Baby’s First Adjustment

By Smith & Prissel Chiropractic and Massage

Though my practice is full of patients of all ages, as a Chiropractic Pediatric Specialist, I often get asked why a baby would need to be adjusted. The answer is simple: They have a spine!  Though we all have spines, the spine of a newborn is mostly cartilage.  It takes about seven years for the very top bone of the spine, the atlas, to fully transform into bone. This process of permanently shaping the spine occurs in sequential order from the top to the bottom of the spine over the next 20+ years. Because of this, any altered positions of the spine can become permanent if not corrected when young, giving rise to the saying, “as the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” Just like the rest of us, babies also need chiropractic care. 

Babies may not spend hours looking down at a phone, trying to carry all the groceries in one trip, or shoveling the end of the driveway after the plow has gone through, but they often have other causes for their spinal misalignments.  First of all: birth.  We’ve all experienced it but we don’t remember (for good reason) what it was like to be born.  Even the most natural birth is still quite a process for mom and baby. It makes sense that a slow and drawn-out labor and delivery could be hard on the baby’s tiny developing spine as it emerges, but a quick birth can also be traumatic as the baby doesn’t have a chance to change position to avoid jamming their spine.  

Once the baby is on the outside, there are a variety of spinal injuries that can occur.  Balancing a heavy head atop a weak neck can lead to preferences of holding the head or turning the head to only one direction.  If not corrected, this can lead to fussiness, facial asymmetries, delayed developmental milestones, and possible spinal issues down the road.  

When evaluating a baby for chiropractic care, I look for any signs of asymmetry in the movement of the baby’s arms, legs or spine. Everything should be moving symmetrically and if it is not, it is addressed.  These differences from right to left are subtle and may not initially be noticed by attentive parents or well-meaning pediatricians.  Chiropractors are trained to identify these asymmetries and correct them, even in the smallest of spines.  

It is important that you minimize the likelihood of a baby developing a preference by:

- Changing how they are held when being fed or bounced

- Switching the way they are positioned in their crib (because they will watch for you to enter the room)

- Changing which way they look when watching an older sibling play

Supporting the head while traveling in a car seat can also help, because otherwise the head can fall to one side and the spine will be bounced out of alignment. It’s no wonder that some babies hate their car seat! 

Other common reasons I see babies in my office are for issues associated with their latch/eating, difficulty with bowel movements, or overall fussiness.  Having older siblings can also contribute to spinal issues for the baby, whether you saw something happen or just heard the cry and are thinking the worst. Luckily, a well-trained chiropractor can assess and correct these little problems before they become big issues.