As the chiropractic profession grew slowly in the first half of the twentieth century and with exponential rapidity in the mid-sixties, research, and critical thinking have grown as well. Now some of the original claims, which seemed so fantastic years ago, are being investigated. I'd like to report on one such investigation.
Infantile Colic - The Screaming Baby Syndrome
Very early in my practice life I was presented with 2 overwrought parents carrying a 6 week old baby, none of whom had had a good night's sleep in 4 weeks. Having heard in college that we could help and having ascertained that all other methods had failed the baby, I agreed to try. While remaining confident on the outside, I had grave doubts privately. The situation seemed so desperate, the infant so tiny, my hands so big, and the parents so hopeful that I gave it my best.
Lo and behold, the baby responded faster and more completely than either the parents or myself dared to hope. A sound night's sleep that night and the next, with crying spells in the evening reduced by 50%. I was afraid to touch the baby again for fear of altering the result, but within a week the tiny child was sleeping eating and breathing normally and the parents were of course hugely relieved and grateful. After 27 years of practice I have enjoyed this success time and time again.
Now my experience and the claims of chiropractors for 100 years have been vindicated by a study conducted in Copenhagen, Denmark, by the National Health Service as reported in the prestigious Journal of Manipulation and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) in October of 1999.(1999:22 (8):517-522)
The study compared the chiropractic treatment of infantile colic with the popular drug dimethicone for a period of 2 weeks. This drug is often prescribed for colic as it has been proven to decrease the build-up of foam and gas in the intestinal tract. Colic is defined as "unexplainable, uncontrolled crying in babies from 0 - 3 months old, more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for 3 weeks or more, usually in the afternoon or evening hours".
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