Chiropractic for bedwetting
Chiropractic can help children who wet the bed
It may not be a parent’s first thought when trying to help their child to stop wetting the bed but chiropractic therapy has proved to help children overcome bedwetting. Bedwetting is one of the many reasons people now go to see a chiropractor when other conventional methods such as alarms and medications have failed to work.
Bedwetting is known in the healthcare profession as nocturnal enuresis and is defined as a lack of bladder control while asleep. This causes someone to pass urine involuntary and while bedwetting is most common in children under seven it can affect teenagers and adults particularly those who suffer with diabetes or kidney problems. Other factors that can contribute to wetting the bed include urinary infections, constipation and stress.
Overcoming the problem of child bedwetting with chiropractic
So how have chiropractors been able to correct bedwetting when other methods of treatment have failed? Wetting the bed typically occurs during the first few years of a child’s life and by the time they reach the age of five they are able to control their bladder. Enuresis can occur during the day but is most common during the night (nocturnal enuresis).
For children over the age of five who have never had proper bladder control, the problem is defined as ‘primary enuresis’. For children who have established bladder control but then slipped back into bedwetting, the problem is termed ‘secondary enuresis’. There is the possibility that the child is suffering with a pathological problem with the mechanism of their bladder (neurogenic bladder) but this is rare.
The majority of cases of bedwetting are simply attributed by parents as being a childhood problem, but enuresis should ideally not go untreated in the hope that the child will just ‘grow out of it’. Chiropractic treats children who are frequently wetting the bed by adjusting the lumber and sacrum areas of the spine. The sacrum is often referred to as the tailbone and develops as five segments that remain until puberty at which point they begin to fuse into one (completely fusing by the mid-20s).
While it is still five separate segments there is the chance that they can become misaligned and cause irritation to certain nerves that in turn affect the area of the bladder. This irritation can lead to poor bladder function and bedwetting. As the child learns to walk and play, falls and tumbles attribute to trauma in the sacrum area which can also lead to bedwetting until the spine is readjusted.
Proven benefits of chiropractic for bedwetting
Using various hands-on spinal manipulation techniques, a chiropractor is able to realign the spine and ease pressure on nerves that may be affecting the bladder and causing bedwetting.
There have been several recent studies that have identified the benefits chiropractic can have for children who suffer with nocturnal enuresis. Vast improvements to bedwetting have been seen in many children after chiropractic therapy. Even after first adjustments to the spine, immediate results have been seen and gone on to be stable with no reoccurrence of bedwetting.
It is advisable to consider having your child evaluated for any spinal problems as this underlying cause may be the problem of their bedwetting. Consult with your GP and local chiropractor to see how chiropractic can help you and your child overcome the problem of their bedwetting.
Article submitted by
Daniel Alexander, GoToSee Journalist