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Colic, Gas/Fussy
Struggling with a colicky baby can be frustrating and exhausting. Parents feel helpless. However, more parents are discovering that chiropractic care can help.
The most widely accepted definition of colic today is “unexplainable and uncontrollable crying in babies from 0 to 3 months old, more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for 3 weeks or more, usually in the afternoon and evening hours.”
I brought him in when he was just a few weeks old and struggling with colic. Through even a few adjustments, Dr. Lardi was able to reduce symptoms significantly and he is now colic-free and a happier baby.
V.R. Dundas
Possible Causes of Colic
Take the first step toward colic relief. Call today!
Indigestion
The functioning of major systems in the body can be compromised by misalignments in an infant’s spine often caused during birth. Spinal misalignments in the lower spine can affect the digestive system and result in ineffective digestion of breast milk and formula causing major discomfort in your baby, leading to a colic episode.
Incorrect diapering techniques can also cause spinal misalignments in the lower spine and in turn contribute to colic.
Difficult Birth
Sometimes inconsolable crying is not due to a digestive disturbance, but rather the result of a misalignment in the infant’s upper cervical spine. These babies are probably suffering from head and neck pain. This is especially common if there was a difficult or traumatic birth.
As your child is being born, the neck and back vertebrae can go out of alignment due to the stretching and compressing of the body as it emerges into the world. If your delivery included a prolonged pushing stage, forceps or vacuum extraction, or other form of assisted delivery, the chances of a misalignment are great.
Research Studies
While large scale research results are lacking, there are many case studies showing improvement, sometimes dramatic, among colicky babies with spinal misalignments. With time, colic is expected to resolve on its own, but why go through months of exhaustion and frustration when chiropractic can help.
Chiropractic Can Help
Chiropractic is not a treatment for colic. If spinal misalignment is present, interfering with the proper function of any part of the body, restoring proper nervous system control often allows the body to heal. This may happen regardless of age and regardless of what the particular symptoms are called.
Your treatment of our daughter since birth has shown a clear relief of her gas issues and she immediately began to sleep better and fuss less.
Colleen H.
We’d love to help. Contact our office for a no-obligation consultation for your child.
References:
Klougar, N., et al. “Infantile Colic Treated by Chiropractors: A Prospective Study of 316 Cases.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Vol. 12, (1980): 281-288.
Wiberg, J.M.M., et al. “The Short-Term Effect of Spinal Manipulation in the Treatment of Infantile Colic: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial with a Blinded Observer.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Vol. 22, No. 8 (1999).
The results of a randomized controlled trial published in the October 1999 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics tracked a small group of 50 infants. Half received the drug dimethicone and the other spinal manipulation. At the conclusion of the two-week study, the babies being adjusted saw a 67% reduction in crying and the drug therapy group saw a 38% reduction.