Chiropractors take a full history of health habits, including breast feeding, diet, sleep, and physical activity, and can use this information to guide lifestyle recommendations to optimize their patient’s care.
Chiropractors have experience with co-managing patient care with other medical providers and know when to refer to other providers for medical comorbidities, red flags, or for coordination of care.
Pediatric chiropractors are trained in modifying techniques that are suitable for the size of the patient. Biomechanical forces are modified in proportion to the size of the child and often involve sustained “hold and release” techniques to help improve joint mobility at sites of restriction. Techniques also consider the greater flexibility and lesser muscle mass of children, and pediatric chiropractors use more gentle and lighter forces than when treating adults.
Furthermore, patient preference is an important part of clinical decision making when it comes to patient treatment, and chiropractors provide many types of treatments and interventions other than simply manipulation to help improve the health of ALL of their patients.
“Well child” visits are a recommended part of pediatric health care and are helpful to promote health counselling on aspects of wellness, such as physical activity, nutrition, injury prevention, and an overall healthy lifestyle (Hawk, et al., 2016).
References
Hawk, C., Schneider, M. J., Vallone, S., & Hewitt, E. G. (2016). Best Practices for Chiropractic Care of Children: A Consensus Update. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 39(3), 158–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2016.02.015