I posted on my Dr. Ashley Facebook Page last week about an experience with my kids and chiropractic:

“My seven-year-old son was complaining of a plugged ear this morning.  “Want me to adjust you?” I asked him.  He said yes (he doesn’t always), and I adjusted his neck.  My children are very used to being adjusted, and you can often find me poking around their spines, wrists, ankles, hips, etc, to make sure things are moving as they should.”

There was lots of online chatter about this, and I received a few emails from curious patients, so that’s prompted me to explain things further here (although I’ve written about children and chiropractic before).

I am a chiropractor first and foremost, and an evidence-based, clinically-guided one at that.  One of my patients calls me his “body mechanic,” and I’d say that title is pretty accurate.  Like an auto mechanic for your car, it’s my job to find the source of the problem, and to figure things out and help your body fix things up.  I’m not a symptom-chaser, I’m a problem-solver.  Not everything I do has research to back it up, but everything I do certainly has anatomy or biomechanics or clinical experience to back it up.

That’s why I poke and prod my kids.  That’s why I check their backs when they’re snuggling beside me for a movie, that’s why I check their necks when I’m cutting their hair, that’s why I check their ankles when we’re shoe shopping.  Because I believe that good movement creates healthy bodies.  I get them to move often (playgrounds! triathlons!  running races!  outside time!) and I check their movement often.

After all, movement is medicine.

***Disclaimer: Please note that I am not claiming that chiropractic helps with ear infections, but rather sharing a story about my kids and their experience having me as a mother.***