“Chiropractors– what a scam!”
I visited a chiropractor once or twice in my life. One of these visits was after I was in a car accident and went to a chiropractor on a Groupon. What a terrible idea! They basically told me I was going to be disfigured by 40 and I needed to spend $4,000 on chiropractic care. Needless to say, this experience turned me off from the idea of regular chiropractic visits.
But now I’m interested
Flash forward five years. I ended up having to get an emergency c-section with my daughter. After 3 days at home, I started to notice Zoey’s head was always turned one way. I’m usually a worrier, so I didn’t think much of it until my mom noticed it too. My husband and I decided to at least get her checked out by a chiropractor.
Here you can see Zoey’s head is tilted. This is one example of how it would get stuck.
I just happened to know a chiropractor at my Crossfit gym who was opening up his own office in town. Zoey received her first adjustment at 1 week old.
Adjustments on babies or younger children look different than what we are used to seeing as adults. There is no yanking or pushing just to hear a “crack”. The chiropractor was very gentle with light touches while she laid on a pillow. Actually I think she fell asleep a few times!
The Journey
I thought we would get her adjusted a few times and call it good, but our chiropractor, Dr. Mike, explained the process and benefits of consistent chiropractic care. At first, I was still nervous from my last experience but I really wanted Zoey to be a healthy baby, and I was terrified of health problems that would run our lives. We committed to weekly adjustments for Zoey.
I didn’t know we were starting what would end up to be a long-term treatment plan. When I say her neck was crooked, I mean she would lay on the diaper changing table and her head would be completely turned to the right, almost exorcist style where it could turn past her shoulder. As she grew, neck problems continued to surface. She would wake up and her entire head would be tilted or her body could get stuck in a c shape making it impossible for her to stretch out. One day she got out of her crib and fell over because her head was stuck to one side again. On these days we would go in for an extra adjustment or gently rub her muscles to try and get her relaxed.
Why aren’t we seeing progress?
After six months we started to wonder, why isn’t this getting better? Dr. Mike explained it’s like cleaning out your closet. Before your closet can be clean and organized, you have to take everything out, which always makes things messier. This was Zoey’s nervous system working through the “closet cleaning” to get it organized and ready for use.
We continued on our path because we had such enormous health gains in other areas of her life. I won’t say we weren’t skeptical at times, but we were also seeing a lot of benefits.
Zoey has always been a good sleeper, sleeping 12-13 hours every night since being a few months old. She is rarely sick and more specifically has only had one ear infection her whole life. When she does get sick it’s easily manageable and shorter than most. Zoey has also been high on the growth scale consistently in the 90th percentile since a few weeks old. We see other benefits too like language development and being right on track with her milestones.
So now, I swear by chiropractic care.
I’ve learned a lot in the last three years of chiropractic care and I truly believe that is why Zoey is who she is today. Chiropractic care has really become a part of how we live.
Get them adjusted. Why not?
If you are interested, make sure you do your research and find a good one; not all chiropractors are created equal. Similarly to how you research pediatricians or daycare providers, you will want to make sure it’s a good fit for you and your family.
Shout out to the amazing staff at our chiropractic office who has seriously changed our lives! We love you!
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