Any areas that need to be addressed will be explained to you during the first visit and your questions answered. Your child will also receive their first adjustment this day. Chiropractors are trained to modify their care to suit the age of the child and special styles of very gentle adjustments are used for babies and young children.
The adjustment, or correction, includes light touch and gentle stretching. Depending on the amount of joint restriction and age of your child, an Activator may also be used to get more movement into the joint. This is a hand- held device that puts a gentle impulse into the joint. The Activator provides a gentle impulse for the smallest patients with gradually increasing firmness for older children.
Your Initial Consultation
At your initial consultation, you will fill in a brief history form detailing the component of your child’s health that you would like help and advice with. It might be torticollis or a preferred rotation of your baby’s head, concerns with coordination or clumsiness or imbalances such as uneven shoulders or hips. Whatever your concern is for yourself or your child, the more information you can provide us, the better we can take care of you.
A Thorough Examination
My exam is designed to gather as much information about your body’s balance as possible. The two most important things to consider when assessing body balance is muscle tone and body symmetry. By observing an infant’s movements, and gait and posture in older children and adults, I can see if the right side is moving as well as the left side. During the first year of life, it is important to asses the presence or absence of age appropriate reflexes and ensure that balanced movement and symmetrical muscle tone is present. My exam is made to be fun and engaging for kids with a calm approach to get them participating in the process. At the end of my exam I will have checked the spine, tested the vestibular or balance system and challenged the reflexes to get a clear picture of what is happening physically, as well as neurologically. This allows me a greater understanding of where the areas of your child’s health needs support. With this information I can more accurately recommend chiropractic care, home care exercises and a professional referral if necessary.
Maximising Your Results
During this appointment I will explain the results of your exam, what they mean and how we can move you and your child back toward balanced function and health. This is also a great time to ask questions, so you can further enhance your understanding about the results and the recommended care. You are starting the initial phase of care now where our focus is on reducing symptoms and improving function and health in your child’s body.
Reinforcing the Changes
I encourage each patient to go for a 5 – 10 minute walk after their adjustment to reinforce the changes we have made to the nerve system and spine. Drinking plenty of water will also help your body to get rid of the toxins it has been holding and to improve your health.
Getting to Know You
The chiropractic adjustment is gentle and tailored to your child’s age and preference. I use my hands to stretch and mobilise the areas of tension in your infant’s body. Chiropractic care is safe for your baby and child. Because so much time and care were taken in the first two visits to really understand your concerns and determine where the imbalances are in your system, the visits between your initial exam and your progress exam are time efficient and generally take 10 minutes. You will begin noticing changes as these visits progress.
Just like training sessions for sport, music or dance build on the sessions before, so does your chiropractic care. Which is why it is important to maintain your schedule, as consistency will provide the best results. We recognize your time is valuable, so we do our best to run on time and keep your day flowing smoothly.
The Greatest Benefit
We recognize your time is valuable. So we do everything possible to run on time and minimize the impact on your busy life.
Dr. Edna graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1999. Since then all of her postgraduate studies have been in paediatric development, chiropractic for infants, brain development and pregnancy. It is her goal to build rapport with parents and children alike in order to perform the exam and provide effective chiropractic care. Dr. Edna works closely with other health care professionals for the maximum benefit and improvement of you and your child. This may include a lactation consultant, Obstetrician, paediatrician, physiotherapist, naturopath, OT and many others. If extra work is needed at home to help boost the results of your child’s chiropractic care, Dr. Edna will provide you with easy and fun things you can do with your child.
