Infants who suffer from colic often experience long-term behavioral problems, even after they recover from the disorder. Fortunately, a new study reveals that chiropractic care doubles a child’s odds of being spared these long-term problems.

The study compared 117 post-colicky toddlers who had received chiropractic care for colic during infancy and 111 post-colicky toddlers who had not received chiropractic care.

The study found that “toddlers who were treated with chiropractic care for colic were twice as likely to not experience long-term sequelae of infant colic, such as temper tantrums … and frequent nocturnal waking …than those who were not treated with chiropractic care as colicky infants.”

“Untreated post-colicky infants demonstrated negative behavioral patterns at 2 to 3 years of age,” conclude the authors. “In this study, parents of infants treated with chiropractic care for excessive crying did not report as many difficult behavioral and sleep patterns of their toddlers. These findings suggest that chiropractic care for infants with colic may have an effect on long-term sequelae.”

JMPT – October 2009;32:635-8.
www.jmptonline.org