Zenaptic Chiropractic, located in Vancouver, Washington provides chiropractic care for your child’s bed wetting. Call our clinic to schedule a free consultation.
Video Transcription
It’s Dr. Troy here from Zenaptic Chiropractic located on the corner of Fourth Plain & Andresen.
A lot of parents ask me about bedwetting and ask in chiropractic can help their child’s bedwetting issue. Many times I will tell them yes, let’s check them and see.
What we look for when a baby, toddler or even a teenager or preteen is suffering from bedwetting is to see if the lower spine also known as the sacrum; we know children fall all the time learning to walk, they crash their bike or jump off the couch and land on their rear. The sacrum has 5 movable bones and until you are about 20-22 the sacrum will actually fuse, but until then the sacrum is actually movable.
There are 5 different segments of the sacrum, S-2 specifically innervates the bladder. If the nerves that innervate the bladder are irritated the feedback mechanism from the brain to the body won’t know that the bladder is full or it will tell it it’s full, and then the bladder will empty, hence you get bedwetting in the middle of the night. They call it nocturnal enuresis, that’s another name for it. We look to see if the sacrum is out of alignment, also the upper cervical can be involved as well with the vagus nerve because the vagus nerve reflexes to the bladder.
I’ve helped many cases of children with bedwetting. I know it’s a sensitive issue and kids don’t want to talk about it or they’re scared, I try to make it fun so they understand. I tell them we’re just going to turn the power on in their body so it works better. We don’t even have to mention bedwetting, but parents tell me on the side, “hey, we’ve got bedwetting issues, can you help?”.
I’m happy to help, happy to see if chiropractic is right for them. It’s very easy. Children adjustments are very safe, very low force. Many times you don’t even hear any cracking sounds or noise.
If your child is suffering from bedwetting or you know somebody, come in and we will do a free consultation. We will even do a free evaluation to determine is this is a chiropractic problem that we can help with.
I’m Dr. Troy, Zenaptic Chiropractic.
More Information On Bedwetting And Chiropractic Care
If your child wets the bed and is over the age of 5, you understand the embarrassment, frustration, and anger that can result on both the child’s and parent’s end. Children are embarrassed about the issue and parents are frustrated at the fact that they have to clean up soiled sheets and a mattress night after night. Kids are forced to forgo sleepovers and fun nights with friends and family because of this issue because even putting plastic sheets on the bed or wearing a pull-up can be embarrassing for a child. The good news is that they are not alone – almost 15% percent of children still wet the bed after age 5, typically due to reasons that are beyond their control. This does not mean that this issue should go ignored, however. If your doctor does not see it to be an issue, consider pursuing chiropractic treatment, which can often treat the problem rather than just mask the symptoms as medication would do if it were prescribed.
When is Bed Wetting a Problem?
When bedwetting is a problem is a personal decision because everyone has their own level of tolerance. Some parents become concerned by age 3 when their child is fully potty trained yet not at night, while others do not worry until their children hit school age. Typically, by age 5, most children should have full control of their bladder, however. Although some boys may take a little longer to fully develop the ability to avoid wetting the bed at night. The children that do not have control over their bladder by the age of 5 or slightly older, have what is called enuresis, or the inability to have bladder control whether during the day or at night. There are two types of enuresis:
- Primary enuresis – This occurs in children over the age of 5 that cannot control their bladder and never were able to do so before.
- Secondary enuresis – This occurs when a child had control over their bladder, but has since relapsed with no cause known.
Misalignment That Can Cause Bed Wetting
Understanding the anatomy of the bladder can help you understand how bed-wetting can be a chiropractic issue. Every muscle and organ in your body is controlled by a nerve supply. These nerve supplies originate from one specific area of the spine. Each area of nerves has its own distinct segment in which it originates on the spine. If any of these areas that control the function of the bladder are out of alignment, the bladder is affected and bed wetting can occur.
The bladder in particular, is controlled by several areas of the spine. The Atlas (C1), S2, S3, S4, T11 and L2 areas of your spinal cord affect the bladder the most. They are what allow it to contract, whether to store urine or to release it. In addition, the tailbone, which is made up of five areas, can affect the function of the bladder if one area is misaligned as it can cause irritation to the nerves in that area, which makes it impossible for urine to be stored without discomfort.
How a Chiropractor Can Help
Many people think chiropractors are strictly for “bad backs,” but they do so much more. Your child’s back may seem to be in perfect condition, but there could be a misalignment within his spine that is causing the need to wet the bed. A chiropractor can locate the nerve interference that is occurring and eliminate it, making the bed-wetting a thing of the past.
Typically, the misalignments that cause bed-wetting are not enough to cause your child any pain. You may even ask him specifically if he has lower back pain or any type of back pain and he will tell you no. That is because the subluxations are minor enough not to cause pain, but large enough to interrupt with the bladder’s ability to store urine at night.
A study conducted on 177 children that previously wet their beds and had gone through chiropractic treatment showed that 25 percent of these children had a decrease of at least 50 percent in their bed-wetting episodes. The same number of children in the control group did not have any decrease in the amount of bed-wetting that occurred.
Why Children Have Subluxations
There are no true reasons that children have subluxations that affect their bladder. It could be a result of a fall or injury or it could just be the way they were born. Vertebras move often without us even realizing it, which could be causing the problem with your child’s bladder at night. Even if a true injury was never experienced, everyday play and activity can cause minor alterations that eventually have a big impact on your child’s life.
Adjustments Are Painless
Because chiropractic care is completely natural, there is no pain involved in an adjustment. Children simply lie on a chiropractor’s table and have their spine realigned. The process is not aggressive and will actually take place over several weeks or even months, depending on the severity of the subluxations. Over time, the spine will get readjusted, posture will resume to its proper position, and the nerves within your child’s body will not be as negatively affected as before, allowing him to have longer periods of dryness at night.
Chiropractic care is not a miracle cure for bedwetting, but it can certainly help in certain situations. It is more successful in children that are beyond the age that the natural ability to hold urine in overnight should occur, so at least older than age 5. If blocked nerve receptors are causing the interference to the bladder, chiropractic care can help to straighten things out and make bedwetting a thing of the past. Because bedwetting is embarrassing, many people wait until their child is much older to come in for treatment. It is nothing to be embarrassed about, however. Chiropractic care should be sought as soon as the difficulty is noticed so that the stress of the issue can be put to rest.
Schedule An Appointment
Zenaptic Chiropractic offers a free consultation to discuss your child’s bed wetting. Dr. Troy will explain to you how he can address the problem, so that you can decide whether or not to pursue this care for your child. Call the clinic to schedule your consultation.
