Musacchio Alexa Musacchio Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1103 5 November 2012 Reviewed by Jordan Dai Your Body

Is Smarter Than You May Think I hate needles! is, understandably, what every child says on the way to a doctors

appointment. Parents will respond saying that it will make them healthy and that its what is best for them. Pediatric chiropractic challenges that belief and stands to reason that there is wellness with out the injection of chemicals into the body. Unfortunately, parents arent easily convinced. Is pediatric chiropractic safe? When are children old enough to receive that kind of care safely? Is it even necessary? One girls experience with chiropractic might begin to change parents minds. A case report from the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine covers a little girls medical process after she was hurt hitting her head on a playground slide when she was six years old. Since the age of four she had issues with coughing and vomiting spells and after her injury she began to complain about neck pain; headaches; and hand, foot, and occasional leg pain. With these new effects of her injury in addition to her previous health issues, she was unable to live a normal childs life. After many trips to specialists and the hospital, no one was ever able to offer a solid diagnosis. Her parents finally took her to a doctor of chiropractic who used the Activator Method protocol. Simply put, this method uses a spring loaded instrument that administers a low force to the affected area. According the case report: by the 11th appointment and after 9

Musacchio adjustments, she reported that she was feeling well with no complaints of pain and was playing hard. After an evaluation it was decided that she did not require any more adjustments (Roberts, Wolfe). This example shows that not only is pediatric chiropractic safe, it can be more effective than hospital visits. Unfortunately, not everybody sees it this way. Many physicians see chiropractic care, in general, as forceful manipulations. According to Dr. Vivek Kushwaha, a physician in Houston Orthopedic & Spine Hospital, chiropractic is not based on any real medicine or science and sometimes their forceful manipulations can make things worse (FSHHouston). But if a parent were to ask me if their child would be safe under chiropractic care, I would answer that it is very safe and very effective. More importantly, I stand to say that it is necessary for everyone regardless of how healthy people may think they are. Parents next question would be why would a new born baby require that sort of care so

young. The simple answer to this question is that a lot of stress is put on a babys head and spine during birth. Even a perfectly natural and easy birth, babies spines can be put under a lot of stress. Dr. G. Gutman, a doctor of physical medicine, studied two thousand newborns in a topnotch German pediatric facility. He reported, of the two thousand newborns, 221 had significant health problems in the first few days of life and then found the incidence of subluxation to be 95 percent within those 221 babies (Lenarz 232). Dr. Gutman went on to find that approximately 75 percent of the two thousand children he examined had atlas blockage, or subluxation of the top neck bone (Lenarz 232). The question I ask when I read statistics like this, is how could something that is supposed to be so natural be so harmful to babies? Doctor of chiropractic, Michael Lenarz says

Musacchio that without regular chiropractic care during pregnancy, when a woman goes into labor her whole system isnt working as smoothly as it should which makes it harder on the baby (233). It has been estimated that in a normal birth a child experiences approximately eighty linear pounds on pressure on its neck (Lenarz 233). This is why chiropractic care is extremely necessary for children. Beginning young will save children and parents the trouble of common problems like colic, an inadequate immune system, ear infections, sleepless nights, and much more. It will also save children from eventually hobbling into a chiropractors office in their sixties with cumulative damage from years of trauma (Lenarz 237). Parents need to understand that there is a reason for everything. Babies dont simply get ear infections, something in the body must be out of place which is causing the ear infection. The earlier example of the six year old girl showed all that can happen by simply hitting your

head. Obviously, the girls parents couldnt see what was happening inside their daughters body and causing the pain, but a chiropractor would be able to by simply put feeling what part of the girls spine wasnt correctly aligned. Although, if the six year old girl had been under chiropractic care since the beginning her original spells of coughing and vomiting probably would have been taken under control before she even hit her head. She also would have been saved the trouble to of going to specialist to specialist and solved the dilemma immediately after her injury. Unfortunately, chiropractic care, especially pediatric care, is either looked down upon or brushed aside as an illegitimate practice. Even though many people have experienced great outcomes, there is still a large group of people that dont trust chiropractic. Instead, they use

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drugs, such as pain killers, antibiotic, and vaccines. Although these can be necessary sometimes and they have saved lives, they should not be the first thing people turn to for help. The problem with these solutions is that they dont fix the problem, they just temporarily fix the effects. They also have negative effects on the body if used too often. For example, when children have a fever they are given some sort of drug to bring their fever down. Although, according to WebMD, a fever is not an illness, its usually a symptom of an underlying condition, most often as infection. So this means that the fever is attempting to kill an infection in the body, and reducing the fever with drugs will only prolong the bodys attempt to make itself well again. Common infections are colds, ear infections, side effects of drugs, or routine vaccinations. When infections like these enter the body, the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls body temperature may reset the body to a higher temperature. Basically, the drugs will only temporarily stop the fever but it wont fix what is causing the fever, which logically, is more important (First Aid & Emergencies). There are also risks to taking pain killers. Although, Gary Curhan of Bostons Brigham and Womans Hospital says that people dont have to stop taking pain killers, they just need to exercise caution (Stein). Research from the Archives of Internal Medicine says that middleage women who took 1,500 to 9,000 tabs had a 64 percent greater risk of developing renal trouble; the risk rose to 119 percent in those taking more than 9,000 pills (Stein). An article that ran in The Sunday Times also reported that paracetamol, the drug used in headache tablets, has surpassed hepatitis and alcohol as the most common cause of liver failure in Australia (Pain Killers Bad For Liver). If middle age women run the risk of kidney trouble, imagine the kind of risk the body of a young child runs. A grown womans body is done developing at that point in her life, as

Musacchio opposed to a childs body, which hasnt even gone through puberty. Childrens bodies are still developing and dont need the extra strain of dealing with unfamiliar chemicals. Along with pain killers, there is also the controversy of vaccinations. A lot of

chiropractors believe that the body is capable to maintain health without the help of vaccines. A survey showed that 27.2% of chiropractors that practiced in Alberta, Canada encouraged or advised their patients against having themselves or their children vaccinated (Jaroff). This is not true for every chiropractor, there are many who embrace vaccinations and dont have an issue with this approach to healthy living. The chiropractors who dont approve of vaccination are usually referred to as conservative doctors. One of their arguments against immunization is that disease decrease in places with improved standards of living and environment (Campbell, Busse, Injeyan). In other words, countries like America have good hygiene and sanitation because they have clean water, plumbing, and trash is not merely thrown in the streets and left there. Countries that arent as privileged, may require vaccinations because they are more likely to come in to contact with harmful bacteria. Due to the fact that we live in a clean country, some people find it unnecessary to immune themselves against bacteria that arent prominent in our region. This leads into the argument that vaccinations are compulsion. A conservative chiropractor was quoted in Dynamic Chiropractor about his views on vaccinations. To summarize, he found it compulsory to put chemicals into the clean bloodstreams of our children (Campbell, Busse, Injeyan). Chiropractors believe that the body possess the power to maintain health as long as the body is in order. Doctors of medicine argue this and believe that medicine is the solution. Its true that there are not always adverse effects when children are immunized. Based on

Musacchio information from the Department of Health and Human Services, some vaccinations, like

Hepatitis B, which is a very common vaccination for children, have only had reports of soreness where the shot was give (up to about 1 person [in] 4) and temperature of 99.9F or higher (up to about 1 person in 15). The DTaP vaccine has the same mild effects as Hepatitis B, but there have been reports of fevers over 105F, non-stop crying for more than three hours, and even seizures (Possible Side-effects from vaccines). The chances of these extreme problems are rare, but when combined with all the other vaccines administered, the chances of these side effects are greater. Chiropractor Michael Lenarz wrote that he tells his patients, Your most important job is to make an informed choice in regards to immunizations (250). Medicine sounds great in theory, but people need to do their research, especially when planning the lives of their children. I am in no way saying that drugs are useless and have no place in the world, because they do. Even as a chiropractors daughter, I have taken pain killers for a headache that just wouldnt go away and have taken an antibiotic on one occasion for a very persistent case of strep throat. Most chiropractors dont tell their patients not to take pain killers or not to be vaccinated because that is just as bad as a physician telling people they have to take a medicine. Although chiropractors do tend to approach issues naturally and drug free, it comes down to what the patient wants for themselves and for their children. A lot more research needs to be done in this area, but until experts come to a solid answer, everyone is going to have their own opinion. I feel that chiropractors should be given more of a voice in this argument because there is evidence that shows chiropractic care provides results. Ultimately, it is about trusting your body and understanding that it was made to heal itself.

Musacchio Really well written paper, you can tell that you have had hands on experience with the subject and that is evident when you said you are the daughter of a chiropractor. I would really go back and look at the paragraph about conservative doctors and the higher standards of living part. I know what you are trying to do there but I would go back and see if you can reword it or if you didnt realize how it was typed up. Over all though, just some small grammar things and a few sections where I would reword it so it flows a little nicer but all in all not a whole lot I would do differently.

Works Cited Campbell, James B., PhD, Busse, Jason W., DC, and Injeyan, H. Stephen, DC, PhD. "Chiropractors and Vaccination: A Historical Perspective." Pediatrics 105.4 (2000): E43. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. "First Aid & Emergencies." Fever Facts: High Temperature and Low Temperature Causes and Treatments. URAC, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. FSHHouston. What is a physicians opinion on chiropractic care for back pain? Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 15 June, 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. Jaroff, Leon. "Chiropractors v. Vaccination - TIME." Time Inc., 7 June 2005. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. "Pain Killers Bad For Liver." Sunday Times, The (Perth) (n.d.): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. "Possible Side-effects from Vaccines." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Musacchio Roberts, Jan and Wolfe, Tristy. "Chiropractic Care of a 6-yearold Girl with Neck Pain; Headaches; Hand, Leg, and Foot Pain; and Other Nonmusculoskeletal Symptoms ." Journal of Chiropractic Medicine 8.3 (2009): 131-36. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

Stein, Lisa. "The Week." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 1 Aug. 2004. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.