While it is true that chiropractic can be beneficial for a wide variety of patients, it is important to be aware of special considerations when it comes to adjusting.
Some patients may have special needs, which means the same adjusting technique may not work for each person who visit your practice. A chiropractor who is aware of these considerations will not only have satisfied patients, but may get even more benefit when those patients give good referrals to their friends and family members. There is also job satisfaction in having the ability to treat as many types of patients as possible.
Pediatric patients
While many people may be surprised that chiropractic can be beneficial for young children, including infants, chiropractic adjustments can help reduce allergy symptoms in children and reduce colic in infants, among many other conditions.
However, it is important to remember that children’s bones, ligaments, and tendons are still growing. In the case of infants, bones may be more flexible than in older children or may not have completely fused together, as is the case for the top of the skull. DCs should use much less force for a pediatric adjustment than they would use when adjusting an adult.
Geriatric patients
Just as chiropractic can benefit younger patients, it can equally benefit those who are older. Chiropractic can alleviate osteoarthritis, stiff joints, and osteoporosis (bone loss), as well as other conditions common in geriatric patients. It may even help alleviate side effects from chemotherapy treatments for cancer.
The key consideration for geriatric patients is the opposite of that for pediatric patients. Rather than bones being too flexible, they may be brittle due to bone loss. Muscles, ligaments, and tendons may be stiffer than those of younger patients, so chiropractors need to be just as aware of the amount of force used for adjustments on geriatric patients as for pediatric patients.
Pregnant patients
Chiropractic can treat a variety of issues for expectant mothers, ranging from backache, to sciatica, to edema (swollen and puffy feet and ankles from water retention). It may even help to properly position the baby for delivery.
The American Chiropractic Association recommends having pregnant women lay on their side for an adjustment, which will put less strain on either the baby or the mother’s spine than lying prone or supine. The ACA also recommends low-force adjustments, noting that adjustments in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy may not hold as well due to stretching of ligaments.