When you picture a chiropractic adjustment, you might imagine an adult lying on a table while a chiropractor applies pressure to their spine. But what happens when the person being assessed is a newborn baby or toddler?
Children aren't simply smaller versions of adults, and chiropractic care for children isn't just an adult adjustment with less force.
Their bodies are still growing and developing, which means the way we assess and care for them needs to be different, too.
A child's spine is still developing
At birth, a baby's spine looks quite different from an adult's.
Some parts of their spinal bones are still developing and haven't yet fully joined together. Their joints, muscles and supporting tissues also change as they grow. These differences are particularly noticeable in the neck, where children's anatomy and movement characteristics differ from those of adults (Prasher & Landes, 2022; Hunsaker et al., 2023).
Even the natural curves of the spine change throughout childhood. As babies develop head control, learn to sit, stand and eventually walk, their posture and the way they support their bodies gradually change.
These developmental differences help explain why a newborn's spine has different movement and support needs from an older child's.
Different techniques, tools and pressure used
Because children's bodies are different, chiropractors need to adapt their approach. For a baby, this may involve gentle, sustained fingertip contact, with positioning that allows them to remain comfortable and supported. An older child may be positioned differently, with techniques selected according to their size, developmental stage and examination findings. Chiropractors may also use modified hands-on techniques or low-force instruments where appropriate.
The Australian Spinal Research Foundation's articles Paediatric Chiropractic Care: Part 1 – The State of Evidence and Paediatric Chiropractic Part 2: Force Measures for Children and Infants explore the available research on paediatric chiropractic care, including how techniques and applied forces (pressure) differ across age groups (Australian Spinal Research Foundation, 2017, 2018).
More recently, Keil and Fludder (2025) measured pressure applied by two practitioners using manual techniques on a mannequin representing a three- to four-month-old infant. While this research helps describe how force/pressure is applied, it didn’t establish the safety or effectiveness of those techniques in babies.
Have questions about safety? You can read more in our blog, here.
Why there's no one-size-fits-all approach
Think about how differently a newborn, a toddler learning to walk and a teenager playing sport use their bodies.
Their movement patterns, spinal mobility and physical demands are all different.
At the Australian Children's Chiropractic Centre, we consider each child's history, developmental stage, movement, comfort and examination findings before deciding whether chiropractic care is appropriate.
Sometimes this may involve modified, low-force techniques. Other times, parent education, movement advice or referral to another healthcare professional may be more appropriate.
Paediatric chiropractic care isn't about making adult adjustments smaller. It's about adapting the approach to the child.
Curious about chiropractic care for your child?
If you have questions about your child's posture, movement or musculoskeletal development, our team at the Australian Children's Chiropractic Centre can explain what an individual assessment involves.
Get in touch with our team to learn more.
References
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- Australian Spinal Research Foundation. (2017). Paediatric chiropractic care: Part 1 – The state of evidence. https://spinalresearch.com.au/paediatric-chiropractic-care-part-1/
- Australian Spinal Research Foundation. (2018). Paediatric chiropractic part 2: Force measures for children and infants. https://spinalresearch.com.au/paediatric-chiropractic-part-2-force-measures-for-children-and-infants/
- Hunsaker, P., Gupta, K., Otto, N., Epelman, M. J., & Chandra, T. (2023). Developmental abnormalities of the pediatric spine: A review of the correlation between ultrasound and MRI findings. Cureus, 15(9), e44580. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.44580
- Keil, B. G., & Fludder, C. J. (2025). Forces recorded in manual therapy techniques applied to a mannequin simulating a 3- to 4-month-old infant. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 48(6–9), 689–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2025.10.001
- Prasher, S., & Landes, C. (2022). The cervical spine in paediatric radiology. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 83(11), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.12968/hmed.2022.0076