What makes it important to check for scoliosis early in childhood is that every stage of growth and development is controlled and coordinated by a child’s nervous system. The earlier you catch these misalignments in the spine, which we call subluxations, the better. When those bones are out of alignment, they have a tendency to irritate those delicate spinal nerves. Now, if a child grows up with irritation and pressure on the nerve system, it is certainly going to affect the way that nerve system works. Also, catching a spine that is just starting to develop these abnormal curves early gives you a much better chance of correcting it because in a child, the growth plates are still open and in an adult they are not.
We can affect a child’s spine much more efficiently than an adult, because number one, they are younger. They are more malleable and they haven’t been exposed to as much stress, tension and poor postures as an adult who has been on the planet for 25 or 30 years compared to someone who is only four or five years old. They have less pressure built up in their spine.
Checking and cleaning the spine out early is really important. That is why I always advise parents to bring their children to a chiropractor and get them checked periodically. Sometimes the curves can be very subtle and not apparent and sometimes can be even missed in the schools when they do their scoliosis checks because the more subtle ones are harder to detect and find in a child. You look for the classic signs, you look for elevated shoulder, a head tilt or a high hip or uneven skin folds when you’re examining your child by just looking at him from the back.
The earlier you catch these issues, the easier they are to treat because the problem is not as set up. It becomes much more difficult to treat an adult because the muscles and joints have been in these positions for a much longer period of time. So, I go back to that adage that I’ve talked to you about before… a stitch in time saves nine. Early detection and correction will prevent a host of problems later. And that’s why it is so important to get your kids checked periodically by a chiropractor.
Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, D.C., is a midtown Manhattan chiropractor with over 20 years of experience providing customized chiropractic treatment services to a wide range of clients in the Midtown Manhattan/West New York City area. Dr. Gregg Rubinstein and 57th Street Chiropractic can be reached at (917) 534-6484 and is located at 119 West 57th St. in New York, NY.
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