Ear Infections & Chiropractic
Why do some kids get so many ear infections? Look at this birthday board for a one-year-old showing they have had TEN ear infections within their first year! Unfortunately, this is not entirely uncommon. But there IS something we can do about it. So let’s chat.
The typical understanding of why ear infections are so common in kids is that their eustachian tubes (canal on the inner part of their ear that is the main route of drainage for the ear) is positioned more horizontally in kids than it is in adults. Because of this, kids don't have the benefit of gravity on their side when it comes to drainage like you or I might. And when this happens, they are more likely to have a buildup of fluid, and thus ear infection. Which isn't completely wrong...but it's also not the whole story.
There's a special muscle called the TENSOR VELI PALATINI MUSCLE (TVPM). The TVPM attaches to the eustachian tube and, when functioning properly, creates a pumping mechanism to aid in drainage. This muscle, as with all other muscles, is controlled by your nerves.
So with normal function, this pumping action of the TVPM is generally sufficient to help drain things from the ear, even when a child's eustachian tube is more horizontal. But as our patients all know, if there's something causing the nerve to give off faulty or insufficient messages to the muscle that it controls, then that muscle won't be able to contract and relax like it's supposed to!
But what causes the nerve to communicate poorly?
In chiropractic, we find that misalignment within their spine can affect how the nerves are able to communicate with the body parts they control. We call this a subluxation. The subluxation can be caused by several different things, but the most common we find in this age range is having had a tough labor and delivery, as this creates a lot of stress on their neck and cranial bones, where the TVPM and its nerve lives.
The good news: Chiropractic corrects subluxation!
By removing the subluxation, we then restore the proper communication pathway for the cranial nerve that controls the TVPM so that the TVPM now knows what to do and how to do it! Which makes for a happy, healthy ear...which also makes for a happier, healthier child (and happier parents of course)! It's all about addressing the CAUSE instead of just the symptoms.
So for any parent whose child has been struggling with ear infections, please get your child checked by a pediatric chiropractor!