Caring for your spine should begin way before the problems start. Do you wait for your car to break down before you maintain your car? Do you wait for cavities to develop before you see your dentist? Ideally, caring and maintaining our vehicles, our home, and our bodies should begin long before problems show up. If we maintain and care for these things proactively it saves us money, time, and damage. This is why it is best to start caring for your child’s spine when they are newborns.
Spinal problems in adults are of epidemic proportions. Back pain is a leading cause of disability and morbidity in the US. It’s estimated that 80% of all adults will experience back pain at some point in their life. Low back pain is a leading cause of both lost productivity and medical expenditures. Back pain is the sixth most expensive condition in the U.S., with healthcare costs totaling over $12 billion annually.
One of the largest reasons an adult’s spine has problems is due to improper curvatures of the spine. Our spines have special curves called primary and secondary curves which aid in shock absorbance as you run, bounce, and get jarred around. If these curves do not develop properly during early childhood or become altered due to injuries, they will accelerate damage and increase harm to the spine and potentially the spinal nerves.
Unfortunately, most people fail to care for their spine until pain or other symptoms arise. This can occur long after damage has occurred. Damage can occur to the spine way before symptoms ever surface.
When babies are in the womb their spines are shaped in a “C.” This is necessary so that as your little one develops, their little bodies can adjust to the cramped quarters. This “C” formation is called the primary curve because you are born with it.
Secondary spinal curves develop after birth and are traditionally the areas of the spine that are most problematic in adulthood. These spinal curves are the neck and low back. In these two spinal curves we see more issues of spinal disc bulging, disc herniations, disc prolapses, degenerative disc disease, bone spurs, spinal cord, and nerve impingements. Since you can’t reverse damage after it has occurred, it is crucial to provide proper care from the very start.
Immediately after birth we take great care in supporting the neck and head of our newborn. We do this until the neck muscles develop and strengthen to the point they can hold their own head up. This is when the neck (cervical) curve begins to form. The neck curve is the first secondary curve to form.
Another way the neck curve develops is to give them plenty of tummy time. During the first three to six months, while little ones are lifting their head off the floor, they are strengthening their neck muscles and improving their neck curvature. This also starts developing the other secondary curve – the low back.
Typically, when your baby is somewhere between six to 12 months of age, your life as a parent becomes infinitely harder. This is when your little ones start lifting themselves off the ground and trying to move those legs. This is when the low back curve really develops as your baby starts to creep and crawl.
During these crucial developmental stages, a lot more is happening besides just the mobility of your child. Underneath the surface the vital secondary spinal curves are developing.
Regrettably, many babies do not have enough tummy time or crawling time. I want to encourage you to let your child have a lot of tummy time. As long as they are not crying, let them enjoy time on their stomach. This helps to develop those secondary curves.
Another problem is trying to help your child when they are learning to walk. In an effort to help, we try to encourage walking by holding the hands and walking with them. Let your child crawl as long as possible and don’t try to speed up the process. During crawling, your child is also connecting both sides of their brain, which helps build neural connections.
For convenience, busy parents sometimes turn to walkers and carriers to occupy their child. Walkers put babies in upright postures before the baby’s spine is ready to support this weight. Baby swings and carriers, if used for long periods of time on a regular basis, can put the baby’s spinal curvatures back into a “C” position and slow the development of the secondary curves.
Giving your little one plenty of tummy time and allowing them to crawl as long as possible is vital for their long-term spinal health. A healthy spine as an adult has to start from birth. If you haven’t already had your child’s spine checked by a family chiropractor, I encourage you to do it soon. This will give them and their spinal health the very best start possible.
-by Brandon Crouch, DC
About the author: Dr. Brandon Crouch is a Chiropractor with Crouch Family Chiropractic. He is an advocate for being proactive when it comes to your health and encourages people to make healthy informed decisions. For more information you can go online at: www.crouchfamilychiro.com and visit www.icpa4kids.com.
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