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…

It’s a big part of my practice to focus on the energy side of things and during pregnancy women feel a lot of emotions and waves of feelings. As chiropractic deals with structural bio mechanical issues, I have found that emotions, among other things, can be a great cause of stress, and therefore tightness in the muscles causing aches and pains elsewhere.

Feelings of inadequacy or overwhelmed often times gets stored in the shoulders and neck and can be the cause of neck/shoulder tightness and even headaches. Letting go of those feelings through the Emotion Code or by some other means, can greatly improve the softness of your muscles and make the pregnant mother feel better.

The emotion of overwhelmed is also one that is produced by the sexual organs and glands (including the uterus) according to Chinese Medicine. If mom is feeling this emotion, then there is a high probability that growing baby is feeling it as well since it’s inside the original organ producing it. Pregnant moms get take steps to calm the mind, and recognize that the universe isn’t ever going to throw something at you that you wont be able to handle.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Calcium is only absorbed in the blood stream from an ionized form of calcium. This ionized form is calcium bicarbonate. The different calcium’s on the market are most commonly in the form of calcium carbonate. Carbonate is much different in the body than bicarbonate and is pretty much limestone. Limestone takes about 12 steps in the body for it to turn into the absorbable, ionized form of calcium bicarbonate to be utilized. You cannot absorb calcium carbonate in the body to go to the bones and tissues unless it goes through all the steps. If the body gets too much calcium carbonate, sometimes it doesn’t know what to do with it. This is partly why people may be prone to getting calcium deposits in the skin, muscles, or organs. To avoid calcium deposits, it is important to take a calcium supplement with food since calcium is inherently alkaline, and to not take more than 500mg of calcium at a time.¹

A better form a calcium to take, which takes only one step to turn into bicarbonate is calcium lactate. It is absorbed very quickly and can greatly benefit the muscles and tissues of the body promptly. Standard Process’s Calcium Lactate has 5 parts calcium lactate and one part magnesium. This gives the product a pH of 5.2 (on the acidic side) which makes it a lot more assimilated in the gut.

Anyone who is pregnant needs to supplement with calcium to support proper growth of the baby, as well as to maintain healthy and strong bones and teeth for the mother! I give Standard Process’s Calcium Lactate to all my pregnant patients and they have found great benefit in taking it!

References:

1. https://muschealth.org/medical-services/geriatrics-and-aging/healthy-aging/calcium

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Often times a pregnant mother, especially in the first trimester, gets sick and receives an aversion towards food. What also happens is the mothers body will put the growing baby first in priority over the mother. So if mom is not eating very much during pregnancy, then any calorie or nutrient that is taken is being sent to baby and mom doesn’t get it! 

Calcium for instance, if not eaten or taken regularly during pregnancy will cause a bunch of issues with mom. Baby will get calcium to grow his or her bones one way or another, and if they don’t get it through moms diet, then they will get it from moms bones themselves. Yes, bone density can decrease in women who lack sufficient vitamins and minerals in their diet. Calcium especially is needed for muscle contraction and even more so for muscle relaxation! Yes, it takes more minerals and energy to relax a muscle than it does to contract it! This is why after people pass-on, they receive what’s called “rigor mortise” as their body stiffens up.

With insufficient calcium in the body, women also receive muscle cramps, which commonly known as “Charlie horses.” There are also so many different types of calcium’s out there. Which one is the best one to take? Are there side effects to any of them? We will explore more about calcium in our next blog post.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

We mentioned in our previous post about adjusting the pelvis to help relax the uterus more. There are two main ligaments that support the uterus on either side that chiropractors can address and I would like to discuss them here. These ligaments are the only ligaments in the human body that have muscle surrounding them. Not even Males have muscles that grow and get bigger around a ligament as the ligament gets bigger or stretched.

The first ligament attaching to the uterus is called the uterosacral ligament. This ligament comes from the back of the uterus and inserts into the sacrum. This ligament can be pulled too tight on one side if the sacrum is displaced. Adjusting the sacrum properly can assist this ligament with its associated surrounding muscle to relax and relieve tension on the uterus.

The second ligament we to discuss is the Round ligament. This one is most often felt by pregnant mothers because it’s the one that spasms or brings sharp pains when trying to situate and get comfortable in bed. It is located from the front of the pubic bone and inserts into the side of the uterus. This ligament can also be tight on one side, causing tension to be on the one side of the uterus. Therefore, this can make baby feel uncomfortable and want to move into a less-than-ready position (ie. Head down position).

Chiropractic care through the Webster Technique can and often does help ease the discomfort of women through labor and delivery. Pregnant mothers being so in tune with their bodies also see results quickly too.

Your’s in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Chiropractors do not claim to “flip” babies that are in the breech position. If they did, then they would be practicing obstetrics and could lose their license. The Doctor of Chiropractic treats the mother and her symptoms, or causes.

If we could think about it for a moment though, why would a baby be breeched in the first place? Some ideas floating around there could be that the mothers pelvic anatomy is in such a way that the baby doesn’t “fit right” in the womb. Others go on to say that the position the mother is continually in can cause the baby to be in a certain position. Another possibility is that because of the uterus being tight in some areas versus other areas, the baby is more squished on one side and may move to a more comfortable position. This is something the Webster Technique addresses.

If there is an imbalance with the pelvis biomechanically which is causing the pelvic bowl to be smaller, then fixing that imbalance can open the pelvis and relax the uterus to be more open. Doing this has caused some babies in the breech position to turn head down. This being said, it is not consistent and each pregnancy. If a mother has a breech baby, she should seek medical advice from her obstetrician or mid-wife to explore options during labor and delivery.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…