Rooney's Experience With Chiropractic
This topic might be the one I get the most questions about, so I'm excited to get this post out there!
When Rooney was 2 months old, she was diagnosed with torticollis. Torticollis is a neck issue where your head is tilted to the side. I thought it was really cute until I realized she had a problem. You can see a photo of her below:
It was a little scary when she was diagnosed because I didn't know anything about torticollis. I had never heard of it before. Our pediatrician (who we LOVE) caught it early, and we are really glad about that. She recommended physical therapy, so we set up an appointment. I was quite frustrated after our first PT appointment. I didn't feel like I learned anything about torticollis, and Rooney hated the stretches we were supposed to do. I felt really lost and defeated.
So I went home and immediately did my own research. I came upon something that said chiropractic care can be effective for torticollis, so I reached out to Dr. Tyler via Facebook (as I mentioned last week, we had met Dr. Tyler at our church a few years prior). He encouraged us to bring her in and see what he could do.
We took her for her first appointment and she got adjusted in her neck. Dr. Tyler is very gentle with children (he's got a daughter of his own and another baby on the way) and often adjusts babies while they are laying on their mom or dad, so I could feel exactly what he was doing and how much pressure he was applying. After one visit, we saw immediate improvement. It was really remarkable. We actually did both physical therapy and chiropractic for a couple weeks. Our PT had been pretty clear that she didn't think chiropractic would help, but after Roo got adjusted the first time, we went back to the PT and she was SUPER impressed with Roo's progress. We could see it, too.
After a couple more visits to Dr. Tyler, she was healed. At that point we stopped physical therapy and moved forward with chiropractic. Now, 18 months later, we're still going to the chiro weekly because we've seen such a benefit.
I will add that Dr. Tyler thinks Rooney's neck issues were a result of her spine being out of place and NOT muscles being tight, so the chiropractor worked WAY better for her. I'm not sure it is like that for all torticollis cases, but we are huge believers in chiropractic. And after seeing my birth video, I am not surprised at all that her neck would be out of place after delivery. Yikes.
I also really appreciated that Dr. Tyler educated me on torticollis and some causes of it. He offered us ideas and helped us make adjustments to Roo's car seat so that it was more ergonomically correct, and warned us against using certain baby products (like the Bumbo) that really aren't great for babies' spines. It seemed like a more proactive, educational and holistic approach than we received from PT, and I was so grateful.
Rooney continues to get adjusted weekly, although sometimes she doesn't need anything done. She didn't like getting adjusted until she was about 15 months old, and now she loves it. She smiles, claps and laughs! She also likes to help Dr. Tyler adjust my back and feet.
Rooney has been a very healthy kid so far, which we are so thankful for. During our weekly visits we discuss with Dr. Tyler anything that's been going on with her (coughing, runny nose, teething, etc.), and he can then check for certain things to be out of place. As she was learning to walk (and falling a lot), it was nice to make sure her spine was staying aligned.
There was one night last winter when Rooney was coughing so badly and deeply that she was having trouble breathing. We were a little freaked out and didn't know what to do. We called Dr. Tyler (it was like 8:00 pm) and he told us to meet him at the office for a quick adjustment. It seemed to help and she came home and slept soundly the rest of the night. If she has a fever or if we think she has an ear infection, we call him first and get an extra adjustment that week. I have written before about how chiropractic adjustments can help prevent ear infections by aligning the skull and neck and help the ears drain on their own. He talks us through things rationally and help educate and remind us about natural remedies to try. Having him as a partner in Rooney's health has been invaluable to our family. Next time we have a baby, we are planning to have him come to the hospital to adjust the baby ASAP!
P.S. Mention Words of Williams at True Life Wellness in November and receive your first visit for $25 ($250 value)!
P.P.S. I recently purchased a Young Living Essential Oil pack so I can be prepared when she's sick! I'm actually now a distributor of the oils, so let me know if you need any!