Chiropractic Care for Kids and Teens
Most of the young patients we see are school-age athletes and teenagers with sore backs, stiff necks, or a sports injury that isn’t settling down on its own. We keep visits short and schedule them around school and practice.
Who we usually see
If you’re looking for a pediatric chiropractor in Vancouver, WA, it helps to know where our experience is. We mostly treat kids from about middle school through high school. A lot of them play a sport. Others spend six hours a day hunched over a school laptop and come in because their neck has started to hurt every afternoon.
Parents usually bring them in after a week or two of watching them rub the same sore spot, or after a coach says to get something looked at. That’s a reasonable time to come in. Kids bounce back quickly, but a problem that keeps coming back during a season usually has a reason behind it, and it’s easier to sort out early.
What brings kids in
Sports injuries
Falls, tackles, landing wrong off a jump, and the overuse aches that show up halfway through a season. We see plenty of low back strain from football, volleyball, and gymnastics, and neck and shoulder pain from contact sports. Our sports injury page covers how we handle these in more detail.
Screens and backpacks
A school laptop and a heavy backpack slung over one shoulder add up over a school year. What we usually see is tightness at the base of the neck and between the shoulder blades, sometimes with headaches by the end of the school day. Adjustments help, but so does changing the setup, so we’ll also talk about screen height and how that backpack gets carried.
Headaches
Tension-type headaches in teens often start in the neck and upper back. When that’s the pattern, treating the neck can make a real difference. We’ll ask plenty of questions first, and if anything about the headaches doesn’t fit a muscle and joint picture, we’ll tell you and send you to your pediatrician. You can read more on our headache and migraine page.
Back pain and growth-spurt aches
During a growth spurt, bones can outpace the muscles around them for a while, and tight hamstrings and hip flexors pull on the low back. Add a full sports schedule and you get a kid who can’t sit through class comfortably. So we check the hips and legs along with the low back. Our back pain treatment page explains the approach we use for adults and teens.
What the first visit looks like
History
We ask when it started, what makes it worse, what sports they play, and how much time goes to screens and homework.
Exam
We check posture, range of motion, strength, and reflexes, and watch how they move.
A straight answer
We explain what we found in plain terms, to both you and your kid. If chiropractic isn’t the right fit, we’ll say so.
Treatment
If it makes sense, we usually start treatment that same day, along with anything they should do at home.
Questions parents ask us
Is chiropractic safe for teenagers?
Yes. The most common side effect is mild soreness for a day or so, similar to how they feel after a hard practice.
Does it hurt? My kid hates the idea of being “cracked.”
It shouldn’t hurt. If your kid doesn’t like the idea of a manual adjustment, we can use the Activator Method instead. It’s a small handheld instrument, and it doesn’t make a popping sound.
Do I need to be there?
For patients under 18, a parent or guardian needs to sign the consent forms, and we’d like you at the first visit so you hear the findings and the plan firsthand.
Does my child have to sit out of their sport?
Usually not. Many young athletes keep practicing while they’re being treated, sometimes with a few changes for a week or two. If an injury needs rest or imaging, we’ll tell you that directly.
Can we come in after school?
We’re open until 5 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Saturday mornings from 9 to noon. Those are the slots most families use.
Get your kid back to feeling normal
Forgey Chiropractic is at 601 E 22nd St in Vancouver, WA, and we see families from across Clark County and Portland.