A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…in this case we’re talking 1980’s St. Catharines, Ontario, I made my first visit to a chiropractor after a debilitating soccer injury. I was in my early teens and I had constant low back and hip pain. I couldn’t walk without pain, never mind running. I remember really wanting to be able to play soccer again.
I really didn’t know much about chiropractors. All I knew was from having one as a neighbour growing up. He was weird, always whistling and happy with life. He and his family were into healthy (weird) things like not drinking cow’s milk, instead choosing to make banana “milk shakes”. How gross is that?:)
It’s ironic that I would end up along a similar path, that something so strange to me as a kid became my life. My chiropractor was able to help me and I was able to return to playing soccer, although my interests by that time had turned to tennis. I noticed that I not only could move more easily (the back and hip pain healed), but the asthma that I had suffered from as a child cleared up and I got sick with colds and flus less often.
Since chiropractic is the science and art of health through the spine and nervous system, and everyone has a spine and nervous system, my education included learning about working with people at every stage of life. From newborns to seniors, we covered a wide range of more specialized care. I even learned the Webster’s Breach Turning technique from the man himself, Dr. Larry Webster. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a technique to help a baby that is in a breach position, to turn so that it can be birthed more easily, with less complications.
Over the years, I have expanded my knowledge and practice to include spectrum disorders such as autism and ADHD and developmental delay in children, learning from experts in the U.S. and Europe.
On Friday May 10th, the clinic will be closed because I’ll be in Bolton, Ontario, learning more about how to help newborns and their mothers. I’ll be taking a class with Dr. Nicole Lederman (Dr. Joe’s sister!), who has been practicing and teaching for many years. The focus of learning will include baby’s tongue-tie, and problems latching.
When we’re young and our nervous system is stuck in fight/flight, we can develop stuck stress responses which can affect our digestion and elimination, self-regulation and development, and how well we rest.
So chiropractic isn’t just for problems such as asthma, ear infections and colic, but also for the improved functioning of the nervous system right from the start.