Infantile Colic Resolves After Chiropractic Care

Infantile colic is defined as crying and/or fussing for more than three hours a day, on three or more days per week, for three weeks or more in a well-nourished and otherwise healthy infant less than three months of age. Approximately 10-30% of infants worldwide are affected by colic.  Research has shown that colic ends by three months of age in 86.3% of cases. The current study involves a three-month-old male with symptoms of colic and frequent crying spells.  He would cry and scream without any known cause.  The patient refused to be put in his car seat and never wanted to be put down. His parents reported that he was not immunized, did not have any surgeries, was not on any medications, and napped once a day.  The patient’s parents reported that he had colic at birth but that it seemed to decrease at seven weeks; however, shortly after it returned and increased in severity.  In addition, he was suffering from increased frequency in bowel movements and increased urination. The doctor of chiropractic adjusted the patient’s cranium, neck, and sacrum using a combination of the following techniques: sustained contact, Activator, toggle headpiece and cranial technique.  The care plan was to adjust the patient twice a week, implement probiotics, eliminate dairy from the mother’s diet, and record his crying and number of bowel movements. At his first visit, he had restricted motion and tender muscles in his neck.  The doctor of chiropractic adjusted the patient using sustained pressure on his neck. At the second visit, the doctor of chiropractic adjusted the patient’s cranium and neck using the Activator technique (small hand-held instrument that delivers gentle impulse force to the spine to restore motion in the targeted area). By his third visit, the tenderness in his neck had improved.  His neck and right sacrum were adjusted.  In addition, his cranium was adjusted using cranial technique.  Since the mother eliminated dairy from her diet, she reported that her baby “now poops twice a day and had great days on the weekend.” By the fourth visit, his screaming and crying had decreased, but his sleep had not improved.  The doctor of chiropractic adjusted his neck using a toggle headpiece. At the fifth visit, his parents reported that he was crying less, but still not sleeping well at night.  At the fifth and sixth visits, the doctor of chiropractic adjusted the patient’s neck and middle back. At the seventh visit, his right sacrum was adjusted and his cranium was adjusted using cranial technique.  At this visit, his parents reported that he was sleeping better. Six months had passed between the seventh and eighth visits.   At the eighth visit, the doctor of chiropractic adjusted the patient’s neck, middle back, right sacrum, and cranium.  His parent’s reported that he had been “awesome these past four months.”  During this time, he had been crawling and started walking at thirteen months. At the ninth visit, eleven months after the initial visit, his parents reported that he was “doing great.”  At this visit, his neck, middle back, cranium, and right sacrum were adjusted.  Overall, after nine visits and eleven months of care, his symptoms did not relapse and his colic had resolved.  Download a PDF copy here MLA Citation: Colman, Laura, & Merced, Jacqueline.  “Resolution of Infantile Colic in a Three-Month-Old Infant Undergoing Chiropractic Care to Reduce Subluxation: A Case Report and Selective Review of Literature.”  Journal of Pediatric, Maternal, & Family Health.  2016.1 (2016): 22-27.