I have had good success with infants suffering from colic. One recent from 2008, published in Clinical Chiropractic,  studying forty-three infants younger than eight weeks found that infants typically improved two to four weeks after beginning treatment. Chiropractic care decreased crying significantly and improved the quality of sleep significantly.

A long-term study found that infants who were colicky suffer from poor behavior and disturbed sleep as toddlers. The study found that toddlers who were treated by a chiropractor were twice as likely not to experience long-term sequelae of infantile colic such as temper tantrums and frequent nocturnal walking. Thus those children treated by a chiropractor were twice as likely to sleep well and to experience fewer temper tantrums in their toddler years.

A peer reviewed study of 114 infants with hospital- or lactation-consultant-diagnosed nursing dysfunction found that all infants in the study showed some improvement with chiropractic care. The average age at the first visit was 3 weeks. And 78% were able to exclusively breast feed after two to five treatments within a two-week period. Pretty impressive.

Dr. Cohen loves helping infants and children because typically they improve faster than adults who have scar tissue.

In March the Department of Epidemiology at Aarhus University released a study on the effects of prenatal antidepressants on a newborn’s brain development. This study found that if a mother took antidepressants during her second or third trimester, the child was slower to learn to sit and walk.  Since there are critical periods in brain development, there may be long term detriments to meeting major developmental milestones later than normal.

I say this only to expose some previously unexpected side effects of antidepressants, not to scare anyone. I find many prescibing MDs are not mentioning this to my patients. All drugs have side effects, and if you are pregnant they affect you and your child. Therefore, exhaust all other options before considering medication.

There are very few things in the world that can get under your skin like a child screaming and crying at the top of their lungs.  Colic is an awful condition that results in cranky infants and equally cranky parents after a few nights of no sleep from the crying and stress about their child.  Research has suggested that chiropractic is an effective treatment for colic but a recent study indicates that the results have a more permanent positive impact.

CONCLUSION: Untreated post-colicky infants demonstrated negative behavioral patterns at 2 to 3 years of age. In this study, parents of infants treated with chiropractic care for excessive crying did not report as many difficult behavioral and sleep patterns of their toddlers. These findings suggest that chiropractic care for infants with colic may have an effect on long-term sequelae.

Toddlers who were treated with chiropractic care for colic were twice as likely to not experience long-term sequelae of infant colic, such as temper tantrums (relative risk, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.0) and frequent nocturnal waking (relative risk, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-2.8) than those who were not treated with chiropractic care as colicky infants.

Less temper tantrums and infrequent nighttime waking sounds great to me.

I have seen first hand how quickly a child can respond to a gentle chiropractic adjustment.  If your child is suffering from colic bring him or her in, the chances of a quiet night following the treatment is very high.