Chiropractic Care Throughout Puberty

Puberty is a time of life that we don’t often sit and reflect on; however, there will be a time in which parenthood presents the chance to relive all of the acne, cramping, back pain, emotional rollercoasters, and slamming doors through the lives of our children. I’m not exactly looking forward to this time when my own daughter will go through it, but I plan to help her as much as possible.There are several things to note before I dive into why seeing a chiropractor throughout the onset of puberty (and continuation of menstruation) is beneficial. The first being the average age of puberty is growing lower each year. This is a scary realization, when you see 10-year-old girls needing to grow up before they are ready. But this is the reality we are currently living in. Our hormone-injected, processed and sprayed food, vaccines, water supply, and pesticide-filled environment may be to blame, and other than living in a bubble, it can be very hard to avoid all of these possible exposures.As one enters puberty, the body is experiencing a multitude of things:The body is growing at a more rapid pace than normal, causing the muscles and spine to misalign which can add to already mounting emotional and physical stress during this trying time. The pain may come across as increased emotional outbursts, growing pains, or back pain.Cartilage is hardening. Puberty is a crucial time for bone development, as the flexible cartilage that had allowed for growth in childhood hardens into true bone.Hormones raging. There is no better way to describe the hormone distribution that is occurring throughout puberty.  Hormones serve as messengers traveling through the bloodstream. Hormones can be responsible for:

• Growth
• Sleep Patterns
• Emotions
• Depression
• Reproduction
• Sexual Arousal

When the body is out of alignment, hormones cannot travel from point A to point B efficiently.Sports and physical activities intensify around this stage of life. As the competition increases, the physical toll on the body does too. Many teenagers begin lifting weights, increasing work outs, hitting harder on the field, and taking harder hits themselves. Even when not competing, the feeling of invisibility seems to soar throughout puberty, inviting daring jumps, awkward landings, and crazy stunts. All of which can cause misalignments of the spine.Books are heavier. Chiropractors everywhere have a bone to pick with our school system and the amount of weight our children are supposed to carry around each day. As the grade levels increase, the weight and number of books seem to increase as well. Carrying this amount of weight around is bound to leave a body needing adjustment. When you add in the overall changes occurring throughout puberty, it’s a recipe for extreme discomfort.Gentle adjustments by a chiropractor can help a child throughout the transition of puberty. By keeping the body aligned, there is a higher probability that hormones can quickly rebalance, neurons can properly fire and be received, the body can handle greater impacts, and the symptoms of puberty remain calm and mild.  For girls, what they think may just be back problems may actually be displaced pain from the reproductive organs. These organs depend upon a healthy nervous supply from the lower spinal column. If these nerves going between the reproductive organs and the spine are somehow blocked, it can lead to menstrual pain, cramping, and irregularities. Putting the lower spine back into proper alignment with chiropractic adjustments will relieve the pressure on these nerves going to the reproductive organs, relieving both menstrual and lower back pain.Regular chiropractic care aids in all of the stages of life and should not be overlooked throughout puberty.