The Chiro.Org Blog has just posted an amazing article about the safety of pediatric chiropractic.

SOURCE: Clinical Chiropractic 2011 (Sep); 14 (3): 97–105

This new “best evidence” literature review explored reported adverse events and the overall safety of chiropractic pediatric care, as well as other forms of care for the same complaints routinely treated in a chiropractic office.

The results were quite interesting:

The chiropractic literature reports incidence between 0.53% and 1% for mild adverse events (AE) associated with chiropractic pediatric manipulative therapy (PMT). Put in terms of individual patients, this means that somewhere between one in 100-200 patients presenting for chiropractic care may experience a mild adverse event; in terms of total patient visits, this means that one mild AE may occur every 1310 to 1812 visits.

This incidence rate compares favorably with:  The 9% reported incidence rate with Osteopathic pediatric manipulative therapy (PMY), and the 6% reported incidence rate when PMT was provided by a medical practitioner.

The authors concluded that: The application of modern chiropractic pediatric care within the outlined framework is safe. A reasonable caution to the parent/guardian is that one child per 100 to 200 attending may have a mild adverse events, with irritability or soreness lasting less than 24 hours, resolving without the need for additional care beyond initial chiropractic recommendations.

Dr. Stephanie Maj has a thriving family practice in the heart of Chicago. Her clinic is located at 1442 W. Belmont Ave., 1E, Chicago, IL 60657. 773.528.8485. www.communitychiropractic.net.

Patients often ask the following question: “What caused my neck problem?” They are often shocked to discover that the reasons why many individuals suffer from neurological problems and health challenges as adults are from subluxations that were caused during the birth process. Signs and symptoms typically don’t show up until later in life, yet rob the individual of their health, vitality and wellness.

Dr. Godfrey Gutman, medical researcher, discovered that more than 80% of the infants that he examined shortly after birth were suffering from injuries to the cervical spine (the neck), causing all types of health problems.

Dr. Towbin, of the Harvard Medical School’s pathology department, found that “the birth process, even under optimal conditions is potentially a traumatic, crippling event. Spinal cord and brain stem injuries occur often during the process of birth but frequently escape diagnosis.”

As a chiropractor, I would much rather examine and adjust every newborn than to have to deal with a lifetime of health problems. We would rather adjust the newborn than wait 26 years and learn that the young person developed gall bladder disease in the areas where the nerve tissue was injured and compromised since birth.

“The entire birth process, from conception and pregnancy to delivery and post-delivery, can lay the foundation for later mental and physical disease. We now know that the trauma surrounding the birth process is engraved as imprints in the developing nervous system of the fetus and newborn.” Arthur Janov, Ph.D.

Dr. Stephanie Maj has a thriving family practice in the heart of Chicago. Her clinic is located at 1442 W. Belmont Ave., 1E, Chicago, IL 60657. 773.528.8485. www.communitychiropractic.net

Family Health Week is THIS WEEK – August 8th – 13th. Bring family in for check-ups and scoliosis screenings on us!  Below is a story about the importance of scoliosis screenings for kids.  Over 75% of my patients have a scoliosis when we x-ray them. These curves start when they are young. Prevention and early detection is key!

“Bend over and touch your toes” are the directions given to adolescents during a scoliosis screening. Unfortunately, this is usually the ONLY spinal exam most children have and has been shown to be ineffective in the best medical journal on the subject, “Spine!” What is equally upsetting is that over 75% of adult patients that come to our clinic have some form of abnormal spinal curvature that developed in childhood.

This toe touching screening test (Adams Test) is inadequate to detect abnormal spinal curves and is only as good as the examiner. In these school screenings, once a child is suspected of having scoliosis, further diagnosis is needed.   Most children are referred to an orthopedist. Unfortunately, lack of compliance, false-positive and  false negative tests, lack of conservative treatment options; all lead to the ineffectiveness of school spinal screenings for improving the outcomes of children with idiopathic scoliosis.

Over 75% of adult patients that come to our clinic have some form of abnormal spinal curvature that developed in childhood.

Scoliosis is the most common bony abnormality in the body, and is present in approximately 50% of the population in varying degrees (obviously higher with Chiropractic issues). Scoliosis is known to run in families.

Children-especially daughters-of women who have scoliosis are at increased risk for having scoliosis.

Girls are seven times more likely than boys to have a significant curve that requires treatment. Also, those that have spinal alignment issues and/or a short leg are also at increased risk.

Some of the more obvious signs of a significant scoliotic curve in the spine include; unevenness of shoulders and/or hip height, visible “crookedness” of the spine when viewed from behind, and a noticeable hump in the rib cage on one side. The complications from scoliosis, when advanced, include heart and lung disorders, degenerative spinal arthritis, muscular fatigue and joint dysfunction syndrome. The adolescent growth spurt (12-16 years) is the period when the curvature has a greater tendency to deform more rapidly.  Once a child has started their growth spurt, little can be done to arrest or reverse the development of scoliosis.  This is why early detection (BEFORE THE SPINE CURVES) and treatment is essential!

The Chiropractor is the only health practitioner qualified to handle the early diagnosis and prevention of scoliosis. A specific spinal exam, performed by a doctor of chiropractic, along with a safe and efficient surface EMG scan, is a better predictor of a child’s spinal health.  The surface EMG detects  abnormalities in the nerve system that can cause  imbalances in the pulling of the musculature, PRIOR to the spinal curvature.  X-ray is used in a limited basis to assess the initial curvature(or if the curve is even present) as well as a computerized postural assessment.

If our spines were visible from the outside, like our teeth, we would attend our spine regularly like we do our teeth. Unfortunately, some choose to ignore the parts of their body they can’t see. However, if we took better care of our spine, with regular chiropractic checkups, we would be in better health as we age!

Dr. Stephanie Maj is the author of the book, You Can Be Well! How to Improve Your Quality of Life Through a Healthier Lifestyle. She has been coaching families to a healthier lifestyle for over 16 years. Dr. Maj has a thriving family practice in the heart of Chicago. Check out her blog at www.drmaj.com.

Posted by Dr. Jennifer Barham-Floreani’s Parenting, Pregnancy & Family Health Info-Blog – welladjustedbabies.com

The nervous system is the master controller of our body and if its communication channels become fuzzy, distorted or damaged then we experience all sorts of communication errors. For babies and children, this ineffective communication may play out as colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed, poor sleep, developmental delays, digestion issues, asthma, behavioral problems, low energy, inability to concentrate, headaches, etc. – the list is endless. In fact, regardless of what the end result or symptom may be, all roads lead back to the nervous system – to the body’s ability to self-regulate and function at a peak level.

While chiropractic may be able to help with a number of health issues, our focus is not treating or curing ailments; our focus is ensuring the nervous system has every opportunity to work efficiently and effectively.

For example, imagine your nervous system is like the lighting system in your home. If the lights start to dim, you might not be able to cook dinner very well, you may start banging into furniture, you may trip and hurt yourself, you may feel frightened, etc. Exactly how the dim lights influence you will vary but the issue is still the same – there is a communication problem between the wiring and the intended outcome which needs detecting and fixing.

In the same way, chiropractors spend years studying the nervous system to be able to detect and correct these ‘communication errors’ in the body.

Another question you may ask is…

Nerve irritations (or vertebral subluxations) occur as a part of normal daily life. They result from physical, chemical and emotional stressors or ‘insults’ to our health, such as bad posture, prolonged postures, sleeping on the tummy, knocks and falls, poor food choices, dehydration, exposure to chemicals and toxins, and stress and anxiety. Even before these lifestyle stressors have an impact, nerve irritation can occur in the uterus from awkward positioning, restriction of movement, exposure to toxins, and from birth complications such as long labors, very fast labors, or forceps or caesarean delivery.

When we appreciate how important the nervous system is and how easily it can be hindered and impaired it makes sense that all children deserve to have a well-adjusted spine and nervous system … it makes sense that chiropractic is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

1. To maximize their child’s neural plasticity (brain and nerve development.)
2. To enhance their child’s overall health and wellbeing.
3. To strengthen immunity and reduce the incidence of colds, ear-aches and general illness.
4. To help with colic and Irritable Baby Syndrome.
5. To help with asthma, breathing difficulties and allergies.
6. To improve spinal posture.
7. To improve their child’s ability to concentrate.
8. To assist with behavioral disorders and enhance emotional wellbeing.
9. To help alleviate digestive problems.
10. To assist with bed-wetting and sleep issues.

For more information about improving your child’s nervous system function and general health, please see a chiropractor.

Dr. Stephanie Maj has a thriving family practice in the heart of Chicago. Her clinic is located at 1442 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL 60657. 773.528.8485. www.communitychiropractic.net

Does my kid have a concussion or not? How does a concussion affect the brain?  The next tool in the campaign against concussions might be your smartphone.

As a chiropractor, I am interested in the Nervous System and the MASTER controller of it all is the BRAIN! It is hard for me to help with the flow on this system if the Master is injured.

What is a concussion? Well, in 2001, the first International Symposium on Concussion in Sport was organized by the International Olympic Committee Medical Commission and other sports federations. A group of experts called the Concussion in Sport Group met there and defined concussion as “a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces.” They agreed that concussion typically involves temporary impairment of neurological function that heals by itself within time, and that neuroimaging normally shows no gross structural changes to the brain as the result of the condition.

There is new evidence linking brain damage to concussions.  This condition is called Post-Concussion Syndrome is a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or occasionally up to a year or more after a concussion – a mild form of traumatic brain injury.  The condition can cause a variety of symptoms: physical, such as headache; cognitive, such as difficulty concentrating; and emotional and behavioral, such as depression.

There is now help for parents and coaches in the diagnosing of concussion!  A doctor at the University of North Carolina teamed with other head-trauma researchers to develop an application for mobile devices that helps determine whether someone may have suffered a concussion.

Jason Mihalik of UNC’s brain injury research center joined Justin Smith of Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. and the Children’s National Medical Center in developing the program.

Smith says it’s the first observer-based concussion app. After the user answers a series of questions, the app determines the likelihood of a concussion and can email information to a doctor. Mihalik said Thursday that the basis for the app’s question flow comes from materials provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

The introduction of the app is just one way to speed the response to possible concussions. One of the key issues discussed during the National Sports Concussion Cooperative’s daylong seminar was how to most effectively bridge the communication gap between team doctors and the team athletic trainers, who often are the first to act when players suffer concussion-like symptoms.

“The documentation (of immediate symptoms) is very important, from, ‘How did they get hurt?’ to the mechanism of injury through those initial signs and symptoms, to ‘How did they progress over time?’” said Bill Griffin of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. “It’s not only what happens at the time of the injury, but how things change.”

The cooperative consists of coaches, doctors, equipment manufacturers and parents, and the group was formed in March to study concussions and brain trauma injuries in an attempt to make sports safer.

“We’re trying to do more. We think there is an opportunity to do more,” said Art Chou, Rawlings’ vice president of research and development. “The caution that we have as manufacturers is, are we ready to draw definitive conclusions? … There’s a balance there, and I think it’s up to the research community to determine whether it is ready for prime time or not, because the issue is going to be one of public perception.

“The issue is, have we confused the public? … I would like to see more consensus from the research community that supports that, because we need more data. We need to move the needle. … The last thing we need, I think now, as a whole football community, is going back and forth and confusing the issue any more.”

Mike Oliver, the executive director of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, continued to express a longstanding desire to come up with a safety standard for youth helmets.

But he cautioned that it’s dangerous to rush to a conclusion before the scientific research is complete. NOCSEA, a nonprofit corporation, formed in 1969 in response to a need for a performance test standard for helmets.

“You want to have an answer. You want to have a solution to the problem,” Oliver said. “You want to be able to say … ‘We do have a solution to the problem and you can have a level of confidence (that) you will have a level of protection. … But we can’t do that until we have the science behind it.”

Dr. Stephanie Maj has a thriving family practice in the heart of Chicago. Her clinic is located at 1442 W. Belmont Ave., 1E, Chicago, IL 60657. 773.528.8485. www.communitychiropractic.net

In this age of over-antibiotic use, I found this study interesting. The normal bacteria in the gut (the good stuff in yogurt) gets altered by the use of antibiotics. Now there is a study that says that this alteration can affect mood. This is profound because I find a large number of my patients have altered gut ecology due to a lifetime of periodic antibiotic use and the constant stream of these drugs consumed our meat and milk.  I hope you enjoy and also find a solid probiotic to help with healing!

We’re all familiar with the term “gut feeling”. As it turns out, the term may be more apt than we realize. In recent years, research has increasingly identified the role the gut can have on mood and behavior, leading many scientists to refer to the gut as the “second brain”. Now, for the first time, researchers have found conclusive evidence that conditions such as anxiety can originate in the gut instead of the brain.

In a study just published in the journal Gastroenterology, researchers at McMaster University found that bacteria residing in the gut influence brain chemistry and behavior.

The research is important because several common types of gastrointestinal disease are frequently associated with anxiety or depression. In addition there has been speculation that some psychiatric disorders, such as late onset autism, may be associated with an abnormal bacterial content in the gut.

“The exciting results provide stimulus for further investigating a microbial component to the causation of behavioral illnesses,” said Stephen Collins, professor of medicine and associate dean of research at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Collins and Premysl Bercik, assistant professor of medicine, conducted the research in the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute.

Working with healthy adult mice, the researchers found that disrupting the normal bacterial content of the gut with antibiotics produced changes in behavior; the mice became less cautious or anxious. This change was accompanied by an increase in brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which has been linked to depression and anxiety.

When oral antibiotics were discontinued, bacteria in the gut returned to normal and Collins reported that there was “restoration of normal behavior and brain chemistry.”

To confirm that bacteria can influence behavior, the researchers colonized germ-free mice with bacteria taken from mice with a different behavioral pattern. They found that when germ-free mice with a genetic background associated with passive behavior and were colonized with bacteria from mice with higher exploratory behavior, they became more active and daring. Similarly, normally active mice became more passive after receiving bacteria from mice whose genetic background is associated with passive behavior.

Collins said that his team’s research indicates that while many factors determine behavior, the nature and stability of bacteria in the gut appear to influence behavior and disruptions from antibiotics or infections might produce changes in behavior. Bercik said that these results lay the foundation for investigating the therapeutic use of probiotic bacteria in the treatment of behavioral disorders, particularly those associated with gastrointestinal conditions.

The gut is home to about 1,000 trillion bacteria. The gut also contains around 100 million nerve cells (neurons), more than in either the spinal cord or the peripheral nervous system. This multitude of neurons in the enteric nervous system enables us to “feel” the inner world of our gut and its contents.  Neurons in the gut also use serotonin to signal back to the brain – and 95% of all serotonin in the body is in the gut. About 90 percent of the fibers in the primary visceral nerve, the vagus, carry information from the gut to the brain.

Generally when people think of “gut feelings,” they are thinking about instinctive-like reactions such as the “butterflies” or “hollow feelings” one may get due to fear, bad news or an upcoming daunting task. Now it is apparent that other serious conditions may originate at least partially in the gut. Maintaining a healthy digestive system, including a healthy intestinal flora mix, could be a key in helping to prevent and control such conditions.

In our clinic we recommend a variety of intestinal flora supplements called probiotics.  Probiotic means pro-life. The scientific definition from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States and World Health Organisation is: “probiotics are live microorganisms that when administered in adequate amounts encourage a health benefit in the human intestine.”

Dr. Stephanie Maj has a thriving family practice in the heart of Chicago. Her clinic is located at 1442 W. Belmont Ave., 1E, Chicago, IL 60657. 773.528.8485. www.communitychiropractic.net

Do you want to calm your crying baby or infant? There are many reasons that can make babies cry and when the parent cannot console the baby it is frustrating. It breaks my heart to hear people say a non-crying baby is a “good baby” because of what that does to both the parent and the child of a colicky baby.  Not only is colic a problem with the baby, it leads to agitation and tension in the home. Let’s talk about how Chiropractic can help get your baby back to that bouncing bundle of JOY!

If you are a parent of a baby suffering from colic, you are bound to feel frustrated, stressed and helpless. Over 1 million babies suffer from colic every year so you are not alone.

Colic has been a source of great frustration for babies, parents and doctors alike. Colic is more defined by its symptoms than diagnostic findings. The symptoms are described as uncontrollable, relentless crying for hours at a time, at least three days per week in an otherwise healthy child. This crying behavior often lasts for up to three months before the baby seems to grow out of it. Enough to drive any parent batty. Parents and family members find it difficult to cope and are hopeful for a solution.

Medical doctors haven’t discovered the cause or solution to this common problem. The medical solution is not promising. Medical recommendations include drug therapy that is not very effective.  The use of medications containing simethicone is based on the assumption that infant colic is due to SWALLOWED AIR; however numerous studies have shown that swallowed air is NOT a cause of infant colic.

In several studies on the various anti-colic treatments available, simethicone worked NO better than a placebo (sugar pill) in reducing the level of distress experienced by a colicky baby.

There are two common theories for the cause: an immature nervous system or an immature digestive system. The good news is that Chiropractic can help with both!

The solution may be as close as your Wellness Chiropractor who focuses on restoring a healthy nervous system. There are numerous case studies that have been published on the benefits of chiropractic care and colic babies, but the most compelling research is a study that included 316 babies with colic. In this study, 73 chiropractors treated 316 babies with moderate to severe colic. An incredible 94% of the babies demonstrated satisfactory results within 14 days of chiropractic care. 25% showed great improvement with just one treatment!

In another study of 132 babies suffering from colic, an amazing 91% of the parents reported improvement within 1 week of care.

As for the immature digestive system, a reduction of dairy in the mom’s diet will help and adding probiotics to the mom’s and the babies diet will ensure there is the right balance of good bacteria in both. I also recommend that the mom stays away from the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts) as they are gas producing.

If you or someone you love has an infant suffering from colic, be sure to tell them about Wellness Chiropractic. A Wellness Chiropractor can quickly and safely evaluate a child’s nervous system for hidden disturbances. If the child demonstrates a problem, your Wellness Chiropractor may be the solution.

Dr. Stephanie Maj has a thriving pediatric family practice in the heart of Chicago. Her clinic is located at 1442 W. Belmont Ave., 1E, Chicago, IL 60657. 773.528.8485.www.communitychiropractic.net