A text-book on hygiene and pediatrics from a chiropractic standpointCraven, J. H. (John Henry)
Science
A text-book on hygiene and pediatrics from a chiropractic standpoint
Craven, J. H. (John Henry)
Children -- Diseases; Chiropractic; Sanitation
In palpating an infant it is usually best to place the child on the
knees of an adult in the position for an adjustment. The child will
be almost constantly on the move. It will therefore be necessary for
the chiropractor to adapt himself to this constant moving. The child
should be placed in as many different positions as possible to make
the palpation. He may be held up over the shoulder of the mother or
nurse; first on one side, then on the other, this giving opportunity
to palpate with both hands and make comparisons.
No effort should be made to force the child to be still. It is a
good policy to hold the palpating fingers on the spine and let the
child wiggle and squirm all he wants to, moving the spine beneath the
palpating fingers of the chiropractor. In this way a comparison may
be made of what is felt under the fingers while the child is moving.
It is quite difficult to nerve trace an infant in any measure of
accuracy because the infant can not coöperate to any degree of
satisfaction. In some, however, nerve tracing may be used to a
certain extent by producing slight pressure and noticing whether or
not the child flinches.
It is very much more difficult to palpate the cervical vertebrae of
an infant than it is those of the dorsal and lumbar regions. The same
technique and tactics are used, however. It is sometimes an advantage
to place the child on the mother’s lap in such a way that the head
will be unsupported by the lap. One hand should support the child’s
forehead, while the other hand palpates or it may be necessary to
place the infant in some other position. The chiropractor should be
sufficiently resourceful to find a way to get an accurate palpation
of the cervical region. Here, again, he will meet with the difficulty
of keeping the child still. This makes it necessary that he be very
alert and at the instant it is possible to feel the vertebra to be
ready to make his comparisons quickly and decide the direction in
which it is subluxated.
The cervical vertebrae of an infant are very hard to feel, but if
one of the segments is subluxated sufficiently to cause pressure on
a nerve that segment will be easier to feel because it is out of the
median line; especially will it be easier to feel if it is subluxated
posteriorly. Every possible means must be used to make an accurate
palpation. If there is a subluxation in the cervical region there
will very likely be symptoms which will indicate it. Subluxations are
not as commonly found in the cervical region as in the other regions
of the spine.
In making an analysis of the infant the importance of the sacrum must
not be overlooked. It will be remembered that the segments of the
child’s sacrum are separated with cartilage and are subject to being
subluxated. These segments coalesce later in adolescence and form the
sacrum into one solid bone. Therefore it is highly important that the
subluxations that may exist between the segments be adjusted before
this process takes place.
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