Chiro for kids

Life can be tough for babies.

Gassiness, constipation and colic can affect even the healthiest infants, leading to anything from fussiness to inconsolable wails.

Taylor Boerger, clinical intern at Clear Choice Chiropractic in Portland, says it’s a matter of nerves.

The nerves that stimulate the pulsations that push waste through the colon are not fully developed at birth, she explained. Light massages can stimulate those nerves and relieve the baby’s misery.

Boerger is nearing completion of her eight-month internship at Clear Choice. She is scheduled to receive her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Logan University in August, making her officially “Dr. Taylor,” as she introduces herself.

She demonstrated her techniques recently during a regular twice-weekly session with a 2-month-old with digestive issues. The baby girl was born prematurely, making her nervous system even less developed than a full-term baby’s. At the beginning of the session, the baby looked uncomfortable. Within almost seconds, she was obviously happy and relaxed.

Boerger doesn’t treat only digestive issues. The same baby resists lying on her right side. Part of the session focused on easing her into that position so that both sides of her body will have an equal chance to develop.

At Logan, Boerger has specialized in pediatric chiropractic care. She first became interested while in junior high school in Fort Loramie, Ohio, where she developed sports-related foot issues. Her father suggested she go to a chiropractor.

“For my foot, Dad? Really?” she remembers saying. “But I went and I had a lot of success with it.”

The more she went, the more interested she became.

Even so, it wasn’t until her senior year at Ohio State University that Boerger learned of a way to combine that interest with her desire to work with children. She found the website of a Dublin, Ohio, chiropractor who worked with all ages, including infants. The site was filled with pictures of treatments.

“I hadn’t really seen it done before,” she said.

Boerger quickly arranged to shadow the doctor for two hours one afternoon. Instead, she stayed all evening.

That night, she told her mother, “This is what I’m supposed to do.”

Like the Dublin doctor, Boerger treats patients of all ages at Clear Choice. The other doctors there work with children also. But she is a specialist, and pediatric chiropractic care is her passion.

“I think all newborns should be adjusted within that first month that they’re born because the birth process is super traumatic for their bodies,” she said.

“The connection from brain to body and body to brain is all through the nervous system. What chiropractic does is, it helps you manipulate any restrictions that might be in the spine or in the body to make sure that those messages are getting from Point A to Point B without any hiccoughs,” she added. “I think it’s really fascinating that we’re able to make these big changes just by these light manipulations and mobilizations of the spine.”

For infants, the most common problems she treats are acid reflux, constipation and gassiness. She likes to see toddlers to make sure the spaces between their cranial plates allow room for the brain to grow. She provides treatment for growing pains and headaches for older children and adolescents. (She also treats expectant mothers, most often for lower back pain.)

If her treatments aren’t working or if a child has an issue her training doesn’t address, she will refer families to a pediatrician or pediatric dentist to explore other options.

“I know enough to send them where they need to go,” she said.

Boerger plans to stay with Clear Choice for at least another year, if not longer.

“It is the most rewarding job I think I could have ever imagined,” she said. “I love what I do for sure.”