Objective: The objective of this case report is to discuss the clinical course of an 8-month-old male who presented to a chiropractor for well care, and upon examination, displayed delayed gross motor milestones and abnormal primitive and postural reflexes.
Clinical features: An 8-month-old male child presented to the chiropractic office for a routine well-care evaluation. During the examination, the infant displayed an inability to sit unsupported, difficulty in holding his head up or supporting his upper body on his forearms while prone, and an asymmetrical, poorly-executed belly crawl. Certain primitive reflexes were retained past the age of normal integration, and the Landau postural reflex was poorly executed past the age of emergence.
Intervention and outcome: Seven full-spine and craniosacral chiropractic adjustments were given to the infant over the next 24 days, with a follow-up visit 6.5 months after the final corrective phase visit. The mother complied with exercising the infant by implementing a home exercise program. The infant's noted deficits were improved following this 24-day course of care, as measured by report from the mother, and examiner observation and evaluation. His motor skills and milestones normalized, and upon evaluation by the examiner seven months later, were ahead of expected development.
Conclusions: Infants with certain delayed milestones and retained infantile reflexes may benefit from chiropractic adjustments and rehabilitative exercises. Further studies assessing the relationship between neurologic soft signs, chiropractic care, and neurologic soft sign symptom resolution should be done to determine if correcting these abnormal signs helps to reduce the incidence or severity of certain neurologic disorders.
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