Picture the spine on the poster in any doctor's office. Curve forward at the neck, back through the ribs, forward again at the low back.
Your baby didn't come with it.
A newborn spine is one long C, curled the way it was curled in utero, and that's exactly correct for a newborn. The curves on the poster get built later, out here, by the baby, using movement.
The neck curve comes from lifting the head. It shows up as she gets strong enough to hold her own head up, and read the order in that sentence. The strength is first. The curve is what the strength leaves behind. Every stretch on the floor with the head coming up and wobbling and coming down again is the mechanism, running.
The low back curve comes from pushing up and getting vertical. Onto the forearms, then the hands. Sitting. Crawling. Pulling to stand against the coffee table. Same pattern. The movement comes first and the shape follows it.
So the curves aren't parts that shipped with your child. They're closer to a record of what your child has been doing.
The image I keep coming back to is a tree. A spine isn't poured like concrete into a form and left to set. It's grown, shaped by which way the wind came from and where the light was. A tree in an open field and a tree on a windward slope are both healthy trees. They carry the record of different conditions.
Two things follow, and I think they land differently on a parent than "protect the spine" does.
Ordinary movement isn't a milestone to tick off. It's the input. Tummy time, floor time, being carried on both sides rather than always the same one, unrestricted time out of the seat and the swing. That is the development.
And what we check is whether the movement is available. This is exactly where my profession has historically overclaimed, so I'll undersell it. An adjustment doesn't build a curve and I'm not going to tell you it does. We look at whether every segment has the motion it should have at that age. Where motion is limited, we restore motion. The building is hers.
Which is the good news in this whole topic. The most important input is free, it happens on your living room floor, and you're already doing it.
Your baby's spine is being built right now, by how she moves.
Keep reading: Babies and Development
Individual results vary. Chiropractic care does not diagnose, treat, or cure any disease or condition. This information is educational and not a substitute for medical care. Sláinte provides wellness chiropractic care and works alongside your medical team.
Ready to put this into practice for your family?
Your first visit includes our INSiGHT nervous system scans. X-rays, if clinically necessary, are always discussed with you first.
