A child's nervous system is in a state of constant growth. Newborns, infants, toddlers and school-aged kids all should have their spines checked to ensure the development of an optimal nervous system.

A child’s initial years are crucial for neurological development. 85% of our neurological development occurs in the first 3 years of life. Their spinal column grows 50% in length during the 1st year.

Chiropractic care recognizes the importance of the nervous system and its role in the interpretation of our environment. Your nervous system is involved in every aspect of your life allowing you to successfully adapt and respond to external and internal environments. Research has shown that lack of movement of your spinal joints negatively affects the communication from your body to your brain and your brain to your body. When this occurs in children all sorts of disorders may arise.

There are days we adjust more kids than adults! We love that. Everyday more and more parents are recognizing the importance of proper spinal biomechanics and the role spinal joint motion plays with the nervous system and their family’s overall health. Parents bring their children in to have their spines checked.

Half of our little patients present with no concerns. They are not experiencing any symptoms. Their body is healthy and their parent’s focus is on keeping them well.

The other half of our little patients are brought in with an issue or concern. Something doesn’t seem right. Their body is struggling to be healthy and they communicate the dysfunction with all sorts of symptoms. How do you know if chiropractic care could help? It’s simple. Ask this question;

Is their nervous system involved with the dysfunction? Here is a hint: Yes!

Our nervous systems, which consists of our brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves of the body, is our body’s master computer. It orchestrates and controls everything. As long as our nervous system is able to communicate effectively with every organ, tissue, cell, nook and cranny of us, we should experience the very best health. We call this normal.

Our nervous system is housed within our spine – this is how it stays protected. Subluxations (spinal joints that are not moving properly) interfere with nervous system function. When this happens, our bodies are not able to express normal. This means messages traveling back and forth between the brain and the body become distorted, muffled, send the wrong message, no message.....

Interfere with the nervous system and we interfere with our body’s expression of health. So, if you answered, ‘yes, their nervous system is involved with the dysfunction’, then chiropractic can help.

When we tell people that we care for children and babies, their initial reaction is often one of surprise. “Kids have bad backs?” No, well not many. Kids do have spinal joints that aren’t functioning optimally and this can negatively impact their health.

Parents also find the public’s reaction to them taking their child to a chiropractor entertaining. “You let a chiropractor adjust your child?” Many people assume that we use the same techniques on children that we do on adults. This is not the case. Chiropractic care is ‘tailored’ to the individual and their particular spine, and children are no exception. Adjustments are simple and gentle. Most infants sleep right through their chiropractic adjustment and we have many kids who race their parents to the table so they can get adjusted first.


How can you tell if your child’s spine should be assessed by a chiropractor? Unless a child has an obvious problem it can be difficult for a parent to recognize when a child’s spine is not working correctly. Here are some signs which can indicate spinal problems.

Observing movement and alignment gives us an inside look at neurology and how your child's nervous system is functioning.

We recommend that all infants have their spines checked after birth, ideally within the first month of their life. Even the most seamless labour and delivery can place stress on a baby’s spine and lead to complications down the road. Add in drugs or any other interventions such as vacuum, forceps and C section and the stress placed on a child increases dramatically.

And yes, if you are a Chiropractor committed to caring for children, postgraduate education must be completed. Dr. Lindsay and Dr. Amy are both members of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Lindsay has received her CACCP designation from the ICPA. It is the most recognized and comprehensive program in its field.

The health of a baby’s spine and function of their nervous system plays a large role in allowing for optimal growth and development. The first year of a child’s life is full of developmental milestones. They are patterns of organized movement specifically designed. Each milestone is preceded and followed by patterns that balance the overall developmental progression. When all of these milestones have been reached, the movement pathways are available and utilized for the physical, emotional and cognitive growth from childhood to adulthood. Ya, it’s a big deal! Here is what the first year looks like;

Not reaching these milestones matters! A child’s first year of life is full of nervous system integration and advancement that sets the stage for their life ahead. Milestones are designed and chronologically placed in this order for a reason. While assessing a child’s development, time is dedicated to educating parents. It is important for us all to understand what normal movement and development is and is not.

Tummy time (when your baby rests on their tummy) is an important part of their day. But what if they do not like being in this position? It can make even the smallest amount of tummy time feel like an eternity!

Why is tummy time important?

It is recommended that tummy time start early and reach 90 mins by 4 months of age. Don’t worry. This does not need to be all at once and you can move off a hard surface and count tummy time on your chest or across your lap as well. If your baby is older and not getting enough tummy time slowly add in more time and space it out throughout the day.

Chiropractic can help tummy time by addressing spinal joints, specifically in an infant’s neck and pelvis and cranial bones, specifically occiput. Chiropractic adjustments improve spinal movement and muscle tone making tummy time a much more enjoyable experience.


It shouldn’t hurt to grow. And just because ‘growing pains’ are common should not make them normal. Altered biomechanics and spinal misalignment especially in lower spine and pelvis create imbalances which many contribute to leg pain. Along with chiropractic care we also recommend;

The physics of the body is amazing! We all are created with the programming to live and move in alignment. Each point of the body has been specifically designed to be in alignment with others. And for our bodies to work well they must be in the correct position in relation to others!

When we look at alignment from the side we should see curves. A curve in your low back that sticks your butt out. A curve in your midback that rolls you forward but not too much because there is a curve in your neck that needs to stack your ear over your shoulder.

From the back we shouldn’t see any curves. You spine should be straight.

How can parents tell if their children are growing up in alignment?

We all want our children growing up balanced and symmetrical. We should have curves in our spine. Scoliosis tells us curves are wrong. Scoliosis is the lateral deviation of the spine and affects not only adults, but more commonly affects children and adolescents because of the rapid growth they experience. And postural asymmetries are the most common signs that our children are not growing straight and could use some help.

At birth, the spinal column comprises 40% of the total length of the infant - identical to the adult. However, the average length of the spinal column in the newborn is just 24 cm or 9.6 inches. The spinal column grows 50% in length during the baby's first year of life. Over the following 4 years the spine will continue to grow another 15 cm reaching a length of 51 cm or 20.4 inches. From ages 5-10, the spine grows an additional 10 cm. Once puberty is reached and until the age of 18 the spine will typically grow another 20 cm in males and 15 cm in females.

What can help correct scoliosis curves?