Chiropractic Care for Childhood Asthma
Erica Selby, D.C.
Total Health Systems of Macomb County
As a Doctor of Chiropractic and a mother of a three year old with asthma I have been able to see first-hand the benefits of adjustments for children with this ailment. My daughter first developed symptoms of asthma after a viral respiratory infection that landed her in the hospital for three days with low blood oxygen levels. Since that time whenever there is a change in the weather, or even the slightest cold comes on we know we will be back to a fight doing breathing treatments. If you have ever tried to get a toddler to sit still for a breathing treatment you know exactly how difficult, and long, those five minutes can be.
Children with asthma can have many different triggers and varying severity of symptoms. Each child reacts differently to the factors that may trigger asthma, including:
Respiratory infections and colds
Cigarette smoke
Allergic reactions to such allergens as pollen, mold, animal dander, feather, dust, food, and cockroaches
Indoor and outdoor air pollutants, including ozone and particle pollution
Exposure to cold air or sudden temperature change
Excitement/stress
Exercise
According to the American Lung Association asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Approximately 29 percent of all asthma hospital discharges in 2009 were in those under 15, however only 21% of the U.S. population was less than 15 years old.4
In 2009, there were approximately 774,000 emergency room visits were due to asthma in those under 15.5
Current asthma prevalence in children under 18 ranges from 5.5% in Tennessee to 18.0% in the District of Columbia.6
The annual direct health care cost of asthma is approximately $50.1 billion; indirect costs (e.g. lost productivity) add another $5.9 billion, for a total of $56.0 billion dollars.7
Asthma is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism;8 in 2008, asthma accounted for an estimated 14.4 million lost school days in children with an asthma attack in the previous year.
With the above statistics, you can easily see how serious of a condition this is and as a parent all you want is to see your child be able to live a normal and healthy life. Then the question becomes how do we manage this so that my child is able to live their life as unaffected by this condition as possible. I know in the my daughters case we were sent home with a nebulizer and a lot of different drugs. At some point, most parents become uneasy with the constant drug intake and are looking for more natural ways to regain normalcy for their child. As Doctors of Chiropractic our premise leads us to restoring optimal function of the nervous system, resulting in improved function for all body systems, including lung function! I regularly adjust both of my children in order to give the body its best potential.
In the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research Vol. 1 No. 4, the ICPA in association with the Michigan Council of Chiropractors published one such study, demonstrating the positive effects of chiropractic care on 81 children with asthma.1 The results of the study concluded chiropractic care is a safe, drug free, health care approach where the patient perceived improved respiration, improved quality of life and less frequent asthma attacks.
I will continue to adjust my daughter on a regular basis to help promote optimal lung function, and will continue to adjust other asthmatic children as well in the hopes of helping them reduce their symptoms and frequency of flare-ups.
Call any one of our three offices to make your appointment for you or your family members. Total Health Systems of Macomb County is here to provide you with top of the line health care.
References:
Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research Vol. 1 No. 4
