Category Archives: Kids

I am thinking about babies that are being born every single day, and none of them are getting their nervous system checked! It drives me crazy because I know that if they have a clear nervous system, they will not only function better, but they will heal better and we will see much less chronic issues and symptoms that may occur for newborns, even all the way up into adolescents.

I want to talk about some research because there’s plenty of research on upper cervical care, or chiropractic care, and newborns. “A German study of 1,000 newborns found that 80% of these newborns were subluxated.” What that means is 80% of these newborns had some type of cervical neck trauma causing a subluxation, which is a misalignment in one of the top two bones in the neck, putting pressure on the brainstem. When there’s pressure on the brainstem, we know that the brain cannot communicate with the body, or even back to the brain like it should, and so we start to see the dysfunction and lack of healing.

Some of the main symptoms we see in our office with babies are colic and ear infections, and there is research on these in the chiropractic field. A study of 316 children showed “significant improvements with colic in response to chiropractic adjustments. On average, improvements occurred after only three adjustments, and this was in a two-week period.” How amazing is it that just after three adjustments, these babies had less colic? 

It is funny to me, because after I found that research, I Googled the definition of colic, and Johns Hopkins University says, ” Colic is when a healthy baby cries for a very long time for no obvious reason.” I thought that was interesting – that these healthy babies compared to your average baby cry more often. They’ re crying all the time. They just can’t seem to stop, and mom and dad can’t get them to settle down. Are these babies really healthy? According to this research, when we take the pressure off the nervous system, the colic goes away, so I would be willing to say colic is a sign of being unhealthy. Something is wrong, and that something is almost always due to pressure on the nervous system.

Another common condition we see with babies is ear infections. Research on this shows that in 1997, “322 children with chronic ear infections received chiropractic care. And close to 80% of these children were ear infection free within six months of care.” I know this is a super common issue with babies. My cousin got tubes in her ears when she was really young which is usually the common conventional therapy for this. I just don’t want anyone, especially a baby, to have to go through surgery when we can use a less invasive method, which is checking the upper cervical bones to see if there’s pressure on the brainstem. Why wouldn’t you try that first?

Recently, we have had patients in our office who come in with specific conditions that get results from upper cervical care. A lot of them have kids at home and they have asked, “Hey Dr. Shaw, can this help my child at home?”  I say, “Of course it can! Every single human being with a brainstem, which has every single one of us, can definitely get help with upper cervical care.” If there is pressure on that brainstem, we know that the body is not functioning, nor healing, exactly like it should.

How can we help kids? Let’s backtrack a little bit. The first anatomical structure to form after those two cells meet to create that beautiful baby you may have at home is the brainstem. We know that if pressure is on the brainstem, it can cause problems throughout the entire body. Problems that some of these kids may have are usually chronic in nature. Things like ear infections, allergies, colic, asthma, weakened immune systems – the child get sick all the time and never really recovers – ADHD, and learning disabilities. All these things are affecting our children, especially in today’s day and age, and we know that all of these things can directly be caused by pressure on the nerve system.

How does this happen? We know in any neuroanatomy book, well-documented research, that the brain works in a circuit. Every memory, emotion, thought, and cognitive function travels in a circuit in the brain. What happens is the brain has, let’s say, a thought, that relays down to the brainstem where it is relayed back to another part of the brain to be interpreted. This works all the time, constantly. However, a misalignment at the top of the neck putting pressure on the brainstem can interfere with those relay messages from the brain back to the brain itself. You can imagine how the messages of thought, or an emotion, can be distorted at the level of the brainstem, which we see can sometimes cause ADHD or learning disorders.

We also know that the immune system is 100% controlled by the nervous system, which is why pressure on the nervous system can negatively impact the immune system, so your child’s body cannot heal as it should.

What do we need to do? We need to get these kids checked for nerve system pressure. If you are worried that chiropractic care is too rough, please do not fear. Actually, it has been documented that the adjustment for a newborn or baby upwards of 18 months is similar to checking the ripeness of a tomato; that is how gentle we are with our adjustments. Kids from toddlers all the way up to teenagers, only require a very simple adjustment to take the pressure off the brainstem. You do not have to worry about any twisting, turning, cracking, or popping that may injure or scare the child.

Cerebral palsy syndrome is a nonprogressive disorder characterized by involuntary movements or impaired posture that result from damage dealt to an immature, developing brain often before birth.

Many infants are not diagnosed with cerebral palsy syndrome until they are closer to the age of two as it is impossible to diagnose cerebral palsy syndrome with any certainty beforehand. The brain damage can happen before or during the baby’s birth or during the first 3 to 5 years of their life.

Because cerebral palsy syndrome is a disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture from brain injury, most children affected by cerebral palsy syndrome live between 30 and 70 years old, depending on their severity. A child with a milder case of cerebral palsy syndrome will usually live longer than one with a more severe case. However, the sooner a child can receive treatment, the more of a chance they have of improving their quality of life.

Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy Syndrome

Spotting the symptoms of cerebral palsy syndrome plays a significant part in how early you react to finding treatment for your child. If you see your child having these symptoms, it is highly recommended to see a doctor.

• Low muscle tone – Baby might feel ‘floppy’ when they are picked up
• Tremors or involuntary movements
• Feeling stiff – They may show stiff muscles they are unable to relax
• Poor muscle control, reflexes, and posture – A baby or child with cerebral palsy syndrome may have poor muscle coordination and cannot control muscles needed for proper posture or reactions
• Unable to hold head up – If they are unable to hold their head up on their own while lying on their stomach or in an upright sitting position, this may be a sign of cerebral palsy syndrome
• Delayed development – Depending on the severity of cerebral palsy syndrome, a child who does not roll over by themselves at 6 months, cannot walking by 12-18 months, or not speak simple sentences by 24 months, this could be a sign of cerebral palsy syndrome
• Prefer to use one side of body – The baby or child may only reach with only one hand or may drag a leg while crawling
• Seizures
• Walking difficulty – They may have a crouched gait, a wide gait, asymmetrical gait, a ‘scissors-like’ gait with knees crossing or walk on toes
• Difficulty feeding or swallowing
• Difficulty with precise movements – If small, precise movements (such as picking up a writing or eating utensil) prove difficult for them

Common Treatments for Cerebral Palsy Syndrome

The most common types of treatments for children with cerebral palsy syndrome include physical therapy and rehabilitation, assistive devices and technology, orthotic devices, medication, and surgery (if severe). Below are a few examples of what to expect from the common cerebral palsy syndrome treatments:

• Physical therapy and rehabilitation – This treatment usually starts in the first few years of the child’s life or right after the diagnosis. The therapist will teach the child certain skills they need for everyday life including sitting, walking, or using a wheelchair. There are three types of therapy: Occupational Therapy (in which the child learns to do everyday activities), Recreational Therapy (participating in programs and activities to help their physical and intellectual skills), and Speech and Language therapy (assisting them to speak more clearly, help with swallowing or teach them new ways to communicate by using sign language or a communication device.
• Assistive devices and technology – This treatment allows the child to have an easier time doing daily tasks. Some assistive devices and technologies include computer-based communication devices, Velcro-fastened shoes, and crutches.
• Orthotic devices – Orthotic devices help children with cerebral palsy syndrome improve their movement and balance. Devices that fall into this treatment are braces, splints, casts, wheelchairs, powered scooters, and rolling walkers.
• Medication – Medications are used to relax stiff or overactive muscles and reduce abnormal movements. These can be taken in a variety of ways such as through the mouth, injected into muscles, or infused into the fluid that surrounds their spinal cord with a pump implanted near the spinal cord itself.
• Surgery – If a child’s symptoms are severe, surgery helps lengthen their stiff, tightly contracted muscles. Surgeons can also place the child’s arms or legs in better positions or improve an abnormally curved spine. There are times if other treatments haven’t worked where the surgeon could result in cutting certain nerves to treat spastic movements.

It is important to note not all therapies are appropriate for everyone who has cerebral palsy syndrome, and while these treatments may help in strengthening and relaxing their muscles, we should also try taking care of what is happening on the inside. The above treatments, although common, do nothing to help the underlying cause of the child’s condition. Upper cervical doctors look to heal patients from the inside and to help correct their body’s system, which may be the kind of treatment your child needs.

How Does Upper Cervical Help Children with Cerebral Palsy Syndrome?

Upper cervical doctors correct the top two vertebrae of the spine, located under the base of the skull. These two bones surround the brainstem and once one is misaligned, a lot of trouble may occur. Pinched and compressed brainstems affect the nerves inside, resulting in many symptoms, problems with simple bodily functions, and makes the body vulnerable to various types of diseases and conditions if left untreated. Once the brainstem can function properly, the brain to body communication goes back to normal and begins sending signals to heal the body naturally.

Upper cervical care has helped many patients with cerebral palsy syndrome. Even in a small study of seven patients (two children and five adults), each patient had significant improvements with a decrease of muscle spasms, better sleep patterns, clarity in speech and hearing, improved balance, and more. The children were also able to hold their heads up for longer periods of time and making more attempts to crawl and stand with no support. (Collins)

Another study included a 7-year-old boy who started gaining muscle strength, walk longer distances, and improvements in education after upper cervical adjustments. In addition, a mother reported her 8-year-old girl began walking upright and upstairs within nine weeks of upper cervical adjustments. Reports like these are highly common and happen everywhere.

Upper cervical doctors look to improve the structural aspects of the body and to ensure the brain has a clear pathway in communicating with the nerves to allow your body to heal and improve strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination. If your child has cerebral palsy syndrome, it is highly recommended to try an all-natural and gentle upper cervical treatment before medication or surgery, as many patients have tried upper cervical only after finding no improvements from surgical procedures.

There’s been medical research that has shown that 70% of natural, vaginal delivered children have a misalignment at the top of the neck. How could that be? The birthing process itself is traumatic, and so a lot of our children are having trauma from the birthing process itself, and I’ll tell you, in my 25 years, I’ve never had one single child that came in from a cesarean section that was not subluxated, and what that means was there was some trauma induced that caused one of the upper bones of the neck to be pushed out of alignment.

Maybe they don’t have a lot of neck pain. Maybe they don’t have headaches, but if that bone gets even a little bit out of alignment, it can affect other systems of their body. It can create a weakened immune system. We see a lot of chronic ear infections, babies with colic, reflux. It can affect their energy. It can affect their digestion. It can affect how they sleep. It can affect how they breathe. It can affect their immune function, and how they react to the environment with allergies, food allergies.

What we have found is having your children checked as soon as possible, because you don’t know what could’ve happened during the birthing process, you don’t know what the ramifications can show up, because if a bone gets out of line at the top of the neck, that’s the brain stem. That’s the most vital part of the entire body. It’s the switchboard operator between your brain and your heart, your liver, your lungs, your kidneys, your arms, your legs.

And it can actually even create learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, hyperactivity, because the thought, everything that happens in the brain cycles through the brain stem, so if there’s a misalignment at the top of the neck, then it can interfere with normal brain functions, and we obviously don’t want that for our children. We don’t want that for ourselves. We don’t want that for anyone in our family.

If you know that you or your child has had some sort of birthing trauma, a good idea is, first of all, if it was a C-section, if they used a suction or tongs, pretty good chance. If there were any traumas, hematomas on the head or anything that you can think of that maybe wasn’t quite as smooth as it could’ve been, it’s worthwhile to get them checked. If they were ever a C-section baby, then definitely have them checked.

Both of my kids were C-sections and they both were subluxated during that process. Thank God, I got them checked and adjusted within hours of their delivery. Just if you have any inclination, and maybe there was some sort of a trauma, maybe there was some sort of a pulling on the head or something that could’ve happened, get them checked. We’ll be happy to check them just to see if there may be something going on.

If there is, we’ll explain to you what we need to do to make sure we get it corrected. If there’s not, then hey, at least we’ll know. We’ll rule that out, and if they still have some health issues, then we’re try to find another specialist that we believe that can help them. 

Take your child in, your children in to get checked to see if maybe there’s something that could be interfering with their quality of life that could’ve happened during that birthing process. If so, they’ll correct it. You’ll see a change in the child, a change in yourself as the communication starts to open back up between the brain and the body.

A lot of times we have new patients that come into the office, and they see there’s always a lot of kids here. Families come in to get checked, they bring their kids, and so new patients are sometimes asking me, “Why are there so many kids here? What can you do for kids?” And I’m like, “Well, what better time to get checked than when you’re young rather than waiting, like most adults do, 20, 30, 40 years after the initial problem started?” 

So now we have like 20, 30, 40 to regress to try to allow your body to heal. Why not start right out the gate and make sure that their body’s aligned, that their nervous system’s functioning at 100 percent, to make sure that they grow straight and healthy? What are some common pediatric conditions that Upper Cervical Chiropractic can help? Well, I’ll tell you what, ear infections, phenomenal.  People come in, usually within a few adjustments, ear infections clear up.

People with babies with colic, with sleep problems, with allergies, asthma.As they get a little bit older, we see a lot of kids that have sinus problems, weakened immune systems, we get a lot of colds and flus, digestive disorders, asthma, like we said, allergies. The nervous system controls every function in your body. And I think, where I see the biggest changes, kids with attention deficit disorders, ADHDs, dyslexia, learning disabilities. We have letters written to us from teachers, from principals, about how they see the change in the kid once they’ve started care because what happens is, the way the brain operates is the brain travels. When you have a thought, you have a memory, you have emotions, it all travels from the brain to the brainstem, which is the top of the neck, back to the brain in a circuit. When kids are studying, when they’re learning, when they’re concentrating, paying attention, it all travels. But at the top of the neck, the upper cervical spine, if one of the bones gets out of align there, it can interfere with those processes. It can make it harder for kids to learn, to concentrate. It can make it harder for them to pay attention, make them easily distracted. If we find that there’s a problem at the upper part of the neck and we can correct it, what we’ve found is their brain works better.

They pay better attention, they do better in school. Now, at the same time, the immune system is entirely controlled by the nervous system, specifically the area of the brain stem, again, the top of the neck. If you keep their nervous system functioning at 100 percent, then they’re going to be stronger at fighting off colds and flus and even reacting to the environment in cases of allergies and asthmas.  The primary reason we see pediatric, little kids, babies, in our office is not just to help them get well, but most importantly to help them stay well. If you have kids, what better gift could you give them than the gift of health, where you know their brain’s functioning at 100 percent, where you know their body’s functioning at 100 percent.

The better their body functions, the better they’re going to perform, whether that’s in school, whether that’s in life, whether that’s in a family. Make sure that you have your kids checked. Give them the best opportunity they can have to live the best life they can have. Now, if we can keep their nervous system functioning at 100 percent, what more can you offer a child? What more could you offer yourself? Get checked. See if there’s something that could be interfering with your body’s natural ability to heal, with your brain processes, with every function in your body.

Maximize your potential and your child’s. Call an upper cervical doctor, find one near you.