Can Chiropractic Help Colic?

Since many people think of chiropractic as being a solution for back aches and other muscle and joint pains, it might surprise you to learn that chiropractic care has been shown to resolve infantile colic in some cases.

An article in the journal Clinical Chiropractic in 2004 presented two cases of infantile colic which were completely resolved after a course of chiropractic care. It's always difficult to say if the chiropractic care directly caused the colic symptoms to disappear, but the author of the report believed so. The author attributed the cause of the colic to an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system.

The autonomic nervous system, a division of the nervous system, can best be described in two parts: the sympathetic nervous system (the automatic "fight or flight" response which heightens awareness, floods the body with adrenaline, and suppresses some bodily functions like digestion), and the parasympathetic nervous system (which has roughly the opposite effect). These two divisions, in a healthy person, are well balanced, maintaining a body that is equally capable of resting and sudden motion.

However, a person with a subluxation often exhibits symptoms that show an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Certain changes can be easily detected by the chiropractor: local skin temperature changes, sudden sweating or the lack of it, increased inflammation, and so forth.

The author of this report posited that these two infants (a 7-week-old and a 10-week-old) had suffered some minor trauma during the birth process (a very common phenomenon), and had suffered a subluxation during birth. This subluxation caused an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, which then presented as difficulties with the digestive system, vomiting, difficulties breastfeeding, difficulties resting and sleeping, and so on. It can quickly be seen how most of the colicky symptoms can be immediately tied to autonomic dysfunction.

After a course of chiropractic care, both infants completely resolved within three weeks. How exciting is that? If you have had a baby with colic, you've lost more than your fair share of sleep, and you understand first hand how exciting results like this can be.