More and more parents are beginning to look to chiropractors to complement their children’s health care. Chiropractic care involves diagnosing spinal misalignments and correcting them by adjusting the spine. A slight pressure is most commonly used with children rather than the more forceful manipulation sometimes used with adults.

Chiropractors attempt to get to the root cause of a health problem rather than just treat the symptoms. Misalignments of the spine (also called subluxations) can occur during childbirth, from tumbles or falls, or from any other normal activity. Misalignments left untreated can irritate the nerves and eventually disrupt the body’s ability to function properly. The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to help to restore the normal functioning of the nervous system so the body can heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.

Ear Infections and Chiropractic

Ear pain is the number one reason for child visits to chiropractors. Many chiropractors believe that there is a strong link between the birthing process and recurrent ear infection, also known as otitis media. During the birthing process, cervical (neck) vertebrae can become misaligned, disrupting nerve function, which can affect the eustachian tube. This may lead to fluid buildup in the middle ear and cause otitis media.

Ear infection or otitis media accounts for over 35% of all pediatrician visits in the United States. Antibiotics, the usual treatment, are not always effective and may even lead to a recurrence of ear infections. Many children are dealing with a continuing cycle of repeat ear infections, which lands them back at the pediatrician for more antibiotics. For nearly 100 years, the chiropractic profession has claimed that ear and other upper respiratory infections respond favorably to chiropractic adjustments.

A promising study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics indicates that there is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. 332 children with chronic ear infections participated in the study. Each child, ranging in age from 27 days to 5 years, was given a series of chiropractic adjustments. The results show that close to 80% of the children did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits. The six-month period included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks. Joan M. Fallon, D.C., the author of the study and the chiropractor who treated the children in the study, states that this pilot study can serve as a starting point from which the chiropractic profession can begin to examine its role in the treatment of children with chronic ear infections. She asserts that large-scale clinical trials need to be undertaken in the field.

Side Effects of Chiropractic

Even though this study is not definitive and more scientific research needs to be done in this area, chiropractic treatment is a conservative, drugless approach to consider trying if your child has a history of chronic ear infections. Under normal circumstances, chiropractic adjustments are painless and will not hurt your child. There are no invasive procedures and chiropractors do not use drugs that can have harmful side effects.

Serious side effects from spinal adjustments appear to be rare. A recent article in Integrative Medicine reported the low risk of serious complications from neck and low back adjustments. According to the literature review, the estimated risk for serious complications from neck adjustments is 6.39 per 10 million adjustments. For low back adjustments, it is 1 per 100 million adjustments.

Pediatric Chiropractic Care

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) provides ongoing pediatric courses and seminars for chiropractors, plus an online searchable directory of pediatric chiropractors. The Holistic Pediatric Association also provides an online directory of pediatric health professionals, including chiropractors.

Related Article: Ear Infections: Alternative Solutions

Fallon JM. The Role of the Chiropractic Adjustment in the Care and Treatment of 332 Children with Otitis Media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997; Volume 2, No. 2:167-183.

Coulter ID. Efficacy and Risks of Chiropractic Manipulation: What Does the Evidence Suggest? Integrative Medicine 1998;1:61-66.

CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS is a SAFE and EFFECTIVE way to ELIMINATE ear infections!

CALL TODAY TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!
Your 1st visit is complimentary!
(619) 670-7500

Dr. Mace Richter
Richter Chiropractic
236 Jamacha Rd. Ste 101
El Cajon, CA 92019
(619) 670-7500

Even more concerning is the fact that around 13 MILLION kids have been diagnosed with juvenile onset diabetes. That’s not cool with me.

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And so it’s time (again) to make a commitment (a real commitment this time) to get the sludge out of your body, take off the weight and keep it off.

The best thing that I’ve ever found to do this is a good old nutritional detox. We’re not talking about a colon cleanse or a liver cleanse where you’re sittin’ on the pot all day. Average weight loss is about 7 lbs. of fat in 9 days. I’ve seen as much as 27 lbs. fat loss in 30 days!

–> Call (619) 670-7500 and ask Socorro for details on the nutritional detox Isagenix!

What a wild ride this past year has been. Many people I know had their best year yet, while others took a rough ride. You’ve hopefully heard the saying: “It’s not what happens to you that defines your character, it’s how you respond.”

So whether 2009 was a great year for you, or a not so great year, I think it’s wise for us all to review what has happened, both good and bad, and use those lessons to guide us to prosperity in 2010. Agreed? Well let’s get to business then.

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar.

Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year’s Eve festivities pale in comparison.

Happy New Year!
—Dr. Mace

The average life expectancy in the U.S. today is 76 years. Depending on your lifestyle, you may go well beyond that. Here’s a little test to give you an estimate of your expected lifespan. You start with the number 76, and add or subtract from that average.

Exercise: Do you exercise vigorously at least three times a week? If you do, add 3 years to 76. If not, subtract 3 years.

Diet: Do you avoid bad fats and processed foods and, instead, choose lots of omega-3-rich fish and grass-fed beef? If so, add 2 years.

Weight: Are you at a healthy weight? If you’re overweight by 50 pounds or more, subtract 8 years. Thirty to 40 pounds, subtract 4. Ten to 29 pounds, subtract 2.

Blood Pressure: If you know your blood pressure, add 1 year.

Drinking: Do you have more than two alcoholic drinks (cocktails, beer, or wine) a day? If you do, subtract 1 year. And for each additional daily drink, subtract 2 more. (Remember what I said yesterday: One to seven drinks a week is healthy – no more.)

Smoking: If you smoke more than two packs of cigarettes a day, subtract 8 years. One to two packs a day, subtract 6. One-half to one pack subtract 3.

Driving: Have you received a traffic ticket or been involved in a traffic accident in the past year? If so, subtract 4 years. Other violations, subtract 1. If you always wear your seatbelt, add one.

Working vs. Retiring: If you are 65 or older and are still working, add 3 years.

Relaxation: If you take a relaxed approach to life, add 3 years. If you’re aggressive, driven, or anxious, subtract 3. And if you consider yourself “unhappy,” subtract another year.

Gender: Since women tend to live longer than men, add 3 years if you’re a woman. If you’re a man, subtract 3.

Age: How long you’ve already lived matters. If you’re between the ages of 30 and 39, add 2 years. Forty to 49, add 3. Fifty to 69, add 4. Seventy or older, add 5.

Family History: If any grandparent reached age 85, add 2 years. If all your grandparents reached age 80, add 6. If one of your parents died of a stroke or heart attack before the age of 50, subtract 4.

Based on the above categories, determine what you need to work on. Do you need to exercise more? Eat better? Lose weight? Just because your father died from a heart attack doesn’t mean that is your destiny. You have information he may not have had. Look at the diseases that run in your family and work to lower your risk factors. You can start – today – to improve your longevity by making positive changes.

(Resource: The Longevity Game, by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company)

Your Health is your Most Important ASSET. Take It Seriously. We Do!

Whether your back, fingers, or knees are affected, joint pain usually increases with wear and tear. As long as the pain is mild and there’s no redness or pronounced inflammation, the commonly recommended treatments include mild stretching and exercise, weight loss if you’re overweight, warm showers, and cold packs or moist heating pad (whichever feels better).

A landmark National Institutes of Health study of the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin, widely touted as rebuilders of cartilage, showed that in high-quality form, they may also help to reduce moderate-to-severe knee pain.

Recent research done by neuroscientists at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, however, suggests that getting in shape physically may help your brain fight such blanks.

Using advanced MRI techniques, they found that regions of the brain linked to decision-making and focus were much stronger in older people who were physically fit than those who weren’t.

You can fight memory lapses with food too: The antioxidants in walnuts and berries, for instance, can help boost mental acuity by battling free-radical compounds that damage brain cells, according to Tufts University nutrition researcher James Joseph, PhD.

Based on that information I suggest you go to a health food store and purchase some walnuts for your daily intake today.

The answer: Slather on protection. I think daily moisturizers that include sunscreen are not that effective because sometimes people don’t remember to apply sunscreen at all, or don’t put on enough and they put on some types that actually can damage their skin. There are good sunscreens and bad sunscreens but I’ll save that information for another day. If you’re interested in some great Collagen, send me an email at RichterChiropractic@gmail.com. I’ll send you the flyer by email.

For those (often men) who may not enjoy wearing face cream, like me I recommend keeping a hat by the door for every trip outside. Along with sun protection, add some of the very best whole food supplements on the market today, Standard Process Labs. I recommend you take 6 tablets of a supplement called Cataplex F which is available by emailing me at RichterChiropractic@gmail.com and then supplementing your diet with foods that supply enough crucial vitamin D because avoiding the sun or always wearing sunscreen means you won’t get enough of this vital nutrient from sunlight. Again you should have ten minutes per day minimum of the sunlight for your daily dosage of sunlight/vitamin D for the proper intake of vitamin D.