Can Chiropractic Actually Assist With Earaches and Ear Infections?
The most widespread basis for visits to a pediatrician is earache. More than 70 percent of children will have had a minimum of one earache by the age of three, and nearly one-third will have had three or more earache incidents. But, what might be unexpected is that earache is also the most general occurrence 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 generally prescribe antibiotics as a standard course of treatment. New research, however, has concluded that such practices are often imprudent. The reason for the child’s middle ear infection may not be due to bacteria, and because antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, many times there will be no positive reaction. The reason for this is that numerous cases of middle ear infection can be caused by a virus, and viruses do not respond to antibiotics. This may be the reason why children develop chronic ear infections.
One of the purposes of a Honolulu chiropractor is to determine if the reason for the body’s ineffectiveness in combatting the earache or ear infection is generated 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 irritated. This muscle tension can produce pressure on the lymphatic drainage ducts resulting in inadequate drainage from inside the ear, thus keeping the body from its ability to naturally rectify the problem. Additionally, balance can also be affected.
Inadequate drainage of lymphatic ducts can be identifed by a chiropractor if there is increased tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles on the side with the earache. In addition, the chiropractor will look to see which spinal vertebrae are either marginally out of alignment or not moving within their normal range. This problem may have been the consequence of any one of the variety of bangs, jolts and falls that the majority of children encounter in the early years of their life. Restoration of normal lymph drainage is normally accomplished with a short regimen of treatments that include spinal adjustments and manipulation of the neck muscles. If your child is struggling with an earache or an ear infection, call 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 illness 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 unnecessarily prescribed for the condition. Not too long ago, 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) commends 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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