The research on a 2 week old boy, reported in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic, revealed resolution of all presenting complaints including colic, constipation, sleep disturbance and excessive crying following a brief trial of chiropractic care.

“Research is revealing that minor disturbances to spinal alignment and function may be a factor in a number of disorders. These disturbances lead to nerve interference and can result in a host of disorders such as colic, constipation and sleep disorders” stated Dr. Sean Batte the author of the study. Other chiropractic researchers have reported on similar results and reviews of the scientific research reveal numerous other studies that have shown a similar connection.

“It makes a lot of sense when you think about it” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study, “If you damage or compress the neurological structures in the spine this can have far reaching implications on the functioning of the body. Through research reports like Dr. Batte’s we are finding that correcting the misalignments or abnormal motion associated with these spinal problems reduces the nerve compression and people improve. In this study it was an infant suffering from colic, constipation, sleep disturbance and excessive crying.”

Ordinarily infants suffering from colic and constipation may be given medications that in many cases have not been fully studied in children. Finding the cause of the

gastrointestinal issues is a much better strategy. One such cause is thought to be spinal misalignments and/or abnormal motion, termed vertebral subluxations by chiropractors, which result in structural and neurological interference to the spine and nerve system. It is this interference that may cause symptoms such as those seen in this study and chiropractors correct or reduce this interference.

History and examination of the child revealed that he had a difficult birth, cried regularly, was not sleeping during the day, and if he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he was crying. At night, his sleep was sporadic and irregular and his parents were not able to sleep or catch up on sleep during the day as he wasn’t napping at all. The mother’s general practitioner recommended anti-depressants and tranquilizers for the child. The infant was evaluated and cared for using chiropractic protocols to reduce vertebral subluxations in the child’s spine. Within five visits his mother reported his bowel movements had started to become more regular, he was belching normally after meals, started to sleep better and the crying abated.

According to Dr. Batte, these results suggest a possible link between breech presentations, difficult births and spinal subluxations. Correcting the subluxations through the use of specific chiropractic adjustments appears to have returned this child’s gastrointestinal function to normal. The author calls for further study in a controlled environment.

 

Source: Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health