FAQ's - StopSIDS.org

What are the most common characteristics of SIDS?

What are risk factors for SIDS?

How is an atlas subluxation (misalignment) corrected in an infant?

Should I be concerned about the amount of X-rays performed on an infant?

What are the most common characteristics of SIDS?
Most researchers now believe that babies who die of SIDS are born with one or more conditions that make them especially vulnerable to stresses that occur in the normal life of an infant, including both internal and external influences. SIDS occurs in all types of families and is largely indifferent to race or socioeconomic level. SIDS is unexpected, usually occurring in otherwise apparently healthy infants from 1 month to 1 year of age. Most deaths from SIDS occur by the end of the sixth month, with the greatest number taking place between 2 and 4 months of age. A SIDS death occurs quickly and is often associated with sleep, with no signs of suffering. More deaths are reported in the fall and winter (in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres) and there is a 60- to 40-percent male-to-female ratio. A death is diagnosed as SIDS only after all other alternatives have been eliminated: SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion.

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What are risk factors for SIDS?
Risk factors are those environmental and behavioral influences that can provoke ill health. Any risk factor may be a clue to finding the cause of a disease, but risk factors in and of themselves are not causes.

Researchers now know that the mother's health and behavior during her pregnancy and the baby's health before birth seem to influence the occurrence of SIDS, but these variables are not reliable in predicting how, when, why, or if SIDS will occur. Maternal risk factors include cigarette smoking during pregnancy; maternal age less than 20 years; poor prenatal care; low weight gain; anemia; use of illegal drugs; and history of sexually transmitted disease or urinary tract infection. These factors, which often may be subtle and undetected, suggest that SIDS is somehow associated with a harmful prenatal environment.

While the birth process is a wondrous time, and many babies appear to be delivered in good health, the final stages of development in the womb, and the subsequent journey into the world, can have damaging effects on a newborn's spine. Whether cramped by uterine or abdominal constraints before the birth process begins, or by being twisted or stretched in the trip down and out of the birth canal and into the world, many newborns have misalignments in their spines, which cause nerve interference (VSC). Our research suggests that this interference can lead to SIDS, and at the very least, abnormal growth and development and may produce sub-optimum health conditions through childhood and beyond.

Pre-Birth Spinal Compromise

As the fetus fills out the uterus in the last ten weeks of pregnancy, the volume ratio of the fetus to amniotic fluid becomes progressively increased. If the fetus is mal-positioned as the cushion of fluid decreases, this puts the fetus at risk for bone and soft tissue malformation and can produce a VSC before birth.

Uterine constraint can take place during the last few months while the fetus is developing in the womb. If a fetus is mal-positioned in the womb, he or she can be susceptible to spinal compromise (VSC) and malformations.

If the infant gets through the pregnancy without compromise to the spine, it is not uncommon that labor and delivery will cause a subluxation. Dr. Joseph Flesia stated, "We now have over 100 references indicating that the Vertebral Subluxation Complex can happen at the birth process or early in life" (2). Dr. Larry Webster stated, "New studies are now indicating that the birth process may be one of the foremost causes of Vertebral Subluxation" (3).

A baby being delivered from the birth canal. Doctors are taught to traction the neck to assist the delivery of the first shoulder, and then pull the head the other way to get the second shoulder out. If the infant is having a difficult time coming out, it does not take a lot of force from the attendant (doctor or mid-wife) to cause an Atlas VSC

Birth, even under optimum conditions, is a very traumatic process (4). Post-natal investigations, especially computer-tomographic ones, have shaken the view that normal birth is a problem-free event (5). During active labor, the spine is particularly exposed to injury as it is forced through the birth canal; this is especially so if the birth is a rapid one. The spinal nerve roots at birth are prone to injury by the maneuver of bringing the shoulder down by lateral traction on the head.

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How is an atlas subluxation (misalignment) corrected in an infant?
When a new patient arrives for care, following completion of the initial paper work, a consultation is performed. In the consultation past medical history is covered, including any symptoms the patient may be experiencing, as well as any past physical trauma and birth experience. An examination will follow which typically includes a neurological, orthopedic and chiropractic examination. Included in the chiropractic examination of the patient, two procedures are performed by the Atlas Orthogonal doctor. These are a leg-length comparison and scanning palpation of the neck. These two procedures help to determine if there is an atlas subluxation present or not.

Checking baby's leg

A child having his leg length comparison performed.

Checking baby's neck

A child having his neck examined by scanning palpation.

Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic is a gentle, safe, effective approach that does not use manipulation or cracking to correct spinal misalignments. In the Atlas Orthogonal procedure, the doctors utilize specific x-ray views of the cervical spine to see exactly how the atlas and other vertebrae have misaligned.

Three X-Ray views of the neck
A. Three X-Ray views fo the neck
C.

B.
The atlas is examined in these three views, A.) Sagittal, B.) Frontal, and C.) Horizontal to determine the three dimensional misalignment.

The information received from the x-ray analysis is then used to determine the precise vectors to which the patient will be adjusted.

Three X-Ray views of the neck

The three x-ray views that are used to determine how the atlas subluxation should be corrected.

The Atlas Orthogonal Percussion instrument is then set with the vectors taken from the x-ray analysis, to accomplish the adjustment and correct the subluxation complex (misalignment). The patient feels no force and hears no pops or cracks. It is a painless adjustment that has proven to be one of the lightest, safest, most effective means of removing neurological insult. The AO instrument literally corrects the subluxation by introducing a percussion wave at the atlas at a predetermined angle. The instrument does not probe forward into the skin, but gently touches the patient when the adjustment is made. Most patients when adjusted with the AO instrument for the first time are amazed that such a light procedure (that can hardly be felt at all) can have such dramatic effects.

Three X-Ray views fo the neck

A child getting his atlas adjusted on the Atlas Orthogonal Percussion Instrument.

Children and infants, because they have not had to go through years of misaligned and crooked spines, usually hold their adjustments longer and need fewer treatments. For a typical infant, a four-week treatment period consisting of eight to ten visits would be recommended in most cases. However, each case is treated individually and some may need more care depending on the severity of the misalignment. Periodic checkups following the initial care plan are recommended as in any other health care program.

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Should I be concerned about the amount of X-rays performed on an infant?
Only the x-rays that are needed to determine how an infant's spine is misaligned, and to determine that it is safe for the infant to be adjusted, are taken. Appropriate safety aprons, filters and shields will be used to reduce exposure to a minimum. The radiation exposure from these x-rays is about equal to the radiation exposure one receives from natural sources over the course of a year.

We understand that people may have reservations about having their infant's neck x-rayed to determine how the vertebrae are misaligned. We understand that x-rays are not good for anyone, especially children, but we feel the benefits far out-weigh the risks and only take views that are necessary for the proper analysis of the atlas subluxation. A child's atlas needs to be examined carefully. It would be ineffective, and in our opinion irresponsible to guess at how an infant's neck is misaligned, because this information is too critical. Therefore we utilize x-rays to gain the proper information needed to deliver the most effective atlas adjustment.

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Clifton Park, NY 12065
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