Reflux, also known as gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a condition characterized by extreme vomiting and chronic coughing. In infants and children it can commonly be observed through refusal or trouble eating and/or crying associated with mealtimes before, during or after. 

Unfortunately, reflux is termed as “normal” and infants are placed on medications and made to “wait until they grow out of it.”  This process leads to a fussy baby who is subject to painful symptoms and commonly results in difficulty eating. While reflux is quite common among infants it is by no means normal. 

Integrating Chiropractic Care and Craniosacral Therapy can lead to the much needed break-through in your child’s gastrointestinal health. 

To best understand how chiropractic care can facilitate successful treatment in reflux patients it is helpful to start with a basic understanding of reflux.   Reflux is a chronic condition where the stomach’s contents, primarily acid, come-up the esophagus and produce burning and pain. Symptoms of reflux in infants are vomiting associated with eating, obvious pain during or after eating, and arching the back. Some infants have “silent reflux” which does not exhibit the usual vomiting or spitting up as is seen in most reflux cases, but it is just as serious and painful. 

Reflux has long been attributed to a weak sphincter connecting the stomach and esophagus, and while this may be the case in some circumstances, more research is showing how the nervous system and subluxations of the spine may create this painful condition in children. Having your child with reflux examined by a chiropractor to determine the cause and possible correction could be a beneficial step in the process of healing. 

Subluxations that occur in the spine correlating to the stomach and esophagus area cause physical stress resulting in nerve system compromises associated with their functions. Chiropractic adjustments in these spinal areas have been shown to reduce and alleviate the symptoms associated with reflux. 

The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association conducted a study wherein a 3-year old’s reflux improvement after four sessions of chiropractic adjustments. The practitioner used spinal chiropractic adjustments. The mother reported that the infant began sleeping longer at night, vomiting reduced to once per day rather than after every meal, the child’s eating became easier and with less crying involved, and the child’s body became less rigid and more relaxed also resulting in less pain and vomiting. 

It’s also worth noting growing body of evidence is beginning to support the use of other alternative modalities as effective means for addressing reflux in infants. Craniosacral Therapy or gentle touch/baby massage, is becoming a popular means of both relaxing the infant suffering from reflux along with bringing relief to the symptoms. Craniosacral therapy works in babies by helping to relieve stresses and strains in the tissues resulting from pregnancy, labor and birth. Very gentle techniques are used to assist in the release and unwinding of the tissues around the baby’s head, neck, upper back and sacrum (base of the spine).

Within Craniosacral Therapy altered nerve function from altered spinal alignment is referred to as “nerve interference”.  Nerve interference can reduce the amount of vital nerve energy reaching the organs, including the stomach. If left untreated, the stomach and digestive tract will go into a state of dysfunction, and eventually digestion. Many GERD sufferers under the care of Craniosacral Therapy have reported significant reduction in their symptoms. The reason is realigning and returning the spine back to full health along with strengthening muscles and other soft tissues, reducing the mechanical pressure on the internal organs allowing nerve energy to flow freely throughout the body restoring normal function to the stomach and other vital organs.

Alex was born in March 1972. At the age of 7 he started to experience frequent headaches with all the conventional symptoms of a Migraine headache. His particular headache resulted in him experiencing auras, nausea and sensitivity to light with no particular trigger to the onset of the migraine.

After years of treatments, therapies and medications, his headaches were no better and Alex continued to experience them all throughout childhood and into young adulthood. Some years the headaches would come monthly, some years every two to three months and some years weekly. His headaches were incurable, there was nothing that could alleviate the symptoms and head pain. Until he experienced cranial manual therapy, which resulted in the complete eradication of his life-long Migraine Headaches.

At the age of 16 Alex noticed a mild deformity in the right side of his ribs, a slightly lower right shoulder and the experience of constant lower back pain. Although mild, a diagnosis of Idiopathic Adolescent Scoliosis had been labeled.

At the age of 18 he was involved in a serious car accident that exacerbated his lower back pain. Throughout the years Alex had tried a multitude of conventional treatments but continued to suffer on and off with lower back pain, even throughout Chiropractic school and beyond.

In 2015 and fifteen+ years out of Chiropractic school, Dr. Kaminsky participated in his first and life changing Craniosacral Therapy seminar and he was fascinated, intrigued and hooked. It all made sense, he was immediately astute to its methods and since that first seminar, and as a result of trading sessions of Craniosacral Therapy with his colleagues, his back pain subsided and till this day has never returned.

Dr. Kaminsky decided to enhance his skill-set to better serve his patients. He began reaching out to other craniosacral therapists, cranial osteopaths, and many types of leading practitioners from various fields for advise and consultations He also enrolled in Upledger continuing education seminars with a focus on mostly hands-on manual and alternative therapies.

And, as he gained knowledge with his own health issues, he has learned to help more and more patients achieve great health results.

Dr. Alex Kaminsky is headache free and low back pain free, and has committed himself to a life of learning, teaching and treating patients. His emphasis is on the patient’s stored patterns of the body and each individual healthcare needs.