adjusting children

The most prevailing reason for visits to a pediatrician is earache. More than 70 percent of children will have had not less than one earache by the age of three, and almost one-third will have had three or more earache incidents. It may be surprising, however, that earache is also the most widespread basis for children under the age of five years to be escorted by parents to the chiropractor’s office.

How Chiropractic Care Can Help Earache and Ear Infections

A pediatrician who suspects that a child with an earache has a middle ear infection will normally prescribe antibiotics as a standard course of treatment. New study, however, has ascertained that this is often misguided. The basis for the child’s middle ear infection may not be due to bacteria, and because antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, many times there will be no positive response. The reason for this is that numerous cases of middle ear infection can be generated by a virus, and viruses do not respond to antibiotics. This may be the reason why children develop chronic ear infections.

One of the many assessments that a Honolulu chiropractor can make is whether the earache or ear infection is caused by inflamation of the small nerves in the spine, called free nerve endings.

When these nerve endings are inflamed, an aberrant tension is produced in the small muscles of the neck. Pressure generated on the lymphatic drainage ducts as a consequence of muscle tension can prevent adequate drainage from inside the ear. This affliction prevents the body from naturally correcting the problem. Furthermore, balance can also be affected.

Inadequate drainage of lymphatic ducts can be discovered by a chiropractor if there is increased tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles on the side with the earache. In addition, the chiropractor will look to see which spinal vertebrae are either slightly out of alignment or not moving within their normal range. There are many reasons for such aproblem due to the many bangs, jolts, and falls almost all children undergo growing up. Often, a short regimen of spinal adjustments and manipulation of the neck muscles can help to restore normal lymph drainage. If your child is suffering from an earache or an ear infection, contact your Honolulu chiropractor as soon as possible.

Advanced Research and Guidelines

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ear infection, the most widespread childhood sickness second only to the common cold, accounts for nearly 30 million doctor visits every year. Furthermore, at least 6 million courses of antibiotics are causelessly prescribed for the affliction.Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines for treating pediatric ear inflammation, and expressly recommended a period of “watchful waiting” since, in many cases, infections clear up on their own, without medication.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) endorses the AAP on the guidelines and emphasizes that chiropractic treatment is a “good first option” for treating ear infection conservatively. “Doctors of chiropractic have been treating children for decades with great success – helping them to avoid painful ear infections, antibiotic overuse and resistance, and ear tube surgery,” said ACA President Donald Krippendorf, DC. “Particularly when dealing with young children, drugs and surgery should be an absolute last resort.”