Colic: Chiropractic can help

Colic is defined as an unexplainable and uncontrollable crying in babies from 0 to 3 months old, more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for 3 weeks or more, usually in the afternoon and evening hours.  The incidence is thought to be about 22.5%.   Colic places babies at a high risk for child abuse, including CNS damage or death from shaken baby syndrome.

A recent study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics  has concluded,  "Spinal manipulation is effective in relieving infantile colic".  For a period of two weeks, half of the subjects underwent chiropractic spinal manipulation, while the other half received the drug dimethicone. All of the adjusted babies stayed in the study, while only 64% of the dimethicone babies completed the two-week study.  In the course of the study, the children being adjusted saw a 67% reduction in crying and the drug therapy group saw only a 38% reduction in crying.  The mean number of adjustments given during the two-week study was 3.8.

One might question the effect of the dropouts from the drug group. The authors commented on this as follows: "By excluding data from the dropouts, we are excluding more severe cases from the dimethicone group, and this has the effect of making that group appear better than it actually was. Thus we are introducing a serious bias against showing a positive effect of spinal manipulation, and despite this, the manipulation group did significantly better."

The findings of this report echo the results of another recent report entitled "The efficacy of chiropractic spinal adjustments as a treatment protocol in the management of infantile colic" by Mercer and Cook of South Africa. 

Thirty infants from the general public between the ages of 0-8 weeks were randomly divided into two treatment groups.  All participating infants were diagnosed as suffering from infantile colic by a pediatrician before inclusion into the study. The infants were put into the placebo or the experimental group according to the random sampling technique.

The results obtained from the study demonstrated a significant difference in the response to treatment by the experimental group as opposed to the control group.  Complete resolution of symptoms was found by 93% of the infants within the two-week treatment period with a maximum of six treatments. In addition, no recurrence of the infantile colic was observed in any experimental infant between cessation of treatment and the follow-up interview one month later.

Similar results have also been found in a study of 316 children where a satisfactory result occurred within 2 weeks in 94% of the cases receiving chiropractic care. 51% of these infants had prior, unsuccessful treatment, usually drug therapy (83%).  In yet another study of 132 infant's with colic, 91% of the parents reported an improvement, which occurred after an average of two to three manipulations, and one week after the treatment started.

All this to say - chiropractic is worth a try. The only side effect is better health!

Ear Infections

Otitis media, or ear infections, are the most common childhood health problem and account for approximately thirth five percent of all visits to the pediatrician.  Otitis media is an infection of the middle ear caused by a build up of fluid behind the tympanic membrane, or ear drum.  The leading age group for ear infections is in children under two years old.

How Do Ear Infections Start?

 There are several risk factors relating to the onset of ear infections in children.  Any child who has prior ear infections is at greater risk for repeat ear infections.  Any child who has a history of antibiotic use is at a much higher risk for recurring infections.  This is mainly because the use of antibiotics causes a weakening of the child’s own natural defense systems, known as the immune system.  Children who have been bottle fed rather than breast fed have an icreased incidence of ear infections.  This is due in part to the angle at which the baby is held for breast feeding, which may not allow the tubes in the ears to drain correctly.  Children that attend day care are at increased risk for infection due to the many different types and strains of bacteria and illness found in these facilities.

How Are Ear Infections Treated?

 The most common course of treatment for ear infection in children is a seven to ten day corse of antibiotics, most commonly amoxicillin.  According to an article in Health Watch in May 1997, in the United States, 97.9% of children diagnosed with ear infections were given antibiotics by their doctor.  A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that children who took amoxicillin for chronic ear infections were two to six times more likely to have a recurrence of their ear problems than children who were not treated with antibiotics.  Other research studies show that because many doctors are so quick to prescribe antibiotics for ear infections, many drug resistant strains of childhood ear infections are showing up more and more frequently.  
The Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics reported a study of 332 children ranging in age from 27 days to 5 years old with recurring ear infections that had not been helped by repeated doses of antibiotics.The children were finally given chiropractic care and they healed quickly without antibiotics and experienced few repeat infections.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says 80% of children whose ear infections are not treated immediately with antibiotics get better on their own. For many children who need the extra help, chiropractic provides the answer for resolving the problem.