Backs for the future
By: Joe Tougas
Special to The Examiner
September 6, 2009
Lynn Waterbury became an increasingly strong believer in chiropractic care with each of her three children. So much so that she was getting adjustments while pregnant with her third.
"When I was adjusted the entire pregnancy was great," says Waterbury, a Mankato, Minnesota mom. "Within minutes of delivering her I wanted to be up, out of the bed and just moving around. ... My recovery time was a lot less after she was born, which was nice because I had three kids now to chase after."
Her third child, Grace, made her first visit to the family chiropractor at the age of two weeks. By that point, Waterbury was well convinced that her kids had benefited from visiting the chiropractor for ailments typically treated by physicians -- in her case, colic and ear infections.
Surf the Web» The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association's Web site is icpa4kids.com
Her first baby's colic ceased two weeks after visiting a chiropractor and her second child's ear infections never reappeared after her visit.
Dr. Monica Schugel, the family's chiropractor, treats infants and newborns as well as teenagers -- often athletes -- who come in for help with pain.
"Obviously you're looking more for structure function," Schugel says of her infant and toddler patients. "You're looking for symmetry and you also really need to take a detailed history: How was the child's birth, was it traumatic? Do they have food allergies, do they have a lot of reflux? Things that maybe the parent wouldn't necessarily relate as a structure function problem."
The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association in Pennsylvania touts the results of a 2007 study indicating that spinal manipulation of children is safe and effective. Schugel says the younger the bones, the easier they are to adjust and the easier the road to whatever ails the patient.
The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association in Pennsylvania touts the results of a 2007 study indicating that spinal manipulation of children is safe and effective. Schugel says the younger the bones, the easier they are to adjust and the easier the road to whatever ails the patient.
"Typically, it's a one-time treatment because infants respond amazingly well," she says. "The nervous system is just developing, you can affect it without having any bad patterns. Years of wear and tear definitely take longer to correct than just a few months."
In her seventh year of practice, Schugel, who practices in North Mankato is seeing an increase in visits from children. For the infants, the visits are often for colic, reflux or a preventative check-up. For toddlers, it's ear infections -- which were chronic in the case of Waterbury's second daughter. Her physician's advice to insert tubes if the infections persisted is what sent Schugel back to a chiropractor.
"My personal view on tubes is not a positive one -- because you don't get just one set," Waterbury says. "You're back every couple of years, you can't go swimming, it's something that's more of a nuisance than anything. I thought OK, I'll try the chiropractor again. That was that was six years ago and she hasn't had one ear infection since."
From the colic that was taken care of in weeks to the pregnancy that sounded too smooth to believe, Waterbury maintains that chiropractic is good for the kids.
"The girls are hardly ever sick, that's the main reason we go," she says. "They get colds, but they're never down and out sick. I'm a believer."
Joe Tougas has written for The Blueroad Reader, Minnesota State University TODAY and Static magazine.
