Ear infections are the number one reason that parents bring their child into a pediatrician’s office. More than 85% of children develop an ear infection before the age of 2 years old, making them a very common pediatric childhood condition. Although it is common to see ear infections in today’s society, it is NOT normal to develop ear infections. Additionally, the methods used for treating ear infections are not natural and fail to address the root cause.

What Causes Ear Infections?

Ear infections are caused by stagnant fluid in the ear that is not able to drain properly. A muscle called the tensor veli palatini surrounds the Eustachian tube and is responsible for milking the fluid out of the ear. If the muscle is in spasm and not functioning properly, the Eustachian tube is closed and fluid is not able to drain out of the ear.

What Causes the Tensor Veli Palatini to Spasm?

The nerve supply from the tensor veli palatini muscle comes from the top vertebra in the neck (atlas). The Atlas is often misaligned after a stressful birth process, forceps delivery, vacuum extraction, or c-section. This misalignment places stress onto the nerve innervating the tensor veli palatini muscle, causing it to spasm. This spasm prevents any fluid from draining out of of the ear.

Options For Getting Rid of Child’s Ear infections

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians do nothing when a child has an ear infection. However, many pediatricians prescribe multiple rounds of antibiotics. Not only does this not help the viral ear infection, but it also lowers your child’s immune system, and makes he/she much more susceptible to developing future ear infections. When children have had chronic ear infections, many pediatricians will recommend a trip to see the ENT specialist. The ENT will generally recommend ear tube surgery where they will drill a hole through the Eustachian tube to get the ear to drain. However, the tensor veli palatini muscle is still in spasm and forces the tube out after several months. Now, the ENT recommends another ear tube surgery. Sound familiar?

The problem is that these options are not addressing the root cause of WHY these ear infections are happening. The ear infections are happening because the tensor veli palatini muscle is not able to milk fluid from the ear allowing it to drain. In order to get this muscle working properly, we have to correct the misalignment in the neck so that the muscle can have proper nerve supply and work the way it was designed to.

What Corrects These Misalignments?

Chiropractic Adjustments are safe, gentle, and effective in storing proper structure to the spine. When the spine, that houses these nerves, is in the correct position, the nerves can function properly. A baby or child adjustment uses a sustained contact or instrument adjusting so that there are no “cracking” or “popping” sounds.

Our office sees hundreds of children with chronic ear infections become healthy after starting regular chiropractic care. Chiropractic care is a natural solution to help resolve ear infections without the use of drugs or surgery.

For more information regarding your baby’s ear infections and chiropractic care, please check out our video at the link below:

If you are interested in making an appointment to see if chiropractic can help your child with ear infections, please contact Blossom Family Chiropractic at blossomfamilychiro@gmail.com or call us at 727-498-5643.

Although breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby, it doesn’t always mean that it’s easy. Many new mothers try breastfeeding and face challenges along the way. One of the most common things that I hear as a pediatric chiropractor is, “my baby won’t latch.” If your baby will not latch, will only feed from one breast, has to be turned like a football to eat, or cannot turn her head to one side, there may be a structural misalignment (subluxation) in your baby’s neck that is preventing her from being able to breastfeed properly. Many parents are now taking their infant to a chiropractor to improve latching and breastfeeding outcomes.

Reasons Babies Have Trouble Breastfeeding?

A child can have trouble breastfeeding for many different reasons. However, the most common reason a child has issues feeding is due to the birth process. The birth process can be a pretty traumatic physical stress on the infant. The doctor will use anywhere from 60-120 pounds of pressure to pull the baby out during delivery. As you can imagine, using this type of force while twisting, turning, and pulling the baby’s neck, can have a considerable effect on the infant’s spine. The doctor uses the top bone in the neck, C1, as a level to deliver the child, and can easily cause a structural misalignment (subluxation) at this level. (In fact, it is estimated that 90% of babies have a subluxation after the birth process!) When that vertebra is misaligned, it places stress onto the brain steam and cranial nerves of the child. Although the baby may not always present with symptoms, others experience colic, torticollis, difficulty latching and breastfeeding. These symptoms are the child’s way of saying, “Hey, something is wrong here. My body is trying to tell you something!”

How Can Chiropractic Care Help With Breastfeeding?

Chiropractic adjustments gently move the spine back into its proper position to restore normal physiological function to the child. When this happens, the baby is able to move her head from side to side, she is able to suck, swallow, and latch, and has a healthy start to life!

Since the bones of the infant are so pliable at this age, the chiropractor uses a sustained contact to gently move the vertebra back into the correct alignment. The pediatric chiropractor uses the same amount of pressure to adjust that child that you would use to check a ripe tomato. There is no thrust, no “cracking” sound, and no rotational movement that you may think of when you hear about a manual adult chiropractic adjustment.

A 2009 case series in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics studied 114 infants who were referred to a chiropractic office for failure to adequately feed at the breast. Every single infant in the study showed improvement, with 78% of those able to exclusively breastfeed following chiropractic care.

These chiropractic adjustments may give your baby the ability to bond with you, get the nutrition that she needs, and be able to function optimally. Sounds like a win-win!

Your Turn

Did you have any trouble breastfeeding? If so, what things helped you and your baby? We would love to hear! Please leave your comments below!

If you have any questions about how chiropractors can help with breastfeeding or if you would like to make an appointment for you or your little one, please contact Blossom Family Chiropractic by calling 727-498-5643 or emailing us at blossomfamilychiro@gmail.com. Blossom Family Chiropractic specializes in pediatric chiropractic care, and is conveniently located in Downtown St. Petersburg, FL.

So many changes happen to your body during pregnancy: hormonal, chemical, postural, gravitational changes, etc. So how does your body keep up?  It is the role of your nervous system, your body’s master control system, to be able to adapt to the physical, chemical, and emotional demands of pregnancy. In order for you to have the healthiest pregnancy possible, your nervous system needs to be working optimally!

Chiropractors work with the nervous system to ensure that your body is able to adapt and function properly. The hormonal and gravitational changes during pregnancy often misalign the spine and pelvis, and may lead to unwanted symptoms for mom, interfere with the positioning of baby, and/or decrease nerve supply going to the growing child. By ensuring proper spinal alignment, you and your baby are able to function optimally for the best pregnancy, delivery, and birth possible!

You may be asking yourself “Can all Chiropractors help with pregnancy?”. Well, there are specific techniques that no all Chiropractors are trained to perform. We discuss this in more detail in the next section of this article.

What is the Webster Technique?

The Webster Technique is a Chiropractic adjusting method specifically designed for pregnant women. This Webster Technique, formerly known as the Webster Breech Turning Technique, focuses on balancing the pelvis so that your baby has the most amount of room to grow and develop properly.  Any misalignments (subluxations) of the pelvis can create torsion of the uterus, known as intrauterine constraint. Intrauterine constraint prevents the baby from moving freely, can interfere with the baby’s ability to position itself properly for birth, and can make labor more challenging. By ensuring that the hips are balanced, the baby is able to position itself in the head down, vertex position that is ideal for normal vaginal delivery. Research shows that women who are under regular chiropractic care during pregnancy experience faster, less painful, and more straight forward deliveries.

What are the Potential Benefits of Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy?

• Maintain a healthier pregnancy
• Control symptoms of nausea
• Reduce Labor and Delivery Time
• Promote optimal baby positioning for delivery
• Reduce the need for unnecessary interventions
• Decrease dystocia and birth trauma
• Relieve back, neck, or joint pain

How do I choose the right Chiropractor?

When you seek out a Chiropractor during pregnancy, find someone who has had additional training in the care of infants, pre and postpartum women, and is Webster Certified. To find this information, you can visit www.icpa4kids.com, and click on the “find doctors” link. Just like with any other medical provider, talk to the Chiropractor to find one that you trust and feel comfortable with.

At Blossom Family Chiropractic, we focus on pre-natal, pediatric, and family chiropractic care. Dr. Savy Ford is Webster Certified, Certified by the American Pediatric Chiropractic Council (CACCP), and is working towards the completion of her Diplomate in Pediatrics and Pregnancy with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

Questions or Comments?

If you have any questions regarding chiropractic care during your pregnancy or would like to make an appointment, please call us at 727-498-5643 or email us at blossomfamilychiro@gmail.com. We would love to hear how chiropractic care benefited you during pregnancy. Please leave comments below!

When I am out in public and tell people that I am a Chiropractor, one of the most common statements I hear is “once you start seeing a chiropractor, you have to go for the rest of your life” or that “you get addicted”. As a Chiropractor and health advocate, I would like to dispel this myth and shed some light on the subject.

When you get into a routine of working out, do you feel better? Yes. Most people who exercise regularly notice an increase in muscle tone, weight loss, more energy, less stress, and an improvement in his/her overall mood.

When you eat healthy, does your body feel better? Yes. The food you consume has a direct impact on various aspects of your physical, chemical, and emotional well-being. Individuals who choose to eat organic, whole foods enjoy a better quality of life.

When you are adjusted, do you feel better? Yes. The chiropractic adjustment allows your nervous system, the master control system of the body, to function optimally. People who are adjusted regularly experience less pain, need fewer medications, become sick less often, and notice an increase in overall mood, sleep, energy, and quality of life.

As a Chiropractor, my patients do not HAVE to come into the office for the rest of their lives. However, many see the benefits and CHOOSE to make chiropractic care a part of their healthy lifestyle. My patients value living a pro-active lifestyle in all areas of their life whether that be nutrition, exercise, or chiropractic care.

What types of activities do you engage in as part of your healthy lifestyle? We would love to hear! Please leave a comment for us below.