Children's Health Issues

Asthma On the Rise

The American Lung Association reports that an astonishing four million children under the age of 18 suffered an asthma attack in the past 12 months. In fact, this chronic condition accounts for more childhood hospital admissions than any other condition. And it’s the most widely reported reason for chronic absenteeism from school.

What causes asthma and how is it treated? Asthma results from an inflammation of the bronchial air passages, resulting from such things as allergies, respiratory infections, environmental irritants (air pollution, cigarette smoke, strong odors) carried through the air and of course subluxations. Approximately 75 percent of children with asthma have significant allergies and are strongly genetically predisposed for the disease.

While there is no known cure for asthma, traditional medicine treats it with drugs, including inhaled corticosteroids, allergy injections, bronchodilator inhalers, and by stressing trigger avoidance behavior.

Several articles that have appeared in Today’s Chiropractic Magazine relate that nerve interference caused by subluxation is often present in children with asthma. Our experience with asthma sufferers has been that regular chiropractic care both diminishes the frequency of the child's asthma attacks and lessens the severity of the condition.

Granted, chiropractic isn't a treatment for asthma! It is certainly worth it to consider chiropractic as an alternative to the traditional medical approach to childhood asthma for your child’s sake, given all the research that points to promising and successful outcomes.

Dr. Mark Asks some important questions of interest to Missoula residents - Chiropractor Missoula Dr. Mark Asks...

What are the two things drugs do?
Drugs can either speed up (laxatives, amphetamines, caffeine) a bodily process, or slow down (stomach antacids, sleep aids, antihistamines, muscle relaxers) a bodily process. Chiropractic care can produce the same results, but relies on the intelligence of the body. Chiropractors trust your body. Do you?
Is a muscle spasm a cause or an effect?
With the knee-jerk use of muscle relaxers, you'd think it was a cause. But it's an effect. Chiropractors know that bones don't move unless muscles move them. And muscles don't contract unless commanded by the nervous system. That's why your nervous system is the focus of our Missoula chiropractic practice.