Here at Creekwood Chiropractic West Point, Dr. Chelsie is a proud member of the ICPA. 

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Dr. Chelsie has taken over 200+ hours outside of her Chiropractic education at Palmer College of Chiropractic to help gain the added knowledge to best take care of patients from the prenatal stage, through childhood. Chiropractic care for kids is important for both spinal development, as well as reaching their full potential in achieving those milestones. Below we will touch on prenatal care, newborn care, toddlers/children, and what chiropractic involves for the little ones.

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PRENATAL CARE:

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For the pregnant mother, pelvic balance and alignment is vital. As a mother’s weight increases, her center of gravity also shifts outward and her postural compensations then respond accordingly. In addition, the ligament laxity necessary for birthing adds to the instability in all of her joints, including her spine and pelvis. As well, the hormonal and structural changes in the pregnant body can lead to spinal and pelvic misalignment and the consequent lower back pain that many women experience during pregnancy. Lower back pain can be a burden to a woman’s daily function and quality of life. However, the misalignment of the spine and pelvis have a far more crucial consequence. In chiropractic, these misalignments are called subluxations. These subluxations can cause stress overload to the mother’s nervous system, potentially impairing any of her vital systems and organs, thus causing issues such as nausea and acid reflux. During pregnancy, when a mother’s body systems are basically functioning for two, any interference to the nerve transmission supporting their function can be detrimental to her health and well-being. Reducing this nerve system stress is a key ingredient for normal bodily function.

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Dr. Chelsie is certified in the Webster Technique which is a specific technique used for pregnant women. The Webster protocol is a specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of sacral subluxation/SI joint dysfunction. In so doing, the neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is improved.

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It is therefore considered prudent that this specific sacral analysis and adjustment be used throughout pregnancy to detect and alleviate sacral imbalance and optimize pelvic neuro-biomechanics. Due to the particular female adaptations from the increase of hormones, weight gain and postural adaptations, pregnant mothers have a greater chance of sacral subluxation and neuro-biomechanical imbalance than the general population. Additionally, because of the effect the chiropractic adjustment has on all body functions by reducing nerve system stress, pregnant mothers should have their spines checked regularly throughout pregnancy, optimizing health benefits for both the mother and baby.

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Research is available! Click the links below to articles about chiropractic and pregnancy, or call Dr. Chelsie for more information!

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Testimonials

Research 

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NEWBORN CARE:

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A child encounters many physical stresses during their growing years. The resulting problems in children’s spines can occur at almost any point in their development and growth.

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The earliest challenge a growing spine faces is the position it is forced to adopt in utero as we talked about above. Many women will have heard of foetal positions that can cause problems with labour (brow, breech, transverse, posterior, ascynclitic, etc). What is less well known is that these foetal positions can also cause problems in the baby’s spine as well. Spinal segments can be pushed out of place or jammed by the position of the baby in the womb. If this position is less than optimal, it can result in a longer and more difficult trip through the birth canal, which can compound the spinal problems. In this way, even natural birthing methods can stress an infant’s spine and nervous system—not to mention interventions such as induction, forceps, vonteuse suction, or ceasarean section. The latter (which account for an alarmingly large percentage of births in Australia), while appear to offer a less traumatic birth for the child, can actually create additional traumas and compromises to the infant’s future health and well-being.

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The cause of many newborn health complaints such as colic, reflux, breastfeeding difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergic reactions, and chronic infections can often be traced to nervous system irritation caused by spinal and cranial misalignments. Since significant spinal trauma can occur at, or prior to birth, many parents elect to have their newborn’s spine checked right after birth. Many developmental milestones such as learning to hold up the head, sitting upright, crawling, and walking are all activities that are affected by spinal alignment and are important times to have a child checked by a chiropractor.

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Research is available! Click the links below to articles about chiropractic and pregnancy, or call Dr. Chelsie for more information!

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TODDLERS/CHILDREN CARE:

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In addition to the above, falls, sports injuries, playground bumps, heavy school bags and sitting all day in the classroom are all physical stresses to the growing child’s spine and nervous system. Many infants and toddlers may also be prone to ear infections. It has also been found that subluxations are often present in infants and toddlers which causes impaired nerve supply which can slow or inhibit their middle ear and Eustachian tubes from draining fluid making them susceptible to infection. Restoring proper nerve supply with chiropractic can help them prevent and fight an infection quicker!

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It can become quite frustrating as parents when our little ones can’t verbalize what wrong and therefore many children will exhibit unexplained crying, lack of appetite, lack of sleep, or other difficulties. Notice your little one holding his or her head more to one side than the other? Likes breastfeeding from one side more than the other? These are all ways that your little one is attempting to cope with the abnormal spine and nerve function. Chiropractic care has been shown to be helpful for infants suffering from colic, ear infections, sleep disturbances, constipation, etc.

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As those little ones grow and explore their new world they will begin to crawl and eventually attempt to walk. During this time, it is important to keep those spines aligned and nervous system working optimally to allow them to reach their full developmental potential! They will, fall, trip, stumble and fall on their little bums which can cause subluxations and therefore regular chiropractic care to correct these subluxations is vital to avoid future issues which may take more time to rid of. This will also keep your children healthier overall, as chiropractic keeps those immune systems boosted helping them fight off viruses and other infections!  

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Research is available! Click the links below to articles about chiropractic and pregnancy, or call Dr. Chelsie for more information!

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WHAT DOES PEDIATRIC CHIROPRACTIC INVOLVE?:

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The first thing we do is to conduct a thorough history of your child’s health and any complaints. This is followed by a complete physical examination of the child’s spine. As a chiropractor who has taken added hours in pediatric chiropractic care, I have been thoroughly trained to evaluate pediatric spinal problems, and will use gentle (as much pressure used to check a ripe tomato), specific skills to find and adjust any involved spinal areas.

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When I tell people that I care for many children and babies in my practice, their initial reaction is often one of surprise, as they assume that I use the same techniques on children as I do on adults. Chiropractic care is ‘tailored’ to the individual and their particular spine, and children are no exception. We offer specific, gentle adjustments appropriate to the infant and child’s spine and cranium.

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Spinal adjustments for infants and young children involve very light fingertip pressure to correct spinal misalignments. This amount of “force” is often not more than a finger touch or the amount of pressure used to check a ripe tomato. This is usually sufficient to restore mobility to spinal joints which have become locked and are causing interference to the normal nervous system function. Occasionally, the adjustments will make a ‘popping’ sound when the spinal joints are moved; however, this is not always heard when children’s spines are adjusted. Other techniques may involve the use of hand-held instruments which offer specific and gentle corrections.

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DOES IT HURT?:

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In general, chiropractic care for children is painless, except in cases where the child has an actual injury. In these areas, the child may be sensitive to touch; however, once the adjustment has been made and the area can heal more effectively, the sensitivity is then alleviated. Overall, most parents report that their children enjoy their spinal adjustments, and that they look forward to their next visit! We have some little ones that run back to our adjusting room in excitement!

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HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

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A child’s spine will generally respond much faster than an adult’s spine to chiropractic adjustment, and will often require only a few adjustments to restore normal function. The actual number of adjustments will vary depending on many factors such as the length of time the problem has been present.

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