LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Healthy Kids

OMINOUS FINDING IN OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN

by

I don’t think anyone thinks that a child being overweight is a good thing.  I also don’t think anyone would disagree that the numbers of overweight children seems to be growing faster than their waistlines.  Some parents, however, may not agree that it is their fault.  Sure, daycare and school food are, in general, horrendously bad for our children’s health.  But patterns of healthy living are formed long before children are influenced by their peers. 

As a society, however, I do not think we understand just how serious the problem is.  You may have heard me talk about telomeres before.  Telomeres are like the wick on the ends of our chromosomes.  The shorter they are, the less live that cell has left.  Overall, shorter telomeres are a bad thing and are influenced heavily by our lifestyles. 

This is why this article shocked me to the core.  Overweight children’s telomere lengths were 24% shorter than non-obese kids.  I cannot begin to adequately express the fear that these numbers generate.  A marker of overall health and longevity that is not limited to a single organ or cell type (meaning that the risk for developing ANY chronic disease will be elevated) was much worse in obese children.  I can only hope that society begins to understand the critical nature of obesity in children and begins to act accordingly.  If not, we will likely not have our children outlive us.

TRAMPOLINE DANGERS FOR KIDS

by

We were all having a blast at a local trampoline “fun place” as Keegan (who is 5) calls it.  We’ve been to this type of place numerous times and always had fun and some good exercise.  However, this time I bounced a little too close to Keegan.  As the springs were unloading from my weight, he was coming down. 

You never want to hear your child crying in pain, especially not when the character is distinctive enough to ring that inner clinician warning bell.  A trip to urgent care for some plain films was in order.  I was hopeful it was just a serious sprain, but I think I knew better.  Being in the X-ray room when the technician brings the images up and seeing the glaring fracture over the proximal tibia was heart wrenching.  My little boy’s shinbone was broken, and although an accident, my role in the injury was prominent.

I ran the plain films by the local DACBR (Diplomate American Board of Chiropractic Radiology) and he confirmed the presence of what is known as a “trampoline fracture.”  He also reassured me that the outcomes were very good with simple casting.  Little risk to the growth plate and no need for surgery.

The next trip to the pediatric ortho left Keegan in a cast just short of his hip for 5 weeks.  Knowing how healthy he is and adding some extra C and D to the mix and his healing should be faster than normal.  But I can’t help feeling awful for him.  Playing rough is normal behavior for him, but this wasn’t a situation where he was about to jump off a structure high enough to have low oxygen tension–my role in his injury was critically.

I’m familiar with the risks of trampoline use.  I’ve always been careful there, but I was unaware how common this injury can be.  Hopefully this lesson can save another little 5 yr old some time in a cast.

HEARTBURN IN INFANTS?

by

I remember the first time I had a patient come in and tell me that their pediatrician put their infant on Prilosec.  I had to clean the wax out of my ears and ask for clarification.  Yes–the latest abuse of the pharmaceutical companies had begun in earnest.  For me, our bodies digest and then do everything else.  It’s absolutely, positively essential for good health.  ANY interference with digestion is a very bad idea with long ranging consequences.  To use this class of drugs in an adult is bad enough–to push them on scared and concerned parents should be malpractice.

We have seen several studies finding that this class of drugs given to children is massively abused and completely ineffective at fixing the problem.  This study confirms this by looking at multiple studies.  Bottom line is that they have not been shown to be effective at reducing symptoms of heartburn (GERD) and there are NO safety studies.

So what do we do with an infant who may be having heartburn?  If nursing, change mom’s diet.  Get rid of common allergens like dairy.  Absolutely add probiotics.  If formula fed, switch to a hydrolyzed formula like Nutramagen or Alimentum.

When the older child has reflux, consider apple cider vinegar or digestive enzymes.  This is almost always a result of a stressed out child.  Help them NOW manage the stress in their lives.

Either way, please consider heavily, regardless of the age, the massive consequences of shutting down digestion.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/5/925

MONKEY EAT, MONKEY DO?

by

It has become very clear that our children’s collective health is deteriorating.  Obesity, diabetes, liver problems and medication use are at levels that shock me.  I personally cannot understand the use of cholesterol lowering meds given to children by a pediatrician.  How do you give a drug to a population at incredibly low risk of a heart attack (the process of destroying our vascular health is a decades-long endeavor and medications that are taken 20 or 30 years before an “event” will never have the benefits outweigh the risks) in lieu of lifestyle changes?

But those changes HAVE to begin with the parents.  These kids pick up their bad behaviors from their parents.  Keegan, who is now 5, eats wild caught salmon, artichokes, olives, hummus and squash because he loves to steal them from my plate.  It’s all he’s seen and he thoroughly enjoys these foods.  The first time I heard him order a 1/2 water, 1/2 lemonade (which was our concession to allowing him something different to drink when we go out) I was pleasantly floored.  I had been quietly ordering this for months, but he had picked up on my queues.

Here we have yet another study that supports the fact that parents are not choosing the right lifestyles for themselves.  I know that parenthood can be challenging.  But that is NEVER an excuse to pull through the fast food drive thru instead of spending a little more time getting healthier fare for your children.  Our society is paying the prices for these choices.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/5/881