Jul
15
School is starting all across Colorado here in the next few weeks. And one of the coveted traditions of many children is picking out a special backpack to take to school. Some start as early as first grade, and as they grow and weigh down their backpacks with sports and school supplies, it can quickly become a serious health issue.
Here are good rules of thumb to follow when buying and packing a child’s backpack.
1. Selection. Choosing the right size backpack is the most important step to safe backpack use. Choose the right size for your child, and make sure straps can be adjusted to fit your child.
2. Pack Right. The maximum weight of the loaded backpack should not exceed 15 % of the child’s body weight. Teach your child the importance of packing a backpack, what they should carry in it, and what they can leave at home or at school. Tip: If the backpack forces the wearer to move forward to carry, it’s overloaded.
3. Lift Right. Face the pack, bend at the knees and use both hands to check the weight of the pack. Lift with the legs. Apply one shoulder strap and then the other. Tip: Don’t sling the backpack onto one shoulder. Distribute the weight evenly across your back.
4. Wear it Right. Use both shoulder straps – snug, but not too tight. Tip: When the backpack has a waist strap – use it.
Backpacks are a popular and practical way for children and teenagers to carry school books and supplies. When used correctly, backpacks can be a good way to carry the necessities of the school day. Be sure your child’s school allows students to stop at their lockers throughout the day.
Backpacks are designed to distribute the weight of the load among some of the body’s strongest muscles. However, backpacks that are too heavy or are worn incorrectly can cause problems. Improperly used backpacks may injure muscles and joints. This can lead to severe back, neck, and shoulder pain, as well as long term posture problems. Share these guidelines to help your kids select backpacks and use them safely.
Do not ignore any back pain in a child or teenager. It’s never too young to begin seeing a chiropractor. A chiropractor can adjust a child and keep them on track for avoiding back pain later in life. .
Apr
13
Why Antidepressants Aren’t The Best Choice For Our Children
Filed Under Children's Health | Leave a Comment
While it is common knowledge that people suffering from depression are more likely to attempt suicide, did you know that many antidepressant drugs, which are intended to alleviate depression, have been linked to increased suicide rates? According to an article in the May 15th, 2000 issue of the Boston Globe, internal documents from Eli Lilly and Co. showed that the firm had been aware for years that their antidepressant drug, Prozac, could cause suicidal reactions in a small, but significant, number of patients. Dr. David Healy of the University of Wales estimates that, “Probably 50,000 people have committed suicide on Prozac since its launch, over and above the number who would have done so if left untreated.”
Furthermore, did you know that doctors may prescribe drugs to children even if the medications have not been shown to be beneficial or safe for children? There is an increasing trend among physicians and psychologists to do just that since nearly all pharmaceutical company research on antidepressant drugs has been limited to adults. Only Prozac has been tested on children and found to have benefits by Eli Lilly. However, the side effects may be detrimental to a child’s healthy growth and development and include suicidal feelings, anxiety, insomnia, weight loss and headaches.
Many are now questioning the practice of prescribing antidepressant drugs to children. In October 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a health advisory alerting physicians to a possible link between antidepressant drugs and suicidal feelings in the young. An article from the British Medical Journal contained a clinical review that found “significant shortcomings” in using antidepressants such as Effexor, Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft in those under 18 years old. These researchers concluded that, “Antidepressant drugs cannot confidently be recommended as a treatment option for childhood depression,” and that due to biased reporting by drug manufacturers, “many [doctors, patients and families] will undervalue non-drug treatments that are probably both safer and more effective.”
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Mar
9
What is an asthma attack?
If you’ve ever experienced one 
with your own child, you know just how scary they can be. Asthma is a disorder in which the airway becomes inflamed, resulting in wheezing, loss of breath, and a tightness in the chest. During an asthma attack, the airway becomes constricted, and breathing becomes difficult and labored.
While no one knows for sure what causes asthma, we do know that asthma attacks can be triggered by exposure to certain conditions. Children will exhibit severe coughing and wheezing, and begin feeling a tightness in the chest and a shortness of breath. Triggers can include many things, including:
- Cigarette smoke
- Cleaning products
- Pesticides
- Molds
- Dust
- Pollens
- Strong emotions
- Stress
- Infections of the respiratory system
While the prevalence of asthma has been increasing every year in this country, it’s increasing at an especially alarming rate in children over the past 10 years. With more asthma drugs and allergy shots on the market, why is this happening? Study after study proves there are no significant benefits with shots given to children for moderate to sever asthma. Ultimately its because medication isn’t addressing the true problem.
Chiropractic care focuses on the well being of the entire person. If a misalignment is corrected and managed properly, a child can often return to normal childhood behavior, without having to rely on medication that is ineffective and simply doesn’t work.
Ready to explore a natural treatment for your child suffering with asthma? Give us a call today. We specialize in children and family chiropractic care, and welcome the chance to get you back on track to good health.
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Mar
3
Many people know the benefits of chiropractic care for adults – but can chiropractic care be just as effective for children?
Is it safe to adjust a child?
Chiropractic is absolutely safe for children. A chiropractor uses very gentle and specific techniques for children. The purpose of chiropractic is to remove interference to the nervous system, which is the control center for all of the body’s organs, tissues and systems. Chiropractic adjustments release the body’s healing powers in children just like in adults.
Why do infants need chiropractic?
The birth process is highly traumatic and can introduce great stress to the infant’s skull, spine and pelvis. Infants should be checked by a chiropractor for spinal subluxations that may impair nerve function and can contribute to colic, earache and asthma. As babies grow, they begin to crawl, sit, and walk by using their spine. Proper alignment is essential for ensuring normal function.
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Feb
23
In today’s world of fast paced, hustle and bustle, quick-fix thinking, it’s important to realize that not everything, in fact, not much of anything is a quick-fix. Growing up healthy is something that we all want for our children. Taking healthy steps along the way will help ensure that process is successful, with one of those steps being 
chiropractic care.
Do you remember the phrase “Garbage in, garbage out”? When you consider that we are what we eat, that phrase becomes very important when raising healthy children. Our children need nourishing food. When our children receive proper nutrition, they will be able to perform better in school. A healthy breakfast, snack and lunch will help them concentrate, focus and learn the way they are designed. Fast food restaurants are designed to provide food fast, not necessarily nutritious. Fast foods are typically high in fat and cholesterol, including trans-fats. Our bodies do not have the ability to break down those types of fats.
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Dec
17
Kids and Colds: Prescribing Unnecessary Antibiotics May Do More Harm Than Good
Filed Under Children's Health | Leave a Comment
For the past several years, medical doctors have been repeatedly warned about the dangers of over-prescribing antibiotics. They’ve been told, in medical journals and consumer health magazines, that antibiotics are not effective for colds, upper respiratory infections (URIs), bronchitis or other similar health problems. 
That’s not all. They can weaken a person’s natural immune system and their overuse has already lead to the creation of “superbacteria” which is resistant to antibiotic therapy.
Yet, a new report revealed that 44% of children seen by physicians for treatment of common colds still leave doctors’ offices with unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics!
In addition, 46% of pediatric patients with URIs and 75% of pediatric patients with bronchitis receive antibiotics for their conditions.
Dr. Ann-Christine Nyquist of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and a multicenter team reported their findings in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
They concluded, “Antibiotic prescribing for children diagnosed as having colds, URIs, and bronchitis, conditions that typically do not benefit from antibiotics, represents a substantial proportion of total antibiotic prescriptions to children in the United States each year.”
Among these kids, it’s the youngest who are being pumped with the most drugs. The report noted that children up to four years accounted for 58% of the antibiotic prescriptions.
Instead of “fixing” your kids with pills that don’t work, invest in a health and wellness program instead. Chiropractic care for children can be started immediately after birth, and can help your child stay well for life.
SOURCE: “Table of Antibiotic Prescribing for Children With Colds, Upper Contents Respiratory Tract Infections, and Bronchitis,” Ann-Christine Nyquist, M.D., MSPH; Ralph Gonzales, M.D., MSPH; John F. Steiner, M.D., MPH; Merle A. Sande, M.D., The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 18, 1998.
Nov
30
What if Albert Einstein had been put on Ritalin? Did you know that Einstein, one of the greatest geniuses of the last century, did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift in his foolish dreams.” He was expelled and refused admittance to the Zurich Polytech Institute. Today he would have been put on Ritalin.
Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything. Isaac Newton did very poorly in grade school. Opera singer Enrico Caruso’s teacher said he had no voice at all and could not sing. Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer. Are these geniuses Ritalin candidates also?
What are we doing to our children? How did we allow our country to be jokingly referred to as the Ritalin capital of the world?
Ritalin is a very dangerous and highly addictive drug. Under Federal Law, Ritalin is classified as a schedule II controlled substance, the same rating given to cocaine, opium and morphine. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and include depression, fatigue, paranoia, increased dreaming, irritability, bedwetting and suicide.
At a program on The Ritalin Controversy, one of the mothers stood up and told her son’s story. He tried Ritalin for a very short time and he hated the way it made him feel, so he stopped taking it on his own (hurray for him).
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Nov
26
Children and Wellness: More evidence of antibiotic overuse
Filed Under Children's Health | Leave a Comment
Amoxicillin and other antibiotics are frequently used to prevent recurrent middle ear infections that affect 15% of America’s children.
But a study supported by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research indicated that use of these antibiotics may not be a good idea.
The study showed that children with recurrent middle ear infections — that is, three infections within six months or four in a year — and given antibiotics fare about the same as children given a placebo, with 61- 64% remaining free of new infections during the study period.
Also, researchers say that the excessive antibiotic use, which has the potential to promote acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pneumonia, already is becoming more prevalent.
Instead of attempting to “fix” the problem with a pill, invest in your child’s overall well-being. Studies show that providing chiropractic care for your child from an early age can help in reducing ear infections, and increasing overall health.
SOURCES:
“Continuous twice daily or once daily amoxicillin prophylaxis compared with placebo for children with recurrent acute otitis media,” Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 16.
“Amoxicillin is Often Prescribed to Prevent Middle Ear Infections in Young Children, But it is Only Marginally Effective,” Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Sept. 29, 1997.
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Nov
16
Traumatic Birth Syndrome – How Chiropractic Care Can Help Babies
Filed Under Children's Health | Leave a Comment
Even during the gentlest and most natural of births, Traumatic Birth Syndrome can have an immediate impact on a new baby. As the baby is making its way through the 
birth canal, physical pressure can force the baby’s neck to twist and bend, causing misalignment to the upper cervical vertebrae.
Traumatic Birth Syndrome is not a new condition. A researcher by the name of Duncan measured the amount of force it would take to severely injure a baby’s neck during delivery. He found that 90 pounds of force was enough to cause stillbirth, while less than that would cause the spinal joints to sprain. Duncan commented, “This is not what most obstetricians would consider a great force.”
Traumatic Birth Syndrome can cause a variety of symptoms including:
- Respiratory failure
- Cerebral palsy
- Colic
- Asthma
- Reoccurring ear infections
- Chronic colds and flu
- Sleeping difficulty
- Headaches
- Neck and back pain
- And many more
Traumatic Birth Syndrome doesn’t always occur immediately after birth. Sometime it can take months or years to surface.
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Nov
5
Ear infections are the most frequent primary diagnosis made at visits to U.S. physician offices for children under 15 years of age.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
- Almost half of all children will have at least one middle ear infection before they’re 1-year old.
- Two-thirds of those will have had at least one such infection by age 3.
- Almost half of those will have had repeated bouts.
Statistics also show that more traditional ways of treating ear infections simply don’t work.
- Antibiotic treatment of otitis media is no more effective than placebo, and increases the risks of reoccurrence. [Source: Cantekin EI. Antibiotics to prevent acute otitis media and to treat otitis media with effusion. JAMA 1994; 272(3):203-4 / Medline ID: 94293436]
However, correcting the cause through chiropractic has been shown to help over 80% of all children with ear infections.
- 93% of all episodes of otitis media treated with chiropractic care improved, 75% in 10 days or fewer.
This study’s data indicates that limitation of medical intervention and the addition of chiropractic care may decrease the symptoms of ear infection in young children. [Source: Froehle RM; Ear infection: a retrospective study examining improvement from chiropractic care and analyzing for influencing factors. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1996; 19(3):169-77 / Medline ID: 96294956]
Does your child have reoccurring ear infections? Instead of visiting the pediatrician, check in with your chiropractor. Your child may be ear infection-free this coming season.