As a parent, there’s nothing worse than watching your child in pain and feeling helpless. One of the things I love most about what I do is helping families in these exact situations. More often than not, through upper cervical chiropractic adjustments, I’m able to eliminate the root cause of problems that other doctors may have already given up on.
“We’ve gone through six rounds of antibiotics and had tubes put in twice. He still has a double ear infection, and we don’t know what to do. It seems like nothing is working.”
This is what a mother recently told me when she brought her three-year-old son into my office. I could see the frustration and worry on her face, and I felt for her. After listening to this mom’s story, I asked about her son’s prior treatments for his ear infections. He had been battling almost non-stop infections in both ears for the last year and a half. As she explained the situation, her little boy sat there, tugging at his ears and crying. It was heartbreaking. But I had a strong feeling I could help, and the research backed me up.
Chiropractic care is not typically the first thing that comes to mind when a child is sick—especially when it’s something like an ear infection. I understand the skepticism; after all, the ear isn’t located in the spine. At first glance, it doesn’t seem connected at all. But let me share some statistics that might surprise you.
One study looked at 332 children who suffered from chronic ear infections. After receiving upper cervical chiropractic care, 80% of the children didn’t experience another ear infection within the six months following their initial treatment. That’s an impressive number, right? Well, in my own practice, I’ve seen success rates closer to 90%.
Here’s why. The joints in the spine have receptors that send information to the brain. When the joints are moving correctly and aligned, the right information gets to the brain, and everything works as it should. But when something is out of alignment, the wrong information is sent, causing dysfunction.
In the case of ear infections, one important muscle is called the tensor veli palatini—it’s responsible for opening and closing the eustachian tube in the ear. If the joint in the neck is misaligned, the muscle doesn’t function properly, which prevents the eustachian tube from draining fluid. This stagnant fluid creates a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, and voilà—another ear infection. Antibiotics can clear out the current infection, but if the eustachian tube still isn’t draining properly, new bacteria will just move in, causing the cycle to repeat.
That’s why getting the cervical spine aligned is so important. When the spine is properly aligned, the brain can send the right signals to the muscle, allowing the eustachian tube to open and close, draining the ear properly. That’s exactly what happened with this little boy. After examining him, I found a misalignment in the top bone of his neck, corrected it with a gentle adjustment, and sent them home.
Four days later, they returned, and the mom was thrilled. The ear infections had cleared up completely, and they never came back.
If your child is struggling with chronic ear infections, consider chiropractic care as a potential solution—it could make all the difference.
Fort Myers, FL - Upper Cervical Chiropractic Can Help Alleviate Ear Pain
SYNOPSIS: More often than not, through upper cervical chiropractic adjustments, I’m able to eliminate the root cause of problems that other doctors or specialists may have already given up on.
Chiropractic Can Help Alleviate Ear Pain
BY: Dr. Lee Angle, Upper Cervical Health Centers of Fort Myers
As a parent, there’s nothing worse than watching your child in pain and feeling helpless. One of the things I love most about what I do is helping families in these exact situations. More often than not, through upper cervical chiropractic adjustments, I’m able to eliminate the root cause of problems that other doctors may have already given up on.
“We’ve gone through six rounds of antibiotics and had tubes put in twice. He still has a double ear infection, and we don’t know what to do. It seems like nothing is working.”
This is what a mother recently told me when she brought her three-year-old son into my office. I could see the frustration and worry on her face, and I felt for her. After listening to this mom’s story, I asked about her son’s prior treatments for his ear infections. He had been battling almost non-stop infections in both ears for the last year and a half. As she explained the situation, her little boy sat there, tugging at his ears and crying. It was heartbreaking. But I had a strong feeling I could help, and the research backed me up.
Chiropractic care is not typically the first thing that comes to mind when a child is sick—especially when it’s something like an ear infection. I understand the skepticism; after all, the ear isn’t located in the spine. At first glance, it doesn’t seem connected at all. But let me share some statistics that might surprise you.
One study looked at 332 children who suffered from chronic ear infections. After receiving upper cervical chiropractic care, 80% of the children didn’t experience another ear infection within the six months following their initial treatment. That’s an impressive number, right? Well, in my own practice, I’ve seen success rates closer to 90%.
Here’s why. The joints in the spine have receptors that send information to the brain. When the joints are moving correctly and aligned, the right information gets to the brain, and everything works as it should. But when something is out of alignment, the wrong information is sent, causing dysfunction.
In the case of ear infections, one important muscle is called the tensor veli palatini—it’s responsible for opening and closing the eustachian tube in the ear. If the joint in the neck is misaligned, the muscle doesn’t function properly, which prevents the eustachian tube from draining fluid. This stagnant fluid creates a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, and voilà—another ear infection. Antibiotics can clear out the current infection, but if the eustachian tube still isn’t draining properly, new bacteria will just move in, causing the cycle to repeat.
That’s why getting the cervical spine aligned is so important. When the spine is properly aligned, the brain can send the right signals to the muscle, allowing the eustachian tube to open and close, draining the ear properly. That’s exactly what happened with this little boy. After examining him, I found a misalignment in the top bone of his neck, corrected it with a gentle adjustment, and sent them home.
Four days later, they returned, and the mom was thrilled. The ear infections had cleared up completely, and they never came back.
If your child is struggling with chronic ear infections, consider chiropractic care as a potential solution—it could make all the difference.
