If you’ve never suffered from an ear infection: you are lucky! Ear infections are tricky problems that can affect people throughout the life cycle. However, they commonly plague children. In fact, nearly half of all children will have experienced an ear infection before turning 2 years old.
Commonly, doctors will prescribe antibiotics and pain medication for patients who have ear infections. But in the end, doctors mostly utilize a “wait-and-see” approach when treating this condition.
You may wonder: “Is there another way to manage ear infections besides using medication and waiting for the symptoms to resolve?” The answer is yes! Chiropractic care can effectively address ear infections. Read on to find out how.
What Is an Ear Infection?
Ear infections are more technically known as Otitis Media. Specifically, these infections affect the “middle” portion of the ear, as opposed to the inner or outer ear.
Connecting the ear canal to the throat is a slender canal known as the eustachian tube. When the eustachian tubes become blocked due to fluid buildup, bacteria and viruses can begin to proliferate in the middle ear.
As this happens, patients often begin to experience deep, intense pain surrounding the area of the ear.
How is an Ear Infection Treated?
Very often, ear infections resolve on their own after just a few short days (or even one day) of rest. But occasionally, symptoms will last for more than the typical few days, and intervention is required.
In these more severe cases, doctors may recommend antibiotics to assist the body’s immune system in dealing with the pathogen.
Rarely, in very severe and recurrent cases of ear infection, doctors may even recommend surgery. The common surgical process is to insert tubes into the ears in order to assist the drainage process.
Alternatives to Medication and Surgery
The problem with the conventional approaches to treating ear infections (wait-and-see, medication, surgery), is that these treatments rarely address the root cause of ear infections. On the other hand, chiropractic treatment plans are designed to treat the underlying causes of the ear infection, not just the symptoms that result from the root issue.
How Chiropractic Care Addresses Ear Infections
Within the ear (and everywhere in the body) there is a complex system with many nerves that receive and supply information. If these nerves can’t properly conduct impulses that convey information about what’s happening in the ear, the body can’t appropriately respond.
For this reason, chiropractors will often assess the spine to see if there are any misalignments or areas where impulses may be blocked from reaching their target. If this is the case, a gentle, chiropractic manipulation may be the perfect way to address the patient’s symptoms.
Are Chiropractic Adjustments Safe for Children?
Many people worry that chiropractic adjustments may be too aggressive for growing bodies. The important thing to remember is that chiropractors do not treat every patient the same way. A small child will not receive the same force of manipulation as would a grown man. Angles and forces involved with chiropractic adjustments are tailored to the patient in question. There is no “one-size-fits-all” treatment in chiropractic care.
Furthermore, not all patients who receive chiropractic care will receive joint manipulations. Depending on the patient in question, it might be more appropriate for them to receive a massage, some exercise, dietary counseling, or any number of other treatments.
Awaken Chiropractic
Are you searching for a Parker chiropractor to treat your child’s middle or inner ear infection? Awaken Chiropractic is ready to help. We provide chiropractic care for all ages, helping you and your entire family achieve a higher state of health. Book your appointment today.
