The Safety of Chiropractic Pediatrics Pediatric thoracic subluxation adjustment Dr. John Minardi is a 2001 graduate of Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. A Thompson-certified practi-tioner and instructor, he is the cre-ator of the Thompson Technique Seminar Series and author of The Complete Thompson Textbook – Minardi integrated Systems. in addi-tion to his busy lecture schedule, Dr. Minardi operates a successful pri-vate practice in Oakville, Ontario. E-mail [email protected], or visit www.ThompsonChiropractic Technique.com. SAMPLE CASE A 25-year-old female presents to the office with her three-month-old daughter. The mother relays to the doctor that a friend recommended she bring her daughter to the chiropractor for a checkup. The friend suggested this might verify any misalignments that may exist in her child’s spine following a difficult delivery. The mother goes on to state that she went through a painful labour that lasted 15 hours, followed by a complicated delivery. She explains that her daughter was not in a normal position at time of delivery, and the medical professionals assisting with the delivery needed to manipulate her daughter’s position to allow a natural birth to occur. The mother had insisted that she preferred that to a caesarean section being performed. The mother is adamant that she sees nothing abnormal with her child, nor does her daughter exhibit any symptoms. However, since delivery, she has been worried that something may be wrong with her daughter, as a result of such a traumatic event. Her friend, who is a longtime chiropractic patient, suggested that her daughter be checked, so the mother decided to bring the child in for a chiropractic assessment. Examination reveals a vibrant and happy child upon observation. Physical examina-tion reveals subluxations present at T1 and T4, discovered with both static and motion palpation. These subluxation findings are exaggerated by the fact that the child shifts and squirms each time the doctor palpates the subluxated areas. All neurological and remaining pediatric tests were unremarkable. During the report of findings, the doctor explains the child’s assessment to the moth-er. The mother asks the doctor if it is safe to adjust a child. The doctor reassures the mother that chiropractic care is very safe for the infant, and that all adjustments for chil-dren are extremely gentle. The doctor also emphasizes the importance of adjusting the subluxations now, to prevent future problems, rather than allowing the issues to persist until symptoms appear. Has this situation ever presented to you? Have you ever assessed a child, found that subluxations were present, but were asked if chiropractic care is safe for children? Would you be confident relaying to a parent that adjustments for a child are indeed safe, as well as necessary, when subluxations are present? In this edition of Technique Toolbox, I will address these questions, and review a safe and effective thoracic adjustment for a pediatric patient. THE SAFETY OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR CHILDREN Many chiropractors are hesitant to adjust children. Much of this hesitation is due to the inadequate training that was provided to them. Others are hesitant due to fear of hurt-ing the child, and still others simply do not know where to begin, or how to adjust a pediatric patient. Unfortunately, certain individuals have tried to cast a negative light on chiropractic care for pediatrics. A 2007 article in The Paedatrics Journal 1 stated that spinal manipulation caused adverse reactions in 13 of the 14 cases studied. However, as pointed out by the World Chiropractic Alliance, those cases were culled out of approximately 14,000 pub-lished articles, and specifically excluded studies where no adverse effects were reported. Dr. Terry Rondberg stated, “Obviously, the researchers were looking for extremely rare cas-es of spinal manipulation causing injury”. 2 The researchers admitted that their “study had www.canadianchiropractor.ca John Minardi, BHK, DC 12 • CANADiAN CHiROPRACTOR | JUNE 2011
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