractic care to help infantile colic. Although, a recent study showed promise that there may be some groups of babies that may show more benefit in reducing colic with chiropractic care.1 The average reduction of colic was half an hour of less crying in babies compared to the control group, and it wasn’t statistically significant. That being said, there were large beneficial changes in other individuals. Of course there needs to be more studies on whether or not chiropractic adjustments really help infants with colic, but there are many who have reported great benefits from it!

References:

1. Holm, L. V., Jarbøl, D. E., Christensen, H. W., Søndergaard, J., & Hestbæk, L. (2021). The effect of chiropractic care on infantile colic: results from a single-blind randomised controlled trial. Chiropractic & manual therapies, 29(1), 15.

Yours in Health, Dr. Josef Patterson…

In my opinion chiropractic adjustments can and do help people who suffer with headaches. Although, does it treat the cause all of the time? Probably not. Ask yourself, “Why am I getting this headache?” Or, “Why is my neck so tight, giving me this headache?” Then wait and see of what comes to your mind. You may have thoughts cross your mind that surprise you! If no thoughts come to your mind right away, rest assured that there are answers to the “why” of your headache. It is important to look at your headache with a wholistic mindset, as often times many other factors go into play with it.

Your headache could be linked to organ related imbalances, or due to emotional trauma or emotional stress, lack of sleep, digestive issues, lack of balance in life, etc.. Take time to ponder the “why” to your headaches, and you will find ways to treat it!

Yours in Health, Dr. Josef Patterson…

Many headaches are attributed to stress and tension in the neck and shoulders. Chiropractic

manipulation has been shown to help relieve muscle tension, neck pain and headaches in many studies.1,2,3,4

There haven’t been as many studies on chiropractic manipulation for headaches as there have been for the low back, but in my clinical experience, I have seen my adjustments really help my patients with neck tightness associated with headaches. I know many other doctors have seen beneficial effects of their manipulation to patients with headaches. The quick stretch of the muscle, using the bones as long levers, causes the muscle to relax and thereby relieving tension pulling on the adjacent bone. This is how an adjustment from a chiropractor can and often does alleviate tension-type headaches.

References:

1. 
   Corum, M., Aydin, T., Medin Ceylan, C., & Kesiktas, F. N. (2021). The comparative effects of spinal manipulation, myofascial release and exercise in tension-type headache patients with neck pain: A randomized controlled trial. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 43, 101319
   
2. 
   Espí-López, G. V., Zurriaga-Llorens, R., Monzani, L., & Falla, D. (2016). The effect of manipulation plus massage therapy versus massage therapy alone in people with tension-type headache. A randomized controlled clinical trial. European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 52(5), 606–617.
   
3. 
   Espí-López, G. V., Rodríguez-Blanco, C., Oliva-Pascual-Vaca, A., Molina-Martínez, F., & Falla, D. (2016). Do manual therapy techniques have a positive effect on quality of life in people with tension-type headache? A randomized controlled trial. European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 52(4), 447–456.
   
4. 
   Côté, P., Yu, H., Shearer, H. M., Randhawa, K., Wong, J. J., Mior, S., Ameis, A., Carroll, L. J., Nordin, M., Varatharajan, S., Sutton, D., Southerst, D., Jacobs, C., Stupar, M., Taylor-Vaisey, A., Gross, D. P., Brison, R. J., Paulden, M., Ammendolia, C., Cassidy, J. D., … Lacerte, M. (2019). Non- pharmacological management of persistent headaches associated with neck pain: A clinical practice guideline from the Ontario protocol for traffic injury management (OPTIMa) collaboration. European journal of pain (London, England), 23(6), 1051–1070.
   

Yours in Health, Dr. Josef Patterson…

Really all the vitamins and minerals are very important to have during pregnancy. I wanted to point out just a some of the big ones in this post.

We’ve already discussed calcium in depth. Although, adding Vitamin A and Vitamin D are also very important for bone and teeth development in the growing baby, as well as to support moms teeth and bones. Vitamin A is also important for eye and skin development and also helps with the immune system. Vitamins A and D are fat soluble and are better absorbed with a more fatty meal such as with eggs, or meat. Although, if digesting fats causes issues with your gallbladder, or if you don’t have a gallbladder, then there is a way to help with that. That information is for another post though.

All of the B vitamins are important for nervous system development. It’s also vital to remember that mom needs to be taking in enough for baby as well as for herself. B vitamins are found in fish, eggs, and meat products but can also be found in nuts, and some grains. Other key ingredients that must be in the diet for a healthy nervous system is folate (Natural form found in food, synthetic is folic acid) and fish oil.

Other minerals important to look out for are iron and iodine. Iron helps with producing hemoglobin, and prevents anemia. It also helps prevent low birth weight. Iodine is one of the most deficient minerals in babies born today because western societies do not get enough of it in the diet. Sea vegetable’s and sea food has high amounts of iodine. This mineral promotes the proper function of the thyroid gland, is a mood stabilizer and protects the body from toxins such as chlorine and fluoride. Iodine deficiency has also been linked to a decline in cognitive function and to autism if mother is low during pregnancy.1,2

There are many other vitamins and minerals that are important for a pregnant mothers’ needs. I feel that these are the big ones to consider.

References:

1. 
   Choudhry, H., & Nasrullah, M. (2018). Iodine consumption and cognitive performance: Confirmation of adequate consumption. Food science & nutrition, 6(6), 1341–1351.
   
2. 
   Adams, J. B., Holloway, C. E., George, F., & Quig, D. (2006). Analyses of toxic metals and essential minerals in the hair of Arizona children with autism and associated conditions, and their mothers. Biological trace element research, 110(3), 193–209.
   

Yours in Health, Dr. Josef Patterson…