About Chiropractic Care
The nervous system is a key part of your body. It is the communication system between your brain and all of your body's muscles, organs and tissues. For your body to remain healthy, your nervous system must function well. For your nervous system to function well, it must be free of interference. The spine is the most common site of nervous system interference because nerves travel from the spinal cord through openings on either side of the spine to get to all of your cells and organs.
We are all born with the ability to heal and recover from illness
Our bruises heal, cuts mend and common colds are overcome. Your nervous system regulates this inborn healing ability.
Chiropractic care takes a holistic approach to caring for the entire body. We use various diagnostic methods to assess your state of health then develop individualized programs to encourage healing and promote long-term wellness. Using a combination of chiropractic adjustment, ART, physical modalities, low level laser therapy, nutrition counseling, and/or rehabilitation programs, we create a path for each patient’s specific needs.
Chiropractic for Pregnancy
More and more mothers are discovering the many benefits associated with chiropractic care during pregnancy. They appreciate a chiropractor’s respect for the body’s natural design and function. The health benefits of chiropractic are being recognized as important ingredients to a healthier pregnancy and an overall easier birth.
How can chiropractic during pregnancy add greater comfort?
Chiropractic care in pregnancy is wonderful addition to prenatal care. Preexisting or unnoticed imbalances in the spine become stressed during pregnancy and these pronounced discomforts make it difficult to perform routine, daily activities.
There are many benefits to receiving Chiropractic care during pregnancy, some of which include:
- Reduction in back and pelvic pain
- More ease with the natural changes related to pregnancy
- Increased space in the pelvis facilitating the baby’s growth
- Correct positioning of the pelvis, facilitating labor and delivery
- Decreased labour time
- Greater ease and comfort during labour and birth, thereby reducing the need for pain relief drugs during delivery
Is Chiropractic Care during pregnancy safe and will I be comfortable during the adjustments?
Definitely! Chiropractic care is one of the safest forms of healthcare for pregnant women and their children. Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, drug-free, natural approach to health and wellness which allows for the release of any tension or imbalances in the body. Not only are the chiropractic techniques altered specifically for the ease of the pregnant woman, but we also have special pillows to create a comfortable and relaxing experience. As your body changes and expands, you will eagerly anticipate your visits.
What is the Webster Technique?
The Webster Technique, discovered by Dr. Larry Webster, founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), is a specific chiropractic adjustment for pregnant mothers. It is a chiropractic technique designed to relieve the causes of intrauterine constraint, allowing the baby to turn into a head down, vertex position.
Intrauterine constraint is defined as any force external to the developing fetus that obstructs the normal movement of the fetus. Intrauterine constraint can prevent the developing fetus from attaining the proper position (occiput anterior), and result in a breech, transverse or occiput posterior position. Today, nearly 13% of all cesarean deliveries performed are due to a breech presentation. The Webster Technique has been found to have an 82% success rate in clinical studies (JMPT July/August 2002) for posterior or breech babies.
The technique aligns the pelvis and releases any tension in the ligaments of the uterus, thus relaxing the uterus. The relaxed uterus makes it easier for a breech baby to turn naturally. The Chiropractor does not physically move the baby, but the gentle adjustments open up the space in the pelvis, allowing the baby enough room to move into the proper position. If the baby is already in the correct head-down position, the technique helps maintain that ideal position. The Webster Technique is a very safe and gentle way to help promote a natural birth experience.
Dr. Rahim and Dr. Chamberlain are both certified with the Academy of Chiropractic Family Practice, having completed the 180 hour Certification Program (C.A.C.C.P) with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Their training consists of hands-on and practical information on prenatal, postnatal and pediatric care.
Chiropractic for Infants, Children and Adolescents
As parents today, we take a very active role in making sure that our children are as healthy as possible. We feed them nutritious foods, look for safe toys, encourage physical activity and maintain a wellness schedule for checkups at the dentist, eye doctor and hearing specialists.
Now more than ever, parents are also bringing their children to doctors of chiropractic for day-to-day health concerns we're all familiar with: colds, sore throats, ear infections or fluid in the ear, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, infections, growing pains, falls, stomach aches, and the hundred and one little and big things children go through as they grow up.
How does Chiropractic for Children work?
It's most important to understand that chiropractic is not a treatment for disease. Its purpose is to reduce nerve system stress, a serious and often painless condition most children (and adults) experience in their bodies. System stress interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system, can weaken internal organs and organ systems, lower resistance, reduce healing potential and set the stage for sickness and disorders of all kinds.
When a chiropractor frees the nervous system from spinal stress, the healing power of the body is unleashed: the immune system works more effectively, resistance to disease increases, and your child's body functions at full capacity. Your child can then respond more efficiently to internal and external environmental stresses such as germs, changes in temperature, humidity, toxins, pollen and other stresses that he or she comes in contact with.
So although children with diseases are often brought to the chiropractor, the chiropractor is not treating the disease but is instead reducing nerve system stress, thus permitting their body's natural healing potential to function at its best.
Why do kids need Chiropractic care?
Nerve stress is caused by vertebral subluxations. Subluxations are misalignments or distortions of the spinal column, skull, hips, and related tissues (the structural system) that irritate, stretch, impinge or otherwise interfere with the proper function of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves and peripheral nerves). Since the nervous system controls all functions of the body, any interference to it can have wide-ranging effects.
How Is Nerve System Stress Caused?
Nerve system stress can be caused by physical, chemical and/or emotional stress. Physical stress may start in the womb, with the baby positioned in a distorted or twisted manner. Spinal nerve stress in newborns is common today. This may be caused by a traumatic or difficult birth which can introduce great stress to the infant's skull, spinal column and pelvis. Throughout childhood, the normal childhood mishaps every child experiences can be a source of spinal and cranial trauma. Most of the time, the pain from the initial injury “goes away” however the damage incurred continues to affect the future function of the child’s nerve system.
How can I recognize if my child has spinal misalignments?
There a few easy to read signs that can let a parent know if their child has a misalignment. They include:
- a head tilt to one side
- difficulty breastfeeding, whether it's due to a poor latch or constrained neck movement
- restricted motion of the head to one side
- changes to appetite
- altered sleeping patterns as an infant or child
- change in behaviour, whether more withdrawn or more aggressive
- tugging on one or both ears
- colic or longs periods of constant, inconsolable crying
Kids Make Great Patients!
Adjusting a child is not a difficult procedure. In fact, in most cases, a child’s spine is much easier to adjust than an adult’s. They have not had the long-standing subluxations, their muscles are usually not as tense and they are generally more relaxed than adults.
Not only are kids more straight-forward to adjust, but also in most cases, they hold their adjustments for longer periods of time and their corrective plans are almost always significantly shorter than the average adult. However, with the falls, accidents and the generally active lives most kids experience, regular check-ups are vital.
One of our favorite parts of chiropractic care is adjusting kids! The energy they bring into the office is endless and they can’t wait to get on the table.
Today's parents desire to achieve a state of true health—this is leading them to seek health care options which support their children’s own natural ability to be healthy and well.
Chiropractic care is a safe, gentle and effective option. All children deserve the right to express their fullest potential and your family chiropractor can help them achieve it.
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