• Fludder CJ
• Keil BG

• Affiliation / Chiropractic Children’s Healthcare
• Affiliation / Private Practice
• Affiliation(G) / Australia / Victoria / Melbourne
• Extremities / physiopathology
• Infant
• Infant Behavior
• Infant, Premature
• Joints
• Open Access Document
• Pediatrics
• Spine / physiopathology

Introduction: Behaviours and signs of infants presenting for assessment are varied and many. This study aims to determine if there is a difference in presentation based on the location of joint dysfunction.

Methods: Data were collated from 195 cases under 12 months of age attending a paediatric chiropractic clinic in 2010. Information included behavioural presentations and passive range of motion assessment of spine and extremity joints.

Results: 70.7% presented with unsettled behaviour, 48.7% with breastfeeding difficulty, 61.5% with Vagus nerve signs, 32.8% with positional preference, 26.1% with bowel signs and 5.1% with developmental delay. Four infants presented without any abnormal behaviour (2.0%).

Conclusion: There may be association of certain presentations with particular joint dysfunction locations, particularly unsettled behaviour, Vagus nerve dysfunction and breastfeeding difficulty. Further research is needed to further define the association between infant presentations and spinal and extremity joint dysfunction.

Author keywords: Behaviour; Infants; Joint Dysfunction; Chiropractic

Author affiliations: Chiropractic Children’s Healthcare, 9 Lower Plenty Road, Rosanna (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia

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