As you may very well know by now, colic is a condition that causes babies to cry for hours on end with no obvious reason. The crying bouts normally last three hours or more at a time, three or more days a week, for three or more weeks per month. And if you last through the whole month before determining in your own mind and heart that it’s colic, you deserve a medal.
Parents of babies with colic are likely to get all kinds of advice. Most of it is good, but even seemingly good advice can be contradictory at times. Do you let the baby cry it out, or hold them and try to soothe them through the whole experience?
One thing that you probably never considered when your baby is showing the signs of colic is taking them to a chiropractor. But maybe you should.
Chiropractic treatment, whether for babies or adults, focuses on restoring the body to its natural balance so that it can cure itself. Their theory is that the body is designed to be its own best healer. Chiropractors help the body along by making adjustments to the back and neck, allowing the spinal chord’s receptors to better accomplish what they were designed to do.
Of course, adjusting a baby is a bit different than adjusting an adult. If you do decide to try chiropractic to ease your baby’s colic, you will want to be sure to take her to a chiropractor who has experience in working with babies. Most chiropractors recommend beginning chiropractic wellness treatment at a very young age, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find one who is experienced with young children and babies.
In addition to the gentle adjustments a chiropractor will make on your baby, you can learn simple massage techniques that can help your baby to relax and fall asleep while suffering from colic. Studies comparing chiropractic care to medical care for babies with colic have shown that over 90% of colicky babies treated with chiropractic care improved. On an average, the babies cried 2.7 hours less after just two weeks of chiropractic care.
That’s a lot less crying. Enough, in fact, to bring it under the threshold of what is generally considered colic. And, while you’re there with baby, you might consider getting a relaxing massage or an adjustment yourself.