Children and Chiropractic Care: Birth to 18 Years

Chiropractic has been successfully caring for children for various conditions for over a millennium. The main issues are what conditions are cared for by chiropractors, what is the reported success rate and what is the incidence of side effects. Over time, research has started to catch up on what individual chiropractors have been realizing in their private practices and this article will outline the current state of the literature.

Conditions Cared For and Side Effects 2012 Report

The pediatric related conditions that were reported to be cared for by chiropractors were the following:

1. Musculoskeletal
   1. Joint pain
   2. Walking/crawling
   3. Neck pain
   4. Mid back pain
   5. Low back pain
2. Neurological
   1. Headaches
   2. Autism
   3. Balance
   4. Cerebral Palsy
   5. Movement Disorders
   6. ADD/ADHD
   7. Behavioral
   8. Crying/Irritability/Sleep
   9. Developmental
   10. Growing
   11. Cognitive
3. Gastrointestinal
   
   1. Colic
   2. Constipation
   3. Digestive
   4. Eating
   5. Drinking
   6. Reflux
   7. Hiatus hernia
   8. Bowel problems
4. Genitourinary
   1. Menstrual cramps
   2. Bed wetting
5. Immune
   1. Allergies
   2. Asthma
   3. Food intolerance
   4. Respiratory
   5. Eczema
   6. Skin rashes
6. Infections
   1. Ear infections
   2. Ear-nose-throat problems
   3. Common cold
   4. Flu     

As for side effects, "there was less than 1% of patients experiencing negative side effects and all of these adverse reactions to care were mild in nature; transient and required no medical care with serious complications. The typical reaction was transient crying."

"The incidence of adverse drug reactions among hospitalized children in the United States has not been well studied.....On the basis of [review] of 17 prospective studies conducted in the United States and Europe, the incidence of adverse drug reactions among hospitalized children was 9.5%, with severe reactions accounting for 12% of the total."    Comparatively speaking, chiropractic is a much safer choice than most alternative options.

The entire article can be found here.