A text-book on hygiene and pediatrics from a chiropractic standpoint

by J. H. Craven

In a case recently an infant three weeks old had been crying constantly for several hours. The clothing had been removed and the child very carefully bathed and powdered; then instead of the clothing being replaced the child was wrapped in a blanket. Still the crying persisted. A very careful observation of the patient gave no information whatsoever as to the possible location of the cause for the crying. There was nothing that would quiet the child. He finally grew so exhausted that the cry became little more than a whimper, beads of perspiration standing out over the entire body. There were no signs of colic or tympanites. A careful palpation revealed the sixth dorsal very badly subluxated and a slight subluxation of the first lumbar. These were adjusted and the child stopped crying almost instantly and in less than ten minutes was sleeping normally. There was no return of the abnormal crying and the child had no further adjustments.

We have many such cases on record, but the citation of this one is sufficient to illustrate the results that are obtained in such cases.

Palpating the Infant

In palpating an infant the first thing to look for is the hot box. It may be possible to locate it very easily and if this is so it then becomes necessary only to list the direction in which the vertebra is subluxated. In looking for the hot box it is necessary to use care so as not to be misled by the difference in the temperature of the back due to some article of clothing being in contact with the back and raising the temperature in that region. Notice that there has not been some woolen garment, such as the band, pressing against the spine. To eliminate the possibility of thus being misled the entire back should be exposed to the atmosphere a sufficient length of time to allow the back to become influenced alike to the temperature of the air. The majority of incoördinations of infancy are acute, therefore the hot box is present. After the hot box is located then a very careful palpation should be made to determine the direction in which the vertebra is subluxated. It is not sufficient to consider that because the patient is an infant all that is necessary is to list the vertebra straight posterior and adjust it accordingly. Laterality, superiority and inferiority are quite as essential, and the chiropractor should not be satisfied until he has convinced himself on the question of these directions. If there is no laterality, superiority or inferiority then the adjustment should be given straight toward the anterior.

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.