Infant Spine Development – From The “C” Curve to the “S” Curve

Everyone wants to give their newborn the best chance to grow into a physically healthy adult. Between prenatal vitamins and regular checkups, there are a number of ways to ensure your child’s development gets out on the right foot. One of the structures that undergoes the most change during your child’s first year is the spine, and there are a few things you can do as a parent to help your child grow and strengthen their spine. Today, we take a look at how your child’s spine develops in the early stages of life.

Infant Spine Health

As you probably know, a healthy adult spine resembles the letter S, but your spine doesn’t start out in that shape. Instead, if you look at a newborn baby, the shape of the spine is more of a C shape. It’s the natural position of the spine when an infant curls into the fetal position. This C position naturally reduces pressure on the spine and it actually aides in the digestion process and helps babies regulate their temperature.

As your child grows, the top of the spinal column undergoes the biggest change. This is where the top of the S curve will develop. During the first few months, it’s important for parents to lay their child on the ground on their stomach (sometimes called Tummy Time), as this will encourage the child to lift their head and strengthen the upper spinal column and the neck muscles. Shoot for 30 minutes of tummy time each day to get your child to arch their neck and strengthen those structures in the upper back.

Crawling To The S

Tummy time helps strengthen the upper part of the S curve, but the bottom part of the S develops as your child begins to crawl. The neck portion of the spine is now strong enough to hold your child’s head upright, and crawling helps them enhance the lumbar spinal structures. So although you may need to keep a closer eye on your child as they start crawling around the living room, know that those movements are actually helping them build towards their adult spine!

It’s difficult to spot spinal irregularities in infants because they can’t verbalize what’s wrong (other than crying), but if you notice that your child is having a difficult time crawling/walking, if they have irregular bowel movements or if they appear to have a “hitch” in their spine when crawling, speak to a chiropractor. Those could be signs of a spinal development issue, and the earlier it is detected, the earlier and more effectively it can be treated.

The Natural Alternatives to NSAIDS

The first question to answer is: What are NSAIDS?
NSAIDS stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Drugs like Ibuprofen, Naproxen and Voltaren are NSAIDS and are used to reduce inflammation, treat aches and pains, and muscle spasms. They may provide temporary relief for some of these problems but studies are now showing that NSAIDS may have far-reaching consequences much worse than small side effects. “First, we found an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) with NSAIDs. Now we are finding the same thing for stroke. This is very serious, as these drugs are very widely used, with many available over the counter. We need to get the message out to health care authorities that these drugs need to be regulated more carefully.”

The next question is: How can we effectively manage these pains naturally?
There are combinations of supplements, ice and therapeutic exercises that will reduce inflammation and muscle spasms.

1. Magnesium- reduces muscle spasms. (Be careful, too much will have you running to the restroom as Magnesium is the main ingredient in laxatives)
2. Boswelia/BRomelain/Turmeric- reduce inflammation
3. Increase ingestion of water to keep all tissues hydrated
4. isometric exercises to actively reduce tension and pump/squeeze toxins out of the affected muscles
5. Ice- reduce inflammation, promote additional muscle relaxation, increase blood flow bringing oxygen and nutrients and removing toxins from tissues
6. All of the above during the treatment plan (chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy and/or therapeutic massage)

Chiropractic Treatment Benefits for Athletes

Athletes undertaking rigorous fitness regimes often push their bodies to the limit. Since their performance is based on the health and strength of their body, many need regular massage treatments and physical therapy sessions just to stay in shape and keep performing to their fullest potential.

 

Some researchers believe chiropractic therapy also offers several benefits for athletes who are constantly pushing their body to the max. Whether they need to recover from injury, improve performance or increase joint flexibility, ongoing chiropractic treatments may be a valuable addition to their training regime.

 

 

Why Athletes May Need Chiropractic Therapy

 

According to a study published in Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation by Lauro A and Mouch B in 1991, athletes exhibited a 30% improvement in performance after 12 weeks of chiropractic treatment. They were tested on several aspects of athletic ability including kinesthetic perception, power, reaction time, agility and balance. Those who did not receive chiropractic treatment showed only a 1% increase in performance after 6 weeks of treatment, while those who received the chiropractic treatments showed an 18% increase in performance after 6 weeks.

 

Many professional athletes also undergo treatments before, during and after a game. According to PracticalChiro.com, athletes including Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds all receive treatments from sports chiropractors so that they can improve their performance and recover properly throughout training and game season. (Source: PracticalChiro.com)

 

According to SpinalHealth.net, 7% of the San Francisco 49’s football team consulted with a chiropractor shortly after winning the Super Bowl in 1990. Chiropractic treatments after the intense game allowed them to recover easily and restore their health. (Source: SpinalHealth.net)

 

Young athletes - not only professionals or Olympians – can also benefit from chiropractic treatment because this type of therapy enhances blood flow, improves range of motion and can also increase recovery rates after intensive training or a game. Full range of motion is particularly important for endurance athletes and those who must employ various types of stretches into their training routine.

 

Key Benefits of Chiropractic Treatments for Athletes

 

In addition to improving performance, ongoing chiropractic therapy offers several health and wellness benefits. These include:

 

• Improved posture
• Increased range of motion
• Improved immune system that can ward off common illnesses or disease
• Better focus and concentration
• Reduction of migraines or severe headaches
• Increased blood circulation
• Better joint flexibility
• Reduced risk of injury
• Increased blood and oxygen flow throughout the body
• Improved recovery rates after a sports injury
• Reduction of pain in major joints

 

Many athletes only turn to chiropractors after they have been injured, but it may be more beneficial to incorporate chiropractic therapy into the weekly training routine. A sports chiropractor can offer specialized treatments for marathon runners, tennis players, football and basketball players, and other types of athletes who are constantly on the move.

 

 For high-performance athletes, natural methods of stress reduction and toxin removal are necessary for better health overall. Chiropractic treatments may play an important role in the lives of these athletes throughout their training season, and during their most competitive seasons.

 

Chiropractic and Infertility

How can Chiropractic Care help with fertility? Watch the clip Here to find out. Leave a comment and share with others!

Cardio & Weight Training: Which one first?

Here's a link to an interesting article I found earlier. It gives a simple explanation of how you should tailor your workouts. Take a look to maximize your workouts and get the results you want: http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201104/warm-cardio-then-go-weights-right-wrong

Sports Injuries

Chiropractic care has received much attention in regards to its successful management of sporting injuries. Since the majority of sports injuries are soft tissue in nature and because many of injuries arise from improper body biomechanics and improper sporting techniques, chiropractic doctors have become the doctors of choice - from the weekend warrior to the professional athlete.

According to an article in the June '98 issue of The Physician and Sports Medicine, "Interest in alternative or complementary medicine 'especially chiropractic' is booming... active patients are running to unconventional providers to treat their aches and pains... from chiropractors and acupuncture to magnets and meditation."

It's really quite simple. Chiropractic care - through the use of safe and natural spinal adjustive techniques, physical therapy applications, soft tissue mobilization, stretching and exercise programs, diet and nutritional counseling, and extensive biomechanical training - focuses on all causes which have lead to the symptoms of pain and tissue injury and do not focus on solely eliminating pain.

Successful treatments must focus not only on pain relief, but must address the underlying causes such as muscular imbalances, biomechanical deficiencies, improper sporting techniques, and improper conditioning, to name a few

My, how you've grown

Children tend to grow a bit faster in the spring than during any other time of year


Kids don't grow at a constant rate. As you may have recalled from your own childhood, kids alternate between weeks or months of slow growth and the occasional "growth spurt". While this can be difficult to predict, these tend to occur more in the spring. 

Other major trends in growth spurts are the major growth spurts from age 8 to 13 for most girls and the growth spurts from age 10 to 15 for most boys. Of course, the biggest growth spurt by far is the one at the first year of your life. You can expect a baby to grow roughly 10 inches before its first birthday.


More information on how kids grow in KidsHealth.


Growing Pains

Growing pains occur during the very active years of adolescence. Jolts, twists and stresses of energetic play can result in subluxations (misalignments) in the spine, which affect the nerves controlling the legs, knees, pelvis and hips. All of these nerve problems can manifest themselves in leg pain. Studies into growing pains have identified a number of conditions that may contribute to growing pains, including rapid growth, overexertion, rheumatic conditions, infections, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, orthopaedic problems and underlying poor health [1]. 

If your child has been diagnosed with growing pains, it is recommended that they visit a chiropractor. A physical assessment can ensure that any leg and back pains are not the result of underlying spinal problems such as scoliosis. Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine away from the normal accepted curves of the spine.

This causes strain on joints and if these spinal misalignments are left untreated can lead to premature degeneration, bad posture and gait (walking), painful movement and permanent spinal distortion. Children tend to experience more incidents of back pain than older generations although not as many children undergo treatment for these complaints. Around 84% of back complaints in children extend into adulthood and become a chronic problem.

Treatment in the early stages as a child has greater improvement in pain and mobility than if the problem becomes chronic into adulthood. Children have faster healing capabilities and more mobility and flexibility in the joints to accommodate this. It is also important for children to maintain their flexibility during growth spurts. The chiropractor at Back on Track Chiropractic can recommend appropriate stretching and strengthening exercises to reduce overall muscle tension. This will allow children to perform in regular childhood activities free of pain and tension.

Chiropractic is a safe and natural way to easy the pain and discomfort associated with growing pains. 

1. "Growing pains" in young children: A study of the profile, experiences and quality of life issues of four to six year old children with recurrent leg pain A. Evans, S. Scutter, L. Lang, B. Dansie 16(3), 120-124