Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools Sept/Oct 2016 | Page 19

Why Do Children Need Chiropractic?

This article was written by guest contributor Dr. Sara Butkovich, D.C.

At Weddington Chiropractic Wellness
Center at Blakeney, we have been treating
families and children for over 35 years. We
firmly believe in protecting a child’s body
by making sure they have the best possible
functioning musculoskeletal and nervous
system. Your nervous system is composed
of your brain, spinal cord, and 31 pairs of
spinal nerves that communicate and send
energy from the brain to every organ, tissue,
and cell in the body. This energy that is
generated in your brain and sent to the body
via your spinal nerves is responsible for
every sensation you’ve ever felt, movement
you’ve ever made, and thought you’ve ever
had. Your body is totally dependent on a
fully functioning brain/body connection
to coordinate all functions, including your
breathing, digestion, and immune responses.
This intelligence in our body functions
with such perfection that most of us are
oblivious to it. We as humans are adaptable
beings that are continuously integrating and
responding to the physical, chemical, and
emotional stressors that we place on our
bodies every day. When we are unable to
integrate and respond to these stressors,

nerve messages are interrupted and manifest
into vertebral subluxations. Research shows
that many of the spinal and health problems
experienced by adults start very early in life.
What Causes a Vertebral Subluxation
In a Child?
Physical or structural stressors are
one of the most recognized forms of
vertebral subluxations in all ages that utilize
chiropractic care at our office. Trauma causes
physical stress in your child’s spine and can
range from knocks and falls that will occur
throughout development when your child is
learning to walk, crawl, or ride a bike. On
average, a child will fall about 2,500 times
before the age of seven. Prolonged postures
from watching television and playing video
games that require forward head flexion on
a tablet or computer impacts the developing
spine and nervous system.
As your child grows and develops,
sporting activities can also induce physical
traumas. Youth sports puts young,
developing structures into physical demand
and opens the door for nerve interference.
Injuries to children’s spines are not only
caused by contact sports like football or
hockey but are also seen more
frequently in non-contact sports
like gymnastics and competitive
cheerleading. Our services are
individually designed in helping
kids minimize sports injuries and
perform at their peak.
A heavy backpack filled
with books can pull a child
backward, even when placed
on the shoulders correctly. To
compensate, a child may lean
forward, flexing or arching the
back, which causes the spine
to compress. This extra tension
on the muscles and joints of
the spine causes the body to
accommodate with the poor
posture and heavy load. This
can lead some kids to develop
shoulder, neck, or back pain
in the future. At our office, we
provide complimentary checks
for all of our patients to help
prevent injury caused by a heavy
backpack.
Chemical stress includes
anything from too much sugar,
preservatives and additives in
food, to breathing environmental
toxins. Our world is also
becoming more toxic with
an increase in pollution and

Dr. Lisa Merritt adjusting a young
patient.

packaged foods. These neurotoxins are
stored in the body’s muscles and ligaments
which results in vertebral subluxations.
Emotional stressors are also becoming
a bigger issue for kids today as they try
to cope with common issues like divorce,
bullying, and peer pressure.
What Does Nerve Dysfunction Look
Like and What Can You Do About It?
Nerve dysfunction can present in many
different ways but some of the most common
symptoms Dr. Merritt and I see in our office
are aches/pain, ear infections, allergies,
bed wetting, digestive distress, ADD/ADHD,
learning disorders, colic, asthma, sleeping
difficulty, delayed developmental milestones,
and the list goes on.
At Weddington Chiropractic Wellness
Center at Blakeney we strive to promote a
healthy, thriving, and balanced life for the
whole family. Our adjustments for children
and adults differ as we use unique, scientific,
specific techniques to gently adjust the child’s
spine and nervous system that uses very
little pressure.
We make a
point to make
sure that
all the falls,
stress, trauma,
and physical
demands that
your children
experience do
not stop them
from being
kids and help
them develop Drs. Lisa Merritt and
Sara Butkovich of the
to their full
Weddington Chiropractic
optimum
Wellness Center at
potential!
Blakeney.

Parent Teacher News • Sept/Oct 2016 • 17