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Studies show that chiropractic care is very safe and effective at preventing recurrent
ear infections, or recurrent Otitis media. In young children, the Eustachian tube is
a tube between the inner ear and the throat that is horizontal at a young age. This tube
becomes filled with fluid and can become infected. As the child grows, the tube becomes more
vertical and can drain more easily, but at that young stage when the tube can collect
fluid, it can create recurrent ear infection.
The conventional wisdom has changed a lot over the past 20 years. Antibiotic treatment
used to be the first line of defense, but no more. Physicians are more conservative
about using antibiotics and now recommend a wait-and-see approach. But chiropractic
care is really a very effective alternative to antibiotics or waiting and seeing. Many
chiropractors have experienced treating children with Otitis media, and the work we do on children
is extremely safe and gentle.
So a typical session for a child would involve a complete case history and examination. We'll
particularly pay attention to the muscular skeletal system around the cranium and the
neck, but we will look at the entire spine because the entire nervous system has an amazing
effect on the immune system. And the adjustments we do on children are very, very gentle. We
usually keep them dressed. We keep them comfortable. Some of the work is done while they're lying
face down, much of it is done while they're lying face up. We make the visits lighthearted
and fun for them, and they don't take an extremely long time. Toddlers usually are not known
for sitting still for long periods of time.
The work itself is gentle, it doesn't hurt the child, and it's extremely effective at
restoring the range of motion in the spine, misaligned areas. We'll also do lymphatic
massage to drain the lymph vessels around the ears and in the cervical spine so that
the congestion can clear. We'll do cranial work that will involve work on the ears and
the cranium to also help restore circulation and lymphatic drainage in that area so that
the propensity to get a new ear infection becomes more remote. Parents report that when
their children are under chiropractic care, they get less ear infections, and in fact,
they report that they get less sick altogether.