Colic

If you have a colicky baby and other forms of treatment don’t seem to be helping very much, you may want to investigate taking your baby to a chiropractor. Dr. Cory Koch at Chiropractic Lifestyle has had success treating infants with colic.

Colic is defined as comfortless crying in a young child or a baby and the child exhibits periodic fussiness that can last over hours or days. Colic is characterized by problems of loud piercing cry, tensed abdominal muscles, flexed legs, and clenched fingers. It generally starts around three weeks of age and lasts until around three months but sometimes lasts for as long as six months. Approximately 10-20% of babies are affected by colic.

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.

If the misalignments, called vertebral subluxations, are big enough, the functioning of major systems in the body can be compromised. The digestive system can be affected and ineffective digestion of breastmilk and formula can cause major discomfort in your baby, leading to colic episodes.

Chiropractic adjustments in an infant are far different from those on adults. The adjustments that a chiropractor will do on your baby is basically applying gently pressure with the finger to areas on the neck and back. You may see your baby totally relax before your eyes as the misalignments are corrected.

Chiropractic care can be very valuable in helping to calm the colic tendencies, so if you have an baby with colic, call Dr. Koch at Chiropractic Lifestyle, 913-768-0000, to make an appointment.