It may be difficult to imagine that a child would need chiropractic care. They seldom complain of chronic pain the way adults do and their bodies appear to be made of rubber in the way they bounce back from injury. The truth is, children’s bodies are under a lot of stress while they are in a state of development, and keeping them healthy requires maintenance.

Stress and trauma to the body and spine commonly begin with the birthing process. Infant spines can easily become misaligned from the intense pressure involved in both natural and Cesarean births. Unfortunately, other than crying, they have no way of communicating their pain, and its source, to us. Throughout infancy, they may sleep in awkward positions and occasionally take a tumble. As children, they grow into toddlers who strain, and twist, and fall, while learning to crawl and walk. Luckily, they are very resilient and can take a lot of impacts, but it is not uncommon for these injuries to develop into patterns of movement that will pull a child’s bones out of alignment over time.

As kids, they may start to develop bad posture. Sitting in front of a computer or TV can have serious repercussions on the spine. Playing contact sports, wearing heavy backpacks (most likely the wrong way), and even sitting in desks can all cause issues. As teenagers, they begin to deal with the stress of more daily responsibilities, like becoming part of the workforce, and use their bodies to perform physical labor such as painting houses and serving tables.

As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities throughout development for a child’s body, and particularly their spine, to become out of alignment which will affect other aspects of their healthy nervous system function and development.