Health
Ohio baby ‘smiling again’ after chiropractic adjustments, parents say — but is it safe?
A newborn in Columbus, Ohio, has a brand new demeanor ever since being treated by a chiropractor, her parents say.
Lily Freeman, just 2 months old, wasn’t a happy baby, her father, Joseph Freeman, told Fox News Digital.
When his daughter was born, her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice.
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About a week after the birth, Freeman and his wife, Stephanie Murdock, noticed that the baby exhibited extreme fussiness, grimacing, clenched fists, and stiff arms and legs.
Murdock, who was breastfeeding, went on a strict diet, cutting out all dairy and eggs, hoping to spark some change.
Stephanie Murdock and Joseph Freeman are pictured with their baby, Lily Freeman. “The only thing that worked was holding her upright. We knew something was wrong,” said the dad about his baby. (Joseph Freeman)
“When she was placed on her back, she would cry uncontrollably,” Freeman said. “The only thing that worked was holding her upright. We knew something was wrong.”
The couple took their baby to four different doctors, who concluded that since she was gaining weight and was healthy, she probably had colic — which would improve in three to four months.
“As her parents, we could not just sit back and wait it out,” Freeman said. “We knew she had invisible pain.”
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The couple posted on social media, searching for answers from fellow parents. Many recommended they see a chiropractor.
“We had no previous knowledge that chiropractors treated children,” Freeman said. “We were extremely skeptical because Lily was only 2 weeks old.”
When evaluating a baby, a chiropractor said the movements of the spine’s joints will help determine where adjustments are needed. (iStock)
Freeman and Murdock took their baby to see Dr. Josh Russell at Ability Chiropractic in Hillard, Ohio. The doctor explained to them that the birthing process can be “traumatic” for mother and child.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Russell said that he and his colleague, Dr. Tyler Morman, often treat babies with colicky behavior.
They typically perform a “thorough exam” and investigate the child’s history, including the details of the pregnancy, labor and delivery.
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“The whole premise of chiropractics is to help the nervous system function the way that it should,” he said.
“When you have a lack of mobility within the spine and tightness in musculature … that interferes with the nervous system’s communication to send signals to the rest of the body.”
A chiropractor compared the pressure of an adjustment to checking “a peach or a tomato for ripeness.” (iStock)
When evaluating a baby, the movements of the spinal joints will help determine where adjustments are needed, Russell said.
When adjusting, the doctor said the appropriate pressure is what might be used to check “a peach or a tomato for ripeness.”
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“It’s a sustained pressure, holding a specific area that needs to move better,” he said. “Once that nervous system interference is gone, we see huge changes.”
Freeman, the baby’s mom, told Fox News Digital after the second chiropractic visit, he and Murdock noticed a “huge change” in their little one’s mobility and demeanor.
Dr. Josh Russell at Ability Chiropractic in Hillard, Ohio, treated baby Lily Freeman. (Audrey Art/Ability Chiropractic)
“She started smiling for the first time since she was born,” he said. “We could place her on her back without her uncontrollably crying.”
He added, “She was able to sleep without waking up every 20 minutes in pain. It was a beautiful thing to witness Lily transform into a totally different baby.”
Some claim practice is ‘overwhelmingly safe’
Russell said he sees family members ranging in age from one day old to 99 years old.
Babies, toddlers and kids who may be having trouble with eating, sleeping or bowel movements could find great benefit from an adjustment, according to the chiropractor.
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For toddlers, Russell claims that chiropractic care can also help with hyperactivity.
Regarding parents’ worries that an adjustment could hurt their baby, he stated that the practice is “overwhelmingly safe.”
Babies, toddlers and kids who may be having trouble with eating, sleeping or bowel movements could find great benefit from an adjustment, according to a chiropractor. (iStock)
“I haven’t had any adverse reactions to chiropractic care,” he said.
“Our protocol … is a thorough exam, very light adjustments. It’s really nothing crazy.”
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Freeman encouraged other parents to “do their research” and consult with a chiropractor before undergoing treatment.
“Knowledge is power, and we had to advocate for Lily,” he said. “You have to be the voice for the voiceless.”
Lily Freeman, pictured at left, changed into a “totally different baby,” her father said. (Joseph Freeman; iStock)
Dr. Lora Tanis, a New Jersey chiropractor who is also the president of the Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics, also weighed in, telling Fox News Digital that she “definitely recommends” chiropractic care for babies.
“Often there are mechanical forces or circumstances that would warrant a spinal evaluation for a baby, and therefore, having a baby evaluated early can potentially avoid future problems,” she said in an email.
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Chiropractors are trained to perform “age-appropriate exams prior to determining if the child is a candidate for chiropractic care,” Tanis added.
Babies who suffer from neuromusculoskeletal conditions will show signs of “greater comfort” following a visit to the chiropractor, she said.
“Many parents report that their baby cries less and sleeps more soundly after chiropractic care.”
“Often there are mechanical forces or circumstances that would warrant a spinal evaluation for a baby, and therefore, having a baby evaluated early can potentially avoid future problems,” one chiropractor said. (iStock)
“Adjustments performed on children are very gentle, precise and appropriate for their age,” Tanis said.
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She encouraged parents to seek chiropractic help for children if they notice abnormal posture or head position, decreased motion of extremities, irritability with movement, or trauma.
Experts warn of risks
Not all experts agree that chiropractic adjustments are safe for newborns.
An observational study published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), concluded that “serious adverse events may be associated with pediatric spinal manipulation.”
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Beth C. Natt, M.D., system medical director of pediatrics at Atlantic Health System in New Jersey, echoed those concerns.
“I do not recommend chiropractic care for babies,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Although watching a newborn baby get ‘adjusted’ might be a popular video clip on TikTok, the reality is that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other reputable medical organizations do not recommend chiropractic care for infants due to safety and efficacy concerns.”
“Infants are wired to adapt to their environment without external interventions like chiropractic care.”
Claims that chiropractic care can treat conditions like colic, reflux and sleep disturbances are “not supported by rigorous scientific studies,” according to Natt.
Although some believe that infants need to be “realigned” after childbirth, Natt disagreed.
Infants have “delicate and developing bones and joints,” the doctor noted, which makes them “more susceptible to injury from spinal manipulations,” a pediatrician said. (iStock)
“The infant’s body undergoes these natural adjustments and development after birth, and infants are wired to adapt to their environment without external interventions like chiropractic care,” she said.
Infants have “delicate and developing bones and joints,” the doctor noted, which makes them “more susceptible to injury from spinal manipulations.”
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“There have been documented cases of serious injuries, including fractures and spinal cord injuries, after chiropractic care in infants,” Natt warned.
The doctor recommended parents speak with their pediatricians about their concerns before seeing a chiropractor.
Babies’ developing bones can leave the little ones more susceptible to injuries, the pediatrician said. (iStock)
The pediatrician can perform an assessment of the infant and determine whether other, less risky therapies are better for the infant, she said.
Natt added, “At the end of the day, we are all aligned — we want to ensure that we care for the health, safety and comfort of our patients.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the AAP requesting comment.
A married couple who have long enjoyed the game of Scrabble both together and separately before they even met are never at a loss for words — and attribute their wedded bliss in part to their love of the nostalgic game.
They’re still playing in tournaments built around the game decades after they began doing so.
Graham Harding and his wife Helen Harding, both in their 60s, have been married for over 20 years.
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They met in the 1990s at Scrabble tournaments, as news agency SWNS reported.
But it was a “special match” in 2000 that brought the couple together — and has kept them together now.
Graham and Helen Harding on their wedding day. They’ve been playing in Scrabble tournaments for some 30 years. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
Graham Harding is from the East Berkshire Scrabble Club, while his wife Helen is from the Leicester Scrabble Club in the U.K.
They have been taking part in the UK Open Scrabble Championship in Reading this week.
“The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”
“Scrabble is all about having a good vocabulary,” said Graham Harding, SWNS noted.
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“But it is a Scrabble vocabulary — not necessarily everyday English.”
Added Helen Harding, “The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”
Graham and Helen Harding’s wedding cake. They bonded over their love of Scrabble – and are still playing in tournaments together. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
The couple said they were “vague acquaintances” for about five years after they first met.
Then they got together after a special match in Swindon.
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They maintained a long-distance relationship before they got married in 2004.
The couple even brought their Scrabble board to their wedding.
The couple likely have played thousands of games between them. (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)
It featured a message with Scrabble pieces that said, “Congratulations on your wedding day” — while their wedding cake said, in Scrabble letters, “Helen and Graham.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
They each took up the hobby early in life well before they met each other.
The tournament that’s been taking place this week is the first since the COVID pandemic after a five-year break — and the couple has played some two dozen games in it as of Friday, SWNS reported.
It might be worth working a little bit harder to get that much-desired, but often elusive, good night’s sleep.
Deep sleep clears the mind of waste just as a “dishwasher” cleans dirty plates and glasses, just-published research suggests — and there’s more.
The findings also offer insights into how sleeping pills may disrupt the “brainwashing” system — potentially affecting cognitive function for people over the long run.
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Study senior author professor Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen said norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter and hormone) triggers blood vessels to contract — generating slow pulsations that create a rhythmic flow in the surrounding fluid to carry away waste, news agency SWNS noted.
Said Nedergaard, “It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain. . . . We’re essentially asking what drives this process and trying to define restorative sleep based on” this “glymphatic clearance.”
“It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain.” (iStock)
The brain has a built-in waste removal process – the glymphatic system – that circulates fluid in the brain and spinal cord to clear out waste, according to the scientists.
The process helps remove toxic proteins that form sticky plaques linked to neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
But the scientists indicated that what drives the system was unclear until now, according to the study.
Is all sleep created equal? The researchers wanted to find out.
To find clues, Nedergaard and her team looked into what happens in mice when their brains sleep, as SWNS reported of the study. The team focused on the relationship between norepinephrine and blood flow during deep sleep.
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They found that norepinephrine waves correlate to variations in brain blood volume — suggesting that norepinephrine triggers a rhythmic pulsation in the blood vessels. The researchers then compared the changes in blood volume to brain fluid flow.
The brain fluid flow fluctuates in correspondence to blood volume changes, suggesting the vessels act as pumps to propel the surrounding brain fluid to flush out waste.
During deep sleep, toxic proteins that form sticky plaques linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease are removed, scientists say in a new study. (iStock)
Natalie Hauglund of the University of Copenhagen and the University of Oxford, the study’s lead author, said, “You can view norepinephrine as [the] conductor of an orchestra.”
She added, “There’s a harmony in the constriction and dilation of the arteries, which then drives the cerebrospinal fluid through the brain to remove the waste products.”
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Hauglund said she wanted to understand whether all sleep is created equal.
To find out, the research team administered zolpidem, a common drug to aid sleep, to mice.
“If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that, so they can make informed decisions.”
They found that the norepinephrine waves during deep sleep were 50% lower in zolpidem-treated mice than in naturally sleeping mice.
Although the zolpidem-treated mice fell asleep more quickly — fluid transport into the brain dropped more than 30%, as SWNS reported.
Two new studies indicate the importance of getting a good night’s sleep — with one study saying a lack of sleep may be sabotaging the brain’s ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay. (iStock)
The researchers say their findings, published in the journal Cell, suggest that the sleeping aid may disrupt the norepinephrine-driven waste clearance during sleep.
Hauglund said, “More and more people are using sleep medication, and it’s really important to know if that’s healthy sleep. If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that, so they can make informed decisions.”
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The research team said the findings likely apply to humans, who also have a glymphatic system, although it requires further testing.
Nedergaard added, “Now we know norepinephrine is driving the cleaning of the brain, we may figure out how to get people a long and restorative sleep.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Meanwhile, a lack of sleep may be doing more damage than just making people groggy.
It could be sabotaging the brain’s ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay.
Anyone who suffers from sleep deprivation may find that the brain’s defense against unwanted memories is weakened, say experts. (iStock)
Another new study, this one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sleep deprivation weakens the brain’s defense against unwanted memories, allowing them to flood the mind, according to the New York Post.
“We show that sleep deprivation disrupts prefrontal inhibition of memory retrieval, and that the overnight restoration of this inhibitory mechanism is associated with time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep,” the scientists said.
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