Pediatrics

What Is the Role Of Chiropractic Care in Prevention or Reduction of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Children?

By Frank M. Painter|November 19, 2012|Chiropractic Care, Pediatrics|

What Is the Role Of Chiropractic Care in Prevention or Reduction of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Children?

SOURCE: J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2012 (Sep); 35 (7): 493–513

Chiropractic Care and Public Health: Answering Difficult Questions About Safety, Care Through the Lifespan, and Community Action

Lise Hestbaek, DC, PhD

Back and neck pain are common ailments in school age children with prevalence rates ranging from 5% to 74%. [38, 39] The prevalence of low back pain increases from preadolescence to early adulthood, [38, 40] but after that, the prevalence rates change surprisingly little. [41] A similar pattern is seen for neck pain, [41] but less is known about the course of other musculoskeletal disorders throughout life. However, extremity complaints are found frequently in children. [42]

It has been demonstrated that children and adolescents with musculoskeletal complaints have a higher risk of having these problems as adults. [43-45] Pain and aberrant musculoskeletal function are known to have other consequences with regard to health. Long-lasting pain conditions, including back pain, have been associated with a generally decreased pain threshold, [46-48] which seems to develop alongside pain, because patients did not have a higher pain threshold than asymptomatic subjects before the onset of back pain. [49] If this process is initiated in childhood, it is likely to increase the impact of minor trauma or overuse in everyday life and thus may induce a lifelong cascade of negative health events, resulting in poorer general health and lower quality of life.

Another possible consequence of musculoskeletal disorders in childhood is pain becoming a barrier to physical activity. Children who are injured while performing sport activities [42, 50] may avoid or stop the activity that caused the original injury. It is also plausible that continued pain or discomfort may reduce motivation to participate and enjoy physical activities. Reduction in activity can have serious health implications over time. It is established that physical activity is one of the most important factors relating to several lifestyle disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, [51, 52] and it has been shown that increased physical activity in youth can reduce the risk of these disorders in adulthood. [53, 54] Moreover, health habits throughout the lifespan are established in youth, [55, 56] and therefore, promoting and maintaining a healthy level of physical activity in children and adolescence are essential to improve public health. Thus, an important element to reach lifelong health is to optimize musculoskeletal health.

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Neck and Back Pain in Children: Prevalence and Progression Over Time

By Frank M. Painter|June 19, 2012|Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, Pediatrics|

Neck and Back Pain in Children:
Prevalence and Progression Over Time

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011 (May 16); 12: 98 ~ FULL TEXT

Per Kjaer, Niels Wedderkopp, Lars Korsholm, and
Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde

Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics,
Part of Clinical Locomotion Network,
University of Southern Denmark,
Campusvej 55, DK-5230, Odense, Denmark.

The following article appears to be the first study to track and review the progression of back pain in the same group of children, over a prolonged period, to see how (or if) it is a contributor to those same complains in adulthood.

Of particular interest is Table 2, because it breaks down and tracks complaints of either neck, mid back, or low back pain in the same group of children at 3 different time periods: ages 9, 13 and 15 years old.

Table 2: Prevalence rates of different types of back pain in a cohort of Danish children/ adolescents surveyed at three time points

Age Group	Age 9	Age 13	Age 15
Neck Pain
All children Boys Girls	10%9%11%	7%5%9%	15%13%18%
Mid Back Pain
All children Boys Girls	20%22%19%	13%13%13%	28%22%32%
Low Back Pain
All children Boys Girls	33%32%34%	28%26%30%	48%39%54%

The Abstract and Full Text Article: (more…)

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The Facts About Fevers

By Frank M. Painter|February 19, 2012|Education, Fever Management, Immune System, Pediatrics|

The Facts About Fevers

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: To Your Health ~ January 2012

By Claudia Anrig, DC

Our body’s first line of defense when invaded by any microbe, virus or bacteria is cells called microphages; a strong, healthy immune system may be able to eliminate the problem with this first step alone. If these fail to contain the microbe/”bug,” then the body creates other pryogens and proteins to try to assist. Once these have been created, the hypothalamus in the brain recognizes there is an invader and raises the body temperature to assist in killing it off.

This elevated temperature will generally be just a couple of degrees, but the hypothalamus determines, based on the number of pryogens and proteins, what will be necessary to eliminate the microbe/bug. If the hypothalamus creates additional biochemicals to try to protect the body, then the temperature rises accordingly.

Defining a Fever

For all children above the age of 3 months, a fever is actually a good thing. It’s a sign that their immune system is functioning properly. Although many parents will panic when their child has a temperature above 98.6° F (37° C), and this is understandable since many health care providers have called this a “low-grade fever,” the reality is that children’s temperature may naturally run a little higher than what many consider the norm.

A true low-grade fever is anything between 100°F and 102.2°F (37.8° C and 39° C). This level of fever is beneficial; with most microbes/”bugs” that a child will be exposed to, this fever will assist the body in repelling the invader.

A moderate-grade fever is typically between 102.2° F and 104.5° F (39° C and 40° C). This temperature is still considered beneficial; if a child’s body has reached this temperature, it’s what’s needed to kill whatever bacteria or virus their body is attempting to fight.

A high fever is a fever greater than 104.5° F (40° C). This fever may cause the child some discomfort and result in a bit of crankiness. Generally indicative of a bacterial infection, this fever means that the body is fighting something a little more serious than the common cold. While it will not cause brain damage or any other harm to a child, it is wise to seek assistance from their medical provider.

A serious fever is one that is at or above 108° F (42° C); this fever can be harmful.

Can a Fever Be Dangerous? (more…)

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Effect of Backpack Load Carriage on Cervical Posture in Primary Schoolchildren

By Frank M. Painter|February 11, 2012|Backpacks, Forward Head Posture, Pediatrics|

Effect of Backpack Load Carriage on Cervical Posture in Primary Schoolchildren

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Work. 2012 (Jan 1); 41 (1): 99—108

By Fran Kistner, Ira Fiebert, Kathryn Roach

School of Physical Therapy, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Worcester, MA, USA.

Objective: This study examined the effects of various backpack loads on elementary schoolchildren’s posture and postural compensations as demonstrated by a change in forward head position.

Subjects: A convenience sample of 11 schoolchildren, aged 8-11 years participated.

Methods: Sagittal digital photographs were taken of each subject standing without a backpack, and then with the loaded backpack before and after walking 6 minutes (6MWT) at free walking speed. This was repeated over three consecutive weeks using backpacks containing randomly assigned weights of 10%, 15%, or 20% body weight of each respective subject. The craniovertebral angle (CVA) was measured using digitizing software, recorded and analyzed. (more…)

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Pediatric News

By Frank M. Painter|October 8, 2011|Chiropractic Technique, Pediatrics|

Pediatric News

The Chiro.Org Blog

The second edition of Dr. Claudia Anrig’s wonderful textbook “Pediatric Chiropractic” will be available in early November. Pre-order a copy at a discount price on our Amazon Associate page and Amazon will tithe 4% of the proceeds back to chiropractic research.

With its academic and clinical approach, the second edition of Pediatric Chiropractic provides the Family Wellness Chiropractor the tools they need to adjust infants, children and pregnant women with confidence. Through the cooperation of over 40 international experts, this new edition adds several techniques including SOT, Thompson, Logan, Upper Cervical, Craniosacral, instrument assisted adjusting and remains the leading resource for the Gonstead technique as a method for adjusting children and pregnant women. (more…)

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Is Pediatric Chiropractic Care Safe?

By Frank M. Painter|October 5, 2011|Iatrogenic Injury, Pediatrics, Spinal Manipulation|

Is Pediatric Chiropractic Care Safe?

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Clinical Chiropractic 2011 (Sep); 14 (3): 97–105

Matthew F. Doyle

This new “best evidence” literature review explored reported adverse events and the overall safety of chiropractic pediatric care, as well as other forms of care for the same complaints routinely treated in a chiropractic office.

The results were quite interesting:

The chiropractic literature reports incidence between 0.53% and 1% for mild adverse events (AE) associated with chiropractic pediatric manipulative therapy (PMT). Put in terms of individual patients, this means that somewhere between one in 100-200 patients presenting for chiropractic care may experience a mild adverse event; in terms of total patient visits, this means that one mild AE may occur every 1310 to 1812 visits.This incidence rate compares favorably with: (more…)

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