Rancho Cucamonga Chiropractor Explains the Importance of Beginning Chiropractic Care at Birth

Dr. Cory Sartin, a Chiropractor in Rancho Cucamonga specializes in Chiropractic Care for infants, children, and families. Chiropractic care is an essential component of health at any age, but it is of special importance at birth. As chiropractors, our role is vital for the health and development of the newborn. Why is it so vital that children be checked for subluxations at birth? The reasons are too vast to cover in this brief overview, however several of the most significant will be discussed.
BIRTH TRAUMA
Even in the most straight forward of births, there exists the opportunity for trauma to occur. According to the paper, "Latent Spinal Cord and Brain Stem Injury in Newborn Infants," Dr. Abraham Towbin, a neuropathologist at Boston Children's Hospital, stated that the primary cause of injury is forceful, longitudinal traction with flexion and torsion of the vertebral axis during delivery. He states that the birth process, even under optimal controlled conditions, is potentially a traumatic, crippling event for the fetus.
Spinal cord and brain stem injuries often occur during the process of birth, but they frequently escape recognition. Respiratory depression in the neonate is a cardinal signal of such injury.
In infants who survive, there may be lasting neurologic defects reflecting the primary injury. In some, secondary hypoxic damage to the cerebrum may ultimately be manifested as cerebral palsy, mental retardation or other central nervous system defects.
According to Towbin, seven out of eight SIDS victims suffered cervical spinal injuries which resulted in the neuro-pathophysiology that was the death of the infant! Research reported in the October, 2000 issue of the Journal of Asthma finds that children born through special medical procedures as a result of obstetric complications have a higher incidence of asthma and allergic disorders later in life.
The study, performed at the Imperial College School of Medicine in London, England, followed 8088 Finnish children from birth to the age of 7. The researchers found that babies whose birth involved the use of cesarean section or forceps were at a greater risk for developing asthma and allergies.
A previous study hints that the mechanism most likely involved is damage to the babies' brain stem or spinal cord from the trauma of the interventions which is known as Traumatic Birth Syndrome (TBS). According to a literature review in the October, 1993 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics cases of TBS are going unreported and as a result, undertreated. The report goes on to say that manual treatment (such as Chiropractic care) would be beneficial to patients suffering from TBS related injuries. Dr. Cory Sartin a Chiropractor in Rancho Cucamonga has been highly trained in the area of infants, children, and family chiropractic care. Dr. Cory Sartin has taken countless hours of post-graduate education to further his knowledge in pediatric chiropractic.