People visit a chiropractor for all sorts of reasons. Over the past past 10 years, the main reasons for seeking chiropractic care were for posture (31.7%), colic (28.7%), neck pain (23.5%), difficulties with breastfeeding (22.6%), back pain (21.9%), and headache (14.9%).

People also sought out a chiropractor to help with sleep issues (4.1%) and for general health and wellbeing (17.4%).

Can a chiropractor help with posture?

A chiropractor or other manual therapist can help to identify and improve muscle imbalances, unhelpful movement habits and poor posture.

Are you here because you’d like a chiropractor to help with your posture? Some chiropractors suggest that bad posture is linked to a whole range of bad health outcomes, but we don’t think the evidence backs that up.

We take the position that posture is less important than movement. Let us explain why.

We focus on movement instead of posture

At Thrive Canberra, we focus less on posture and more on function - that is, how well you move. We believe we can get better results for you that way.

The evidence suggests that posture tends to be less important than we have been taught when it comes to various aches and pains. Also, there is less and less connection between so-called ‘bad’ posture and things like headaches or back pain.

Again, what is more important is your movement nutrition - how often and how well you move.

Posture during pregnancy

When you are pregnant, your whole body posture will change over those nine months. As a result. You may experience back or pelvic pain, 75% of pregnant women do.

Read more on back pain during pregnancy.

Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) and posture

There are studies that suggest that babies with an uneven posture will have some functional issues. It can cause things like plagiocephaly or flat head syndrome.

There are a few things you can do at home like:

Tummy time
Vary your baby’s sleeping posture

A chiropractor can also help. A chiropractor who is trained to work with babies, and who performs cranial therapy, should be able to work with any uneven posture.

Tongue tie and posture

If you have a tongue or lip tie, you may develop compensation for this in your posture, the way you move or breathe. It can affect the tension in muscles in your mouth and face all the way to your neck and the rest of the spine.

A chiropractor can also offer tongue tie treatments for your baby.

Treatments for children under 12

Parents and guardians access chiropractic care for their child for a wide range of conditions and complaints. The most common concerns are:

Posture
Colic
Neck pain
Difficulty with breastfeeding
Back pain
Headache

You may also consider taking your child to a chiropractor for:

Can a chiropractor help with lower back pain?

Low back pain is one of the biggest causes of global disability. And it’s common amongst all age groups.

Read more about the causes and treatment for low back pain, and how you might prevent it.

Back pain in pregnancy

75% of pregnant women will have some back or pelvic pain during pregnancy. It’s not surprising really, a women's whole body posture changes over those nine months.

So, it is fairly common but it’s not something you should have to put up with.

Read more about pregnancy-related back pain.

Can a chiropractor help with colic?

There is mixed quality evidence to show that manual therapies are beneficial for reducing crying time for colic. The research reports low to moderate evidence and the risk from treatment is low. Some parents and guardians of children experience positive results.

This is a quote from the Independent review on Chiropractic spinal manipulation of children under 12:

“When seeking care for Colic the improvement was immediate. The chiropractor also showed me a simple massage technique to assist with moving the build up of wind.”

This is what the research says on colic.

Can a chiropractor help with concussion?

There are 5 main ways we can help you manage your concussion: exercise therapy, manual therapy (like chiropractic), balance and visual rehabilitation, nutrition, and education and reassurance.

Thrive is a member of the Complete Concussion Management Inc.™ (CCMI) Partnership Program - a network of clinics around the world offering evidence-based concussion care.

More about concussion treatments at Thrive Canberra.

Concussion in kids

Concussions can be scary, especially if it’s your child who is affected. A chiropractor may be able to help your child with concussion recovery.

Can a chiropractor help?