Improvements in Developmental Delay, Colic and GERD in a Child Undergoing Chiropractic Care

CHALFONT, Pa. - April 22, 2014 - PRLog -- A recent article in the Journal of Maternal & Family Health reported on a 15-month-old female diagnosed with developmental delays, colic and gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) who underwent chiropractic care over 18 weeks.

         A 15-month-old female presented to a chiropractic office after her mother noticed developmental delays in the child. Chalfont-based Dr. Scott Walker, D.C., who regularly monitors health and wellness issues closely in professional journals and other publications, stated, “The developmental delays in this child included not standing, walking or talking for her age level.” Dr. Walker went on to say, “Previous chiropractic care had been sought for complaints of GERD and colic in the child from birth to 5 months of age. Those complaints had resolved after she received three chiropractic adjustments, once a month for three consecutive months.”

         Colic has been traditionally described as crying, in a healthy infant, more than three hours per day, more than three days a week, for more than three weeks. It is thought to be prevalent in up to 21% of infants. The continuous crying and irritability of the infant has been shown to affect the baby’s development by causing delays neurologically along with negative behavioral problems up to three years of age. Children affected tend to have more temper tantrums and sleeping disabilities. Dr. Walker stated, “One study described upper cervical adjustments using knee chest being delivered to 16 infants experiencing colic and GERD, of which 100% of cases responded positively to care.”

         Milestones are used to track a child’s development, for example, the proper age for standing and walking is 9 and 11 months. In the past decade there has been a 5-20% increase in the number of children who experience developmental delay syndrome (DDS). Since 1990 the number of prescriptions for Methylphenidate (Ritalin) has increased by 700%. The children who are treated pharmacologically suffer from subtle or not so subtle cognitive impairments that persist into adulthood and can affect employment status, educational achievements, health care consumption, and criminality. Fortunately there is some evidence that multimodal chiropractic methods have been efficient in helping children by reducing symptoms in DDS.

        In this study, a 15-month-old female presented at a chiropractic office seeking chiropractic care after her mother noticed developmental delays. These developmental delays included not standing, walking or talking for her age level. She had not been speaking more than 2 syllables, which was congruent with a 9-month development pattern. Overall she had a 6-month developmental delay. If she had met the proper milestones, she would have been walking unassisted by 12 months and speaking at least 2-3 word phrases.

         The patient received chiropractic care once a week for a total of 19 visits. By the third visit, she started walking with assistance. By the 4^th visit she was walking on her toes with assistance. By the 6^th visit she was walking and holding onto the table and had also added more words to her vocabulary. By the 9^th visit, she had taken 6 steps by herself and added three more words to her vocabulary.

        By the 18^th visit she was standing by herself and had added 3-4 more words to her vocabulary including some she spoke in Greek. A reassessment was done on her 19^th visit, at which time she was 19 months old. She was walking at a 12-month level and her speech was at the proper developmental milestone. In addition she did not show any signs of developmental delay.

         “This is just one study,” explained Dr. Walker, “but it adds to the evidence regarding chiropractic care and DDS. More research needs to be done in the area of developmental delays and the benefits of chiropractic care for the pediatric population."

         Anyone wishing more information may contact Dr. Walker, whose office is located at 166 East Butler Avenue, Chalfont, PA, USA (telephone 215-997-8786).