When 4 year old Gavin Devine was born, his neck was slightly twisted to one side.
"My wife wasn't able to breastfeed him because it was so painful for him to put his neck in one position" said Gavin's dad, Kevin Devine.
So when he was barely 2 months old, his dad decided to take him to his chiropractor, within minutes, Gavin was smiling.
"You could see that the body was healing itself from within and we were very happy" said Kevin.
The doctor did what's called an adjustment, a slight spinal manipulation designed to correct the position and movement of the vertebrae, or as Gavin likes to put it:
"He messages me".
The treatment was so successful, when his brother Michael was born a year later, he also became a patient.
"There are problems that start at the birthing process that are going unnoticed and that's why as chiropractors we believe that all children should be checked" said Chiropractor Dr. David Graber.
Recent statistics show about 2 million children in the U.S. receive chiropractic treatment every year. Making it one of the most popular alternative treatments for kids, second only to taking natural supplements.
But critics say adjustments for children aren't necessary or even safe.
"If somebody uses too much pressure they could potentially do damage" said Pediatrician Dr. Lisa Kaufman.
A recent survey shows some children are injured, although rare. Dr. Graber says kids require a softer touch.
"A lot of the time we just use our finger tips to make the adjustments" said Dr. Graber.
For Kevin, it was a no-brainer.
"You just kind of know that their body is working properly" said Kevin Devine.
He says seeing the results are a relief.
Dr. Graber says he adjusted his own son 15 minutes after he was born.
"My wife wasn't able to breastfeed him because it was so painful for him to put his neck in one position" said Gavin's dad, Kevin Devine.
So when he was barely 2 months old, his dad decided to take him to his chiropractor, within minutes, Gavin was smiling.
"You could see that the body was healing itself from within and we were very happy" said Kevin.
The doctor did what's called an adjustment, a slight spinal manipulation designed to correct the position and movement of the vertebrae, or as Gavin likes to put it:
"He messages me".
The treatment was so successful, when his brother Michael was born a year later, he also became a patient.
"There are problems that start at the birthing process that are going unnoticed and that's why as chiropractors we believe that all children should be checked" said Chiropractor Dr. David Graber.
Recent statistics show about 2 million children in the U.S. receive chiropractic treatment every year. Making it one of the most popular alternative treatments for kids, second only to taking natural supplements.
But critics say adjustments for children aren't necessary or even safe.
"If somebody uses too much pressure they could potentially do damage" said Pediatrician Dr. Lisa Kaufman.
A recent survey shows some children are injured, although rare. Dr. Graber says kids require a softer touch.
"A lot of the time we just use our finger tips to make the adjustments" said Dr. Graber.
For Kevin, it was a no-brainer.
"You just kind of know that their body is working properly" said Kevin Devine.
He says seeing the results are a relief.
Dr. Graber says he adjusted his own son 15 minutes after he was born.
