Pediatrics & Pre-Natal Chiropractic Care

Ann Arbor Saline Family Chiropractic is particularly sensitive to the needs of children and expectant mothers.

Pregnancy is a time of amazing changes to the body, and chiropractic care can help ease the transitions of pregnancy and birth. Proper adjustment and specific stretches are noninvasive tools that can help avoid common pregnancy problems, make labor easier, and keep the back and pelvis balanced. It is safe and often even recommended for mothers to be adjusted right up until delivery, as structural physical changes during pregnancy can alter the stresses on the mother's body and the baby.

I work both with OB-GYNs and midwives to give our patients the integrated approach to pregnancy and birth with which they are most at ease. I learned the Webster Technique, a method of encouraging a breech baby to turn, from Doctor Webster himself. For patients in the later stages of pregnancy, I employ an adjusting table that comfortably accommodates the abdomen during maternal adjustments.

I recommend that babies be checked as soon as possible after birth. Fussy, restless babies may be manifesting an imbalance, and that can be a sign that an adjustment is needed. It is safe and gentle to adjust an infant, and I welcome and encourage new parents to be present and ask questions.

Kids should not have back, neck, shoulder or pelvis pain. I recommend scoliotic screening before children are screened at school, since time is of the essence if a child presents symptoms. The happy news is that chiropractic adjustment can minimize the imbalance brought on by this hereditary tendency when diagnosed early.

Because children heal so fast and get over their tears so quickly, it may be easy to dismiss their injuries as minor. But the growth that makes them heal swiftly is the very reason that attending to their injuries properly is so important. The growth path of a child's bones, joints, nerves and muscles can be permanently altered by even small injuries, leading to chronic malady as adults. I approach my pediatric patients with an understanding of their future growth, before their bones have matured. I also understand and differentiate between "growing pains," the temporary aches associated with growth spurts, and problems brought on by an injury or postural accommodation.