Understanding and Managing Infant Colic: A Comprehensive Guide

Colic affects approximately 25% of infants, with the actual prevalence likely being higher when including related symptoms such as frequent crying, discomfort, reflux, indigestion, and constipation. The condition is characterized by prolonged periods of uncontrollable crying lasting more than three hours per day and occurring more than three days per week, significantly impacting both infant health and family well-being.

Signs and Symptoms

Several key indicators can help parents identify colic in their infants. The most notable sign is extended periods of intense crying that may resemble screaming or expressions of pain, occurring without apparent cause and distinct from normal hunger or discomfort cries. These episodes often follow predictable patterns, frequently appearing in the evening or after feeding.

Physical manifestations are common during these episodes. Infants may display facial discoloration, including flushing or blushing, along with body tension, stiffening, and arching of the back. Many babies also exhibit distinctive head and neck movements and facial grimacing suggestive of discomfort. Digestive symptoms frequently accompany these crying episodes, including frequent burping, excessive gas, reflux, and constipation, suggesting potential gastrointestinal involvement.

Understanding the Causes

The cause of colic is quite simple – distress.

Two factors stick out and show up more than any other:

  1. High amounts of stress and anxiety for the mother during the prenatal period
  2. Birth interventions such as forceps, vacuum extraction, induction, epidural, and c-section

While most natural methods that attempt to help colic and other pediatric conditions focus on the gut and things like diet, food intolerances, and allergies, we often find that the stress and tension lie even deeper in the system than that.

How to Care for Your Baby With Colic

The first thing we always take care of in cases of colic is something quite non-traditional, the parents. Knowing that your child’s uncontrollable crying and challenges are not your fault is important.

As trained and experienced pediatric chiropractors, we can make gentle, safe, easy adjustments that unwind and release the stress and tension built up in your baby’s nervous system from pregnancy and birth.

Time and again, we see infants who arrive at the office screaming, crying, arching their backs, stiff and uncomfortable… go home after that first visit and adjust completely calm, relaxed, and asleep. Best of all and funniest of all, many times that comes with a total “blowout” and big old poop as well! Yep, poop rules in our office!

Everything starts with our INSiGHT scans. They take only minutes and are entirely non-invasive, helping us find exactly where those subluxations have set up shop and are causing trouble.

Below on the left is an example of one of our practice member’s initial INSiGHT scan, pinpointing severe stress (red), especially in the upper neck. This neurological region has significant control over the body’s rest, relaxation, and digestive functions. This meant he felt really uncomfortable in his own skin and had to work hard to eat, sleep, and poop.

As he progressed through his care plan, his scans started to calm and regulate, as you can see on the right. This shows that his nervous system became much less stressed, allowing his colic symptoms to subside completely.

What is Colic? | PX Docs

Parents deserve to get their life (and sleep!) back, and beautiful brand-new babies deserve to be happy, healthy, calm, and smiling all the time instead of screaming and crying! All of that is possible!

Simply call our office, or message us on Instagram and get your baby relaxed, unwound, and back on track to full health today!

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©Freedom Chiropractic  |  Terms  |  Privacy
Copy & Website by Liberty Type