Why Chiropractic when your child is learning to walk?

Why is chiropractic for kids beneficial?

Walking is one of the most memorable milestones in your babies development. Walking may seem like a simple task, one that we do not give much thought to, but it is harder than it looks. Chiropractic care for kids can ease this struggle and prevent long lasting damage.

Your baby will take its first steps between 9 and 15 months. Before walking, babies will start to crawl. It is essential to have your baby crawl before walking as it helps strengthen and develop areas in a baby’s body. If a child starts to walk before they are ready it puts an unnecessary amount of stress on their spine. Babies are able to walk at their own time and do not need to be rushed. This will allow for the best development. 

Babies transition from crawling to walking, a transition in which anatomy and alignment is changing. When learning to crawl and eventually walk, infants begin to develop a strong lordotic curve, or an extension curve in their lower back, lumbar spine. 

Having the option for chiropractic care for kids can be beneficial for multiple reasons. When children are ready to walk, it is really important to have good neurological development. We have nerves called proprioceptors which are responsible for balance and coordination. These are still developing in infants when they begin to walk. As they are still developing, they are prone to falling, they may even fall around 30 times or more a day. These falls can cause repetitive misalignments in their pelvis, lower back and legs. Misalignments can result in a difficult task of walking. A pelvis that is not correctly aligned can cause a child to find walking more difficult and can be prone to more falls. These misalignments may cause a child to walk with a waddle or slight limp. Falling can also create new damage and interference which can be corrected by seeing a chiropractor. 

With the many falls children experience, they may have an increase in muscle tension and imbalances. Chiropractors are trained to evaluate these misalignments in a child’s spine. Correcting the misalignments allows optimal spinal growth and development through addressing the spine and pelvis. 

To walk your baby needs to have many skills. These include balance, coordination and being able to support their body weight going from one leg to the other. Every skill your baby learns, builds on a skill they already know. Chiropractic can help by clearing misalignments which helps the best development for your baby. 

Chiropractic can help your baby by correcting any misalignments in their spine and pelvis which allows for optimal growth and development.