Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Did you know that chiropractic is being used to treat kids with ADHD symptoms?

Oh come on doctor, how can chiropractic help my ADHD child? When I tell my patients at Back To Action that chiropractic can greatly benefit their ADHD child, I sometimes get a strange look but it’s true. Consider these facts: In the past decade, prescriptions for Ritalin, a stimulant medication commonly used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), increased five-fold with 90% of all prescriptions worldwide consumed in the United States. As parents grow leery of the traditional medical approach to ADHD, chiropractors are offering promising results with non-drug treatments that focus on an all-natural approach – ridding children of spinal subluxations, making nutrition and lifestyle changes - that affect brain activity.

Here’s a quote from the American Chiropractic Association about the power of chiropractic in treating ADHD: “Chiropractors offer a non-drug treatment alternative for ADHD patients that targets the underlying problems, not just symptoms. "Motor activity—especially development of the postural muscles—is the baseline function of brain activity. Anything affecting postural muscles will influence brain development. Musculoskeletal imbalance will create imbalance of brain activity, and one part of the brain will develop faster than the other, and that's what's happening in ADHD patients," says Dr. Robert Melillo, a renowned chiropractic neurologist.”

Also a new study was released recently that showed children with behavioral problems are at much greater risk for lower back pain. Researchers examined 1,000 schoolchildren between the ages of 11-14. They found that those who had behavioral problems, as well as those that repeatedly complained of other symptoms such as headaches and sore throats, were more likely to get lower back pain. (From the April 4, 2003 edition of Pediatrics Magazine.)

If you have a child who has been labeled ADHD, suffers lower back pain, or who seems to exhibit behavioral problems, I hope you give serious consideration to seeking an all-natural non-invasive chiropractic solution. You might be surprised what chiropractic can do for your ADHD child at Back To Action Chiropractic.