Anyone Used a Chiropractor for Your Baby?

I also recommend Dr. Christine Moore in Plano at Spring Creek/Allen. She is AMAZING! I can't believe my 4 year old son even lets her touch him because he's terrified of doctors due to numerous chronic ear infections. The minute we walk into anywhere resembling a doctor's office, he screams and covers his ears. After the 2nd visit, he hops up on the table and lets her do whatever she needs to do. We LOVE her!!!!
If you choose to go to her tell her M. Roberts and her little boy Jake said "hi".

I started working as the Massage Therapist for a GREAT Chiropractor in Garland. I have seen all ages be treated by him. He treats some small babies and people in their 80s and 90s. I know that a lot of people are leary of chiropractic. I have been there since the end of Sept and know that in my own experience I haven't had any problems with my allergies and I use to die with them. He is Garland off of Wynn Joyce and Broadway. It is Achieve Chiropractic. ###-###-#### Let me know if you are coming in. I will be there! The great thing about him is if he doesn't think he can help he will tell you.

J.

Dr. Burgess off Teasley in Denton is great with kids. Also you may consider switching to natural products. Many people do not realize that the Quaternium 15(Formaldehyde Releaser) in many baby shampoos, lotions, etc can cause chronic ear infections. My doctor actually told us not to use it for this reason. I found that when I converted my home to safer products without bleach and formaldehyde etc. my daughter did not get sick and her ear infections stopped when she was an infant.
My son came home to a converted home and his immune system is awesome. He has been sick only once, Chicken Pox and he is already 19 months old.
Good luck with your decision. :)
M.
www.behometoo.biz to request info.

We haven't taken our son (thankfully he's only ever had 2 minor ear infections) but I have some friends who have taken their daughters (the older one is 6 and the younger is 4) for 4 years now. Yes, the youngest went the week she was born. They swear by it. The older one had horrible infections until they started getting her adjusted and the youngest has never had one. The girls have also never had a major illness. Just like a previouse poster said; make sure the chiropracter is trained for infants/toddlers. Good luck & hope your little girls feels better! God Bless

I would absolutely not take my baby to a chiropractor. I would recommend the pedi ENT that we went to though. There are some ENT's locally that are very eager to put tubes in and others that tend to take a more conservative approach. My son had 3 ear infections in 4 weeks and had 9 with in a ear. The ENT we used was Dr. John Fewins ###-###-####) and he believes in recommending tubes only if there is no other sloution. Although I know that tubes are very painless and not a serious surgery, we wanted to be sure that it was a last resort. We discovered that my sons ear infections were directly related to his severe allergies. We began seeing Dr. Tanna who is FABULOUS and he is now on allergy medication that has alleviated his allergies for the most part and he hasn't had an ear infection since. I would try to find the cause of the ear infections first before doing anything drastic - but PLEASE don't take your baby to a chiropractor.

My son who is now 17 months has been to a chiropractor for reoccurring ear infections (six with in 8 months). That was over 7 months ago. He only went twice and has not had an ear infection since. I would highly recommend it before considering tubes. Make sure to find a chiropractor that has been trained for infants.

Not for the same situation but we had our babies reflux remedied by a chiropractor. I know a great one that specialized in children if you don't mind driving to Waxahachie. The clinic is Biles Family Chiropractic and her name is Dr. Laura Biles.

Hello,

I haven't taken either of my kids to a chiropractor, but I go on a regular basis, and it has saved me from having back surgery. It was the ONLY thing to relieve my back pain. I have also been adjusted while I was sick with a cold, and felt much better immediately. It instantly drains your sinuses.. which I am sure is how it works on ear infections. My chiropractor is located in Mckinney.. Dr. Troy Allam. He has a 2 year old that I know he adjusts regularly and he said his son has only been sick once. I see kids/infants in his office usually everytime I have an appointment.

Good luck!

All the folks saying don't listen to anyone who hasn't been to chiropractor...great. Listen to me: A chiropractor nearly "popped" me into paralysis. And he was a highly recommended, locally adored chiro from one of the most 'recognized' chiro schools (Palmer).

I wouldn't let a chiropractor near anyone I cared about, much less an infant.

Don't let people who have never been to the chiropractor scare you. My whole family goes to the chiropractor and I will have to say we are healthier for it. Yes they can help you with ear infections and possibly prevent you from having to get tubes. So I say "Please do take your child to the chiropractor". People who say no usually don't have any other reason except for lack of understanding. We don't even want to get into the horror stories that come out of Dr's offices and hospitals. BTW- they do not twist your babies head. It is a very gentle procedure. Dr. Christine Moore in Plano specializes in infants...at least go and have a consult with one of the chiropractors that people have recommended. Her number is ###-###-####.

I have always been weary of chiropractors (and yes, I went to one - once - and didn't see the purpose), and adjusting infants just plain scares me! Why not just go ahread and get the tubes since that's pretty much a guaranteed way to alleviate the ear infections? My daughter got them in March when she was 9 months old. The procedure was harder on me than on her! Since them she has had one infection, but the tubes did what they are supposed to and allowed the ears to drain rather than build up. We went to Dr. Steven Peskind in Plano - ###-###-####.

Chiropractic is a very non-invasive way to treat your baby. My son has been adjusted since the day he was born and has never been sick with an ear infection or anything else but a minor cold. I recommend Dr. Kevin Smith, Trinity Family Chiropractic in Dallas, TX. He has a lot of babies and children in his practice.

I am not going to comment on going to a chiropractor...but please know that a chiro is NOT a medical doctor and typically has not had the schooling the rest of the world would qualify to have the title "doctor". Chiropractor school is a vocational school.

Hi A.,
The Drs. Haggerton in Hurst are fantastic! I started seeing Dr. Cindy when I was about 5 or 6 months pregnant by the advise of my midwife. I had a wonderful pain free pregnancy and a fast delivery at home with no complications (5 hours active labor for my first delivery!) My son (who is now 7mo.), my husband and myself all go regularly now, and have never felt better! I know that this is not why you are asking for references, but I use it as an example of what the Drs. and chiropractic care are capable of doing. The website is family-wellness.com (read about the Gonstead method) and their phone number is ###-###-####. I know that you will be wonderfully pleased, I love our chiropractors!
p.s. let me know if you have any questions...

(This may end up as a duplicate - I typed this all out then the power went out from the lighting -- geez! Anyhow, this is long!)

We took our 4th child to a chiropractor when he was a few months old for reflux. One poster mentioned it already -- but the "crack and pull" method is not what you are looking for. There is another method - I forget the name. I did an interview for an article that was in Dallas Child a while back on Chiropractors - I'm going to cut and paste it here, and then after it I'm going to post the interview (b/c very, very, little was printed in the short article):

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NATURAL PARENTING: CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR KIDS (February 2006)

Chiropractic care for kids and babies -- even newborns -- is the newest health staple for savvy, natural-minded families. Parents seek chiropractic care for a more holistic approach to their kids' health, including relieving colic, breathing problems, nursing difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergies and more.

How does it work? According to the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), chiropractors check children's spines for misalignments that impair nervous system function, and, therefore, overall body function. ICPA-certified chiropractors have taken post-graduate classes on specific techniques for pregnant mothers, infants and children. Their techniques include advice on nutrition, exercise and physical therapy, plus specialized techniques such as the Webster technique for repositioning breech babies.

While most local chiropractors working a traditional office setting, some offer a more personal experience.

S. M. of Garland was completely won over by chiropractic's success at resolving her baby's gastric reflux. "When we first went, I was very hesitant," she says. After eight weeks of treatment, however, her 5-month-old son was down from spitting up about two to three cups of fluid a day to one to two tablespoons per day.

RESOURCES:
* International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) www.icpa4kids.com
* Dr. Jayne Digby-New, ICPA-member chiropractor, 972/697-1608
* Dr. Lance Wright, 972/720-1777 www.questchiropractic.com
* Dr. Jim Heptig, 972/267-5998, www.willowbendchiropractic.com
* Dennis Family Chiropractic, 972/801-9992

--Lisa Poisso

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(Original Interview)

How old was your little one (with reflux) when you took him to the chiropractor?

Giovanni was about 5 months old when we took him to see Dr. Joe.

Had he been diagnosed by a physician? Treated?

Gino was diagnosed w/ reflux by his pediatrician around the time he was 2 or 3 months old. Initially he was given a prescription for Zantac 25, but it upset his stomach so much and he was constantly in pain and fussy. Then he was given prevacid, in powder form and in the capsule form (which we had to break apart and place in his baby cereal). The prevacid did not work for him either. We were given other medicating options, but none of them sat well with us, we were hesitant to try the zantac and prevacid in the first place, but desperate for our baby to have some relief.

Had he been seen by a chiro before, or did you go specifically for the reflux?
What made you consider chiropractic care for reflux?

When my 3rd child was born, he had reflux, and friends mentioned to me that a chiropractor could treat him, but I didn't believe them, so he was on Zantac until he was almost a year and 1/2 old. Then when Gino came along and he didn't tolerate the medication, another friend pushed me toward going to the chiropractor. I really thought it was crazy, it seemed unreasonable to me that a chiropractor could treat my son. No one in my family had ever gone to a chiropractor, but like most people we assumed a chiropractor only treated back pain.

Finally we were desperate, our baby was spitting up so much, he spit up almost 3/4 of what he ingested at each feeding, and he was drinking bottles every 2 hours because he was comfort feeding. His poor little throat hurt constantly, so he always wanted to drink to soothe it. He was always cranky and irritable because he didnt' feel well. He cried almost all day. A friend pushed me toward seeing a chiropractor, in fact, she called him for me and told me they were having a special with a free consultation! So I figured I had nothing to lose!

How did you hear about Dr. Joe?

I heard about Dr. Joe from a friend, it was Valentines Day 2005 and he was running a special with a free consultation, so I made an appointment for that day!

What was your experience?

When we first went, I was very hesitant, I walked in with an attitude that there was no way that a chiropractor could treat reflux, in fact, I was very close minded. I was also nervous, as a mother of 4 children who go nearly everywhere with me, I was afraid that the older 3 were going to be bored and have a hard time while I needed to devote my immediate attention to the baby and the Dr. From the moment we walked in and met Dr. Joe and his wife Carrie, who works in the office with him, we were very comfortable. They were both great with all the children and made them feel very at home.

The first thing Dr. Joe did was a reading of Gino's spine, and he showed me how Gino's spine was not aligned properly, he explained to me how your nerve endings are in your spine, and if your spine is not aligned, then those nerve endings can be pinched or have too much pressure, causing certain functions in your body to not function properly. It made perfect sense to me! He gave Gino his first treatment that day. Dr. Joe also explained to me that there was quite a range of issues that chiropractic care could help with, like ADD, eczema, menstrual issues, anxiety and so much more.

How often was your son treated, what was involved, and what were the results?

Gino was treated 3x a week for 12 weeks. At each visit, Dr. Joe would use a tool called a activator, which reminds me of the rubber end of a door stopper attached to something similar to a nail gun. It gently "thumped" Gino's vertebrae back into place, he did several spots on Gino's head, back, stomach and even fingers at each visit. Then Dr. Joe used a massager of sorts to help massage the nerve endings to their proper place. Initially, I thought it would be painful for the baby, but I was completely wrong. Giovanni was very relaxed and even seemed to enjoy it. In fact, on more than one occasion when Dr. Joe was through, Gino would "yell" at him and start to fuss like he did not want him to stop. Dr. Joe also used accupressure on more than one occasion to clear up Gino's sinuses, the results were almost immediate. Along w/ the reflux, Gino suffered from chronic constipation, and the treatments worked great for that also.

Dr. Joe was different than our pediatrician. Our peditrician treated the immediate problem, only what was wrong each paticular time we went, but Dr. Joe was concerned about Giovanni's overall well-being. At each visit I learned something new, wether it was about what he should be eating, pressure points on his hands and feet to help with the relflux, how the reflux was inhibiting his energy level - all kinds of things, things that I did not realize had a correlation.

After the first visit, Gino seemed "happier", we were hopeful. After about 2 weeks (6 visits) Gino went from spitting up about 2-3 cups of fluid a day (from a 5 month old baby) to about half that. After about 8 weeks, he was down to 1-2 tablespoons a day! Not only that, his sinuses had cleared up, he had more energy, he was so much happier (where before he cried almost 3/4 of the day), and his bowel movements became regular. He was so much more comfortable overall, and that greatly improved his mood! He was finally a happy baby!

Do other members of your family also receive chiropractic care?

Unfortunately, none of the other members of my family have had the opportunity to benefit from chiropractic care. We've gone through 3 moves this year and bought our first house, so we've been a bit busy. That being said, we do hope to return to Dr. Joe early next year to have my 7 year old son treated for his depression and anxiety.

And finally ... What's your full name and the suburb/city in which your family lives?


S. M. - Garland, Tx

Thanks so much. So glad to hear you got the health care you needed!

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Now, I felt the need to post all that to really describe our experience. There are 4 names at the end of the article - we saw Dr Joe at Dennis Family Wellness (in Plano) who is Wonderful! I *know* Dr. Jayne Digby-New, we have never met, but we have emailed back and forth as we were both in the same homeschool group and had quite a long conversation about chiropractic care. Dr. Jayne works out of her home (or at least at the time I spoke with her she did). She is also in Plano.

Also - I wanted to add that you may need to consider that there is a food allergy. An ear infection that lasts for 6 months is typically allergy related. You could do a elimination diet for milk and other foods in the Top 8 most common allergens. Also, most infant antibiotics contain milk and soy - so if there is an allergy - then the antibiotics may be making it worse. Plus, if she has been taking antibiotics for 6 months, then they are destroying the "good bacteria" in her digestive system which will leave her more susceptible to viral infections. Has your doctor considered Rosephin (sp) shots? (Unless of course if she has a penicillin allergy in which case she can't have those).

I am not anti-tubes, but despite what a previous poster mentioned - there is NO guarantee that your daughter will not continue to get ear infections w/ them. 2 of our boys had tubes, the first had 2 or 3 ear infections after he got them (he got them b/c he had 13 ear infections in 10 months). When our 2cnd son got tubes (one ear infection that lasted 6 weeks and his ear drum ruptured) - we figured it just "ran in the family" (and he had 2 ear infections after he got tubes) --- shortly after we had our 3rd son (4th child) we realized we were dealing with a milk allergy. We did not know when we took Gino to the chiro that it wasn't reflux, but a milk allergy instead. That being said, Dr. Joe nearly cured him of his milk allergy. I have no doubts that if we had kept going, Dr. Joe would have made the allergy disappear all together, but he did make the allergy less sensitive.

I just wanted to throw our experience out there and point out that a "crack and pull" chiropractor is not for children, but the right chiropractic care can absolutely work for children, and that there may very well be an underlying cause to your daughter's ear infection(s).

Oh - and I also wanted to add, one reason our son's spine wasn't aligned properly (and the need for chiropractic adjustment) was that he sat in the birth canal for a very, very long time (I labored for about 24 hours with him) - in our opinion, that was part of the reason he had so many food allergies!

I hope her ear infection goes away soon and ya'll find what you're looking for!

--S.

I don't know anything about adjusting for ear infections but did want to caution you against cervical adjustments in general.
There was an article in the paper a couple weeks ago about the high incidence of arterial tears during cervical adjustments that lead to strokes. Something to do with the forcible twisting motion that causes small tears in the arteries in the neck which then throw off blood clots which travel to the brain and cause strokes.

Mid-back and low-back great, but not the neck!

My whole family is in the medical field...nurses, radiologists, pharmasists, etc. But when it was my aunt the Pediatric Surgeon who recomend my son see a chiropractor I felt much better. Yes I grew up believing "they where not real doctors" too. But my aunt has never felt better and my son can walk after a terrible car accident. We saw Dr. Shelton in Plano (Legacy and Preston) She has twin 4 year old girls, so she is great with children! When she told me we would have to see her 20 times I did not think I could afford it, but she worked with me on finances. She really wanted to help my son! I think 3/4 of her practice is children. But call and ask!! ####-###-####
Shelton Chiropractic
7924 Preston Rd. Suite 300
Plano, Texas 75024

I use a chiropractor for both of my children. It has helped with my childrens ear infections. My son never had one until he had a serious sinus problem. I took him to my chiropractor and it cleared up within the day. My daughter had hers cleared up within a few days. I love my chiropractor and could not imagine raising my kids with out a good chiro. He has helped with their balance, attitude and health. You have to make sure that they are used to childrens needs.

i think that you can probably see that the majority of your responses were positive towards chiropractic care. there are always going to be good and bad experiences for everybody in every medical field. for instance, a couple of years ago several people highly recommended a pediatrician and when we went to him i found him to be very condescending and he made me feel like a failure as a mom. so of course there are going to be people that have had negative experiences with a chiropractor just as there are people that have had negative experiences with "normal" doctors. i'm sorry for the person that said she was almost paralyzed. but please don't let that scare you. unfortunately, mistakes do happen and let me tell you they happen a LOT in the medical field! also, the person that says chiropractic school is vocational...that's just ridiculous. you can check out parker college of chiropractic's website to see for yourself what kind of schooling they require. they have to have 90 hours of prerequistes (which would take 4 years, give or take?) before they can even be admitted to parker. then it takes about 3 years to get their DOCTOR of chiropractic degree...so they're looking at 7 years of schooling....give or take. my neighbor graduated from parker last year and we saw how much work it was...what he went through and how hard he studied and how hard it was to pass all of his tests and state boards, etc.

oh...and i have a 4 yr old and 2 yr old that have been getting adjustments since birth. adjustments for infants and children are much different than adjustments for adults.

I second Dr Longnecker! My husband has used him for years. We love him becasue he doe not try to get you on a long "treatment plan" unless it is really needed.

I agree that people who say don't go the the chiropractor say so only out of lack of knowledge. What knowledge do they have to back up such strong sentiments agaonst a natural form of treatment? Why would you jump to surgery if you can try a less invasive method first?

I'm sorry if I come off strong, but I think the medical community is too fast to dismiss other non medical treatments. Years ago my husband had back pain. His doctor sent him to a back specialist who immediatly recommeded surgery. He was only 22 and saw people in his famly who have had many back surgeries with little success. He tried the chiro first and his back has been better ever since. Just an adjustment once or twice a year when he is starting to feel a little soreness and he is much better. Dr. Longnecker is only $20 per visit if you do not have insurance. I am so thankful we did not go the surgery route, and if I could try something that might help my toddler or baby before trying surgery, I certianly would.

My father-in-law is a chiropractor. He has told me that chiropractic can eliminate the need for tubes in babies/toddlers. Thankfully my son hasn't ever needed to be adjusted, and my father-in-law has said he would never do that without asking us first. I have no worries about his abilities to adjust a small child with his 30+ years of experience. However, he has told me to never, never, ever let someone adjust my son unless they are experienced with young children. Even then, it should be very gentle and does not involve any twisting of their head/neck area. Before I married into the family, I would have been one of the moms saying chiropractic is hogwash, but that was ignorance. It certainly would be less invasive than tubes!!! Give it a try with someone you can trust. I would recommend my husband's family clinic but they are too far from where you live.

We have had our kids adjusted by a chiropractor, not for ear infections, though. We go for adjustments, ourselves, and feel that it does benefit our lives (physical, mental, etc.) We LOVE our chiropractor. He is WONDERFUL! His name is Dr. Longenecker (Longenecker Chiropractic - ###-###-####.) We have been going to him for over 4 years, and we've always had a positive experience. His fees are extrememly reasonable, even without insurance.

I have not used a chiropractor but I did get tubes for my daughter. Isabelle was about 11 months when we had her tubes put in, she had chronic ear infections. I really didn't want to subject her to tubes but it was the best thing I have ever done for her. Her ear infections delayed her walking, talking, etc. She is now 16 months old, she started walking about a month after the tubes, and she talks non-stop now. Getting tubes was not near as big of a deal as I thought it would be, Isabelle was back up and running once she woke up. The surgery only took 15 minutes and has really changed her life. If you have any questions please let me know, I would be more than happy to answer them. I know you are looking for an alternative but in case you change your mind I would love to help.