Can Chiropractic Genuinely Help With Earaches and Ear Infections?
The most widespread reason for visits to a pediatrician is earache. More than 70 percent of children will have had at least one earache by the age of three, and nearly one-third will have had three or more earache occurrences. Although, what might be surprising is that earache is also the most common basis for children under the age of five years to be escorted by parents to the chiropractor’s office.
How Chiropractic Care Relates to Earache and Ear Infections
A pediatrician who suspects that a child with an earache has a middle ear infection will normally prescribe antibiotics as a standard course of treatment. Advanced study, however, has concluded that this is often misguided. The reason for the child’s middle ear infection may not be due to bacteria, and inasmuch as antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, many times there will be no positive reaction. This is because numerous cases of middle ear infection can be caused by a virus, and viruses do not respond to antibiotics. This may explain why children develop chronic ear infections.
One of the intentions of a Honolulu chiropractor is to determine if the reason for the body’s inability to combat the earache or ear infection is produced by irritation of the small nerves in the spine (called free nerve endings).
An abnormal tension in the small muscles of the neck is created when these nerve endings are inflammed. This muscle tension can put pressure on the lymphatic drainage ducts resulting in inadequate drainage from inside the ear, hence keeping the body from its ability to naturally rectify the problem. Furthermore, balance can also be affected.
Inadequate drainage of lymphatic ducts can be discovered by a chiropractor if there is elevated tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles on the side with the earache. The chiropractor also looks for spinal vertebrae that are either marginally out of alignment or are not moving within their normal range. This affliction may have been the result of any one of the variety of bangs, jolts and falls that most children undergo in the early years of their life. Often, a short regimen of spinal adjustments and manipulation of the neck muscles will aid in restoring normal lymph drainage. If your child is experiencing the pain of an earache or an ear infection, contact your Honolulu chiropractor as soon as possible.
Advanced Research and Guidelines
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ear infection, the most frequent childhood sickness second only to the common cold, accounts for nearly 30 million doctor visits every year. In addition, at least 6 million courses of antibiotics are causelessly prescribed for the condition.Just recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines for treating pediatric ear inflammation, and definitively recommended a period of “watchful waiting” since, in many cases, infections clear up on their own, without medication.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) endorses the AAP on the guidelines and underlines that chiropractic care is a “good first option” for treating ear infection conservatively. “Doctors of chiropractic have been treating children for decades with great success – helping them to avoid painful ear infections, antibiotic overuse and resistance, and ear tube surgery,” said ACA President Donald Krippendorf, DC. “Particularly when dealing with young children, drugs and surgery should be an absolute last resort.”
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