An infant or child whose current weight or rate of gaining weight is clearly below that expected of similar children of the same sex, age and ethnicity is described as Failure to Thrive (FTT).  Thus “failure to thrive” describes infants and children who fall below standard measurements in height and weight when no organic basis for this deviance is found; frequently the poor growth pattern is accompanied or masked by a variety of physical symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.   

Babies, toddlers, and or kids with failure to thrive have a height, head circumference,  and weight that do not match standard growth charts for their age.  The child’s weight falls lower than the third percentile (as outlined in standard growth charts) or 20% below the ideal weight for their height.  

Also, the following are delayed or slow to develop:

• Physical skills, sitting up, rolling, standing and walking
• Mental and social skills

There are many different causes of Failure to Thrive, and multiple causes can converge simultaneously. If a child is not able to eat enough food, or vomits repeatedly (such as with severe gastroesophageal reflux), the child will not intake sufficient calories to support growth.  Severe allergies can also cause a child to be unable to absorb sufficient calories and also not grow as expected. Any health condition that causes a child to not be able to absorb sufficient calories may also lead to Failure to Thrive.

Failure to thrive is a common problem, usually recognized within the first 1–2 years of life, but may present at any time in childhood.  The syndrome of failure to thrive has always presented pediatricians with a complicated problem in diagnosis and treatment.  

Many childhood health ailments can be helped through the use of Craniosacral Therapy.  Examples of health conditions that can be improved with Craniosacral Therapy include: congenital anomalies, neurological disorders, food and environmental allergies, immune system dysfunctions, digestive issues, neuromuskuloskeletal issues, emotional and behavioral issues.  

It’s important to be mindful even the most perfect birth can be classified as slightly traumatic for the newborn. Squeezing through the birth canal, twisting and turning to extreme degrees in order to leave the familiar environment of the womb and transition into this world, can be stressful for a newborn.  Also with interventions such as labor inducing medications, C-section, Forceps or Vacuum extraction, there are often additional compromises which can influence the very delicate tissues of the brain and spinal cord. Newborn ailments like failure to thrive, poor feeding ability, reflux, and digestive issues are often symptoms related to these areas of adverse strain in the birthing process. CranioSacral Therapy can help to reduce the sources of these adverse effects, restore normal adaptability, and enhance the efficiency for the body during this critical period of rapid growth and development of the newborn.  

A typical CranioSacral Therapy session is a calming and healing experience for an infant.  Parents are encouraged to bring a blanket or toy to the session that the child will associate with comfort. The child is treated on a padded table or while the parent is holding the child in his / her arms, this way the parents may participate in the child’s session.  

About Dr. Kaminsky & Craniosacral Therapy

Having a Chiropractic background since the year 2000, Dr. Kaminsky offers many methods of treatment with an emphasis on Craniosacral Therapy in NYC.

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is a method focusing on the link between the cranium (head) and sacrum (the second to last bone at the base of your spine), scientifically proven to work in unison to pump fluid throughout the body, an unknown disruption of which can cause many health issues.  The craniosacral mechanism pumps vital fluid called cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) through the body and in a sense energetically lubricates the joints, tissues, organs; basically all cells of the body. It is the driving force of all your body’s systems of function; including maintaining the tone of your muscles.

The Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord) are surrounded with CSF generating energetic rhythmic impulses of fluid delicately pumping throughout your body’s parts “breathing” the movement of life. This measurable rhythm of moving fluid, like the heart rhythm, pulse rhythm, breathing rhythm is the foundational “blueprint” and primary principle of our real-time state of our health. 

Compromises of our rhythmic movements of fluid flow correlates to the impulse restrictions in the system which the body is unable to overcome or self-correct. This is the reason why we have “dis-ease”, symptoms, conditions, basically all ailments.  This is where the skill of an experienced craniosacral therapist becomes valuable.  By placing his or her hands on your body the practitioner can feel, detect, evaluate, and facilitate correction of these restrictive arrhythmic impulses.

The craniosacral therapist helps your rhythm restore and renew in compromised areas allowing for healing to take place of sensory, motor, musculoskeletal, neurological disorders, symptoms, conditions and pain.  To learn more, visit the other pages on this website. Call to schedule your healing treatment with Dr. Kaminsky.