Alternative medicine

It's impossible to get mainstream healthcare (unless it's a real emergency) in this province, so I've decided to go the alternative health care route. Okay, that's not the only reason, I also really prefer natural, less invasive methods to some of the mainstream medical practices. I really appreciated my mid-wife when I had my last child. I will never go back to a hospital for childbrth.

I know a girl who took her son to a chiropractor when he had an earache and it fixed the problem. I'd forgotten that, until I came across something recently written by another woman who regularly takes her daughter to a chiropractor for health care. I decided to look chiropractors and earaches up on the internet and came across this.

Ear pain is the number one reason for child visits to chiropractors. Many chiropractors believe that there is a strong link between the birthing process and recurrent ear infection, also known as otitis media. During the birthing process, cervical (neck) vertebrae can become misaligned, disrupting nerve function, which can affect the eustachian tube. This may lead to fluid buildup in the middle ear and cause otitis media.
Ear infection or otitis media accounts for over 35% of all pediatrician visits in the United States. Antibiotics, the usual treatment, are not always effective and may even lead to a recurrence of ear infections. Many children are dealing with a continuing cycle of repeat ear infections, which lands them back at the pediatrician for more antibiotics. For nearly 100 years, the chiropractic profession has claimed that ear and other upper respiratory infections respond favorably to chiropractic adjustments.

Come to think of it, my midwife, who is also a naturopath, checked Nicolas out after he was born, told me she thought there was a bit of resistance when she turned his neck to one side and recommended an osteopath (similar to chiropractor). Unlike the rest of my children, I don't think Nicolas has ever had an ear infection.

That was enough for me. I decided to go get Dominic checked out by a chiropractor. I'm ready to pay for my kids to get proper treatment. Dominic is also still dealing with a sore back and neck since the accident he had in January, playing soccer, even after seeing a physiotherapist. He has constant headaches, and although he doesn't get sick more often than the others, he seems to get it stronger and it lasts longer. So for all these reasons I also took him. (And they are probably all linked to the same problem)

It turns out that one of Dominic's shoulder blades is higher than the other, which is probably due to bad posture. His spine is straight though.

The root of Dominic's problems lies in a few vertebrae which have been misaligned, in his lower back and in his neck, probably due to his accident earlier this year. This is something the doctor never saw or checked for. And it is something that, (even though going to see the physiotherapist got rid of the muscle spasm and helped a great deal), if not fixed, will continue to be a source of trouble for him for the rest of his life.

The physiotherapist told me Dominic walked like an old man when he first came to see him. It's not normal for a child his age to walk like that and not be able to bend over very far. The chiropractor made a similar comment; "It's not normal for someone his age to hurt that much."

Hopefully with his vertebrae back in order we will start to see a real improvement in his back and for his headaches and earache, and maybe even in the intensity of his colds.