Acupuncture for Children with Birth Disorders

The Side Effects of Treatment

Despite it being a relatively safe form of treatment, you do have a few side effects that you need to stay aware of. Some of the side effects that your child might experience include:

  • Bruising
  • Fatigue
  • Emotional release
  • Lightheadedness
  • Muscle twitching

How Can This Treatment Help?

You have few ways that this form of treatment could help you. Based on an ancient Chinese philosophy, when certain parts of the skin get penetrated, it releases trapped life force within the body. The Chinese refer to this life force as qi. This is believed to help with disabilities, pain and illnesses.

Some of the particular areas where it focuses on include:

  • Body limbs
  • Body fluids
  • Actuation
  • Eating, drinking and breathing
  • Defense system of the body

An acupuncturist will focus on stimulating the qi within the body. This will concentrate on meridians and pressure points from within the body. The acupuncturist will insert the needle into a pressure point. You will feel a slight amount of pain as the qi moves through the body, but it will help your child with a birth injury over the long term.

How It Helps Cerebral Palsy

Acupuncture helps cerebral palsy through a variety of ways. In one case, a boy that had speech problems saw a visible improvement in his speech. This form of treatment hasn’t had a lot of studies within the United States, but from the studies that researchers have conducted, it looks favorable. The improvement doesn’t come all at once, however. You may have to continue going in as a way of seeing improvement.

Baby Steps

In some cases, children may have a fear of needles. Dr. Katholi, an acupuncturist, explains how these needles differ in that they don’t draw blood. As they get put in, the child will feel almost no pain. These needles are hair thin.

Important to note, you shouldn’t try to replace traditional medical care. Instead, you want to use this in conjunction with other treatment. It can help the birth disorder to be less debilitating. First, you have to understand how this treatment won’t help everything. Let’s say that your child has diabetes. They will still need to take their insulin shots. For those with epilepsy, they should continue taking their medications. Doctors have especially found how this treatment will be useful for treating teens and children who have a complex health condition.