Chiropractic and babies
From birth, babies can be treated by a chiropractor.
Sometimes problems arise during pregnancy, for example when the baby has a wrong position in the womb or intra-uterine constrictions. Problems can also arise during birth if the birth was traumatic, long or indeed very quick. The chiropractic treatment techniques for babies are very gentle and safe.
Development of milestones
Due to a rapid or traumatic delivery, caesarean section or prolonged labour, functional disorders can occur early on in the spine or muscle tension. These disorders may lead to complaints in gross motor development of the baby (automatic and conscious movements and reflexes). The most important milestones are rolling, sitting, crawling and walking. It is abnormal to skip or have delayed milestones, this will impact the child in their future brain development. It is important to have your baby checked regularly by a chiropractor.
Birth trauma
A baby can experience considerable stress during birth, which can lead to birth trauma. This manifests itself in excessive crying, difficulty drinking or extreme separation anxiety. In about 80% of the babies, tension can be found in the skull. The consequences of a birth trauma range from a preferred posture or head position and restless sleep to intestinal cramps and KISS syndrome.
What is KISS syndrome?
KISS stands for Kinematic Imbalances of the Subocciptal Strain. It is the misalignment of the upper cervical spine causing permanent tensions in the body, and nervous and digestive problems.
This syndrome affects babies, including newborns, and makes them cry a lot while turning the head to one side or overstretched. It is a malfunction of biomechanics at the level of the upper neck (cervical vertebrae) to the skull. KISS syndrome can be caused by a premature birth, caesarean section, prolonged and / or heavy delivery or a (too) fast delivery. Sometimes the syndrome is caused by an abnormal position in the uterus or intrauterine constriction.
What is plagiocephaly (flattening of the head)?
If there is a flattening of a baby’s skull on one side, it is called plagiocephaly in the medical world. A flattened head can occur because your baby has a preferred head position. A preferred posture is a position in which a baby lies with his head in the same direction more than 75 percent of the time. The skull of a baby is still weak, it can deform. There is a flattening on one side of the head: right or left. Often this occurs with upper neck tension, thus the baby is unable to turn the neck themselves or it causes pain for them to do so, so they avoid this movement.
What is Torticollis?
Torticollis is a restriction of movement in the neck, which puts more strain on the skull on one side and therefore flattens it. It can also cause a tilt of the head to the side. This can already occur in the uterus or postnatally as a result of an imbalance of the muscles. Some babies are born with torticollis, in other babies it occurs just after birth. The good news is that torticollis and the head flattening can be remedied, but only if babies are treated before they turn a year.