Pediatric & Family Chiropractic in Lithia
From feeding questions to growing bodies, you deserve clear answers.
Perhaps your baby consistently looks toward one side or seems uncomfortable in certain feeding positions. Maybe you have questions about tongue-tie, early movement patterns or primitive reflexes. Or your older child is experiencing neck or back discomfort during school, sports or everyday activities.
At Last Chiropractic offers pediatric and family chiropractic care in Lithia, near FishHawk. Dr. Carissa Taylor, DC, CACCP, focuses on pregnancy and pediatric patients, with advanced training in evaluating infants and children.
Your observations help guide the visit. We consider your child’s history, movement, comfort and relevant neurologic findings, then explain what we find and the next steps that may be appropriate.
Meet Dr. Carissa: Advanced Training for Growing Bodies
Dr. Carissa Taylor, DC, CACCP, focuses on pregnancy and pediatric care at At Last Chiropractic. Her qualifications include advanced pediatric certification through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, ICPA Perinatal Certification, Webster Technique certification and pediatric Sacro Occipital Technique training through Peak Potential Institute.
Her training informs how she evaluates movement, adapts an examination and considers the needs of children at different stages of development. A newborn, an active preschooler and a teenage athlete each bring different questions to the visit.
Learn about ICPA pediatric certification or meet our chiropractic team.
What Brings Families In?
Parents may notice a consistent head-turning preference, discomfort with certain positions or a change in how their child moves. Older children may describe neck or back discomfort during school, sports or everyday activities. These observations give us a starting point for understanding the concern.
An evaluation considers the child’s history, movement, muscle and joint function, and relevant neurologic findings. We explain whether the concern is appropriate for chiropractic care or whether another evaluation would be helpful.
How Is Care Adapted for Children?
When an adjustment is appropriate, Dr. Carissa uses light, gentle contact with positioning and force adapted to the child’s age, size and clinical findings. She explains the proposed technique before care begins and pays attention to the child’s comfort throughout the visit.
Safety starts with a careful examination, consideration of the child’s health history and a discussion of expected benefits and potential risks. Parents have time to ask questions and understand the recommendation before deciding about care.
What Happens at a Pediatric Chiropractic Visit?
First, We Hear Your Story
We discuss your child’s health history, your main concerns and what you hope to understand. For infants, relevant details may include pregnancy and birth history, feeding, comfortable and uncomfortable positions, and previous evaluations. For older children, we discuss school, activity, injuries and symptoms that affect daily life.
Then, an Examination Adapted to Your Child
Depending on age and the reason for the visit, the examination may include posture, head and neck movement, joint mobility, muscle tone, movement symmetry and relevant neurologic findings. Primitive reflexes may be assessed when appropriate. The examination is explained as we go, with attention to your child’s comfort and ability to participate.
A Report of Findings and a Clear Next Step
At the report of findings, we explain what the examination showed, discuss care options and answer your questions. If chiropractic care is recommended, we discuss the proposed approach, expected benefits, potential risks and how progress will be monitored before you decide to proceed.
Recommendations may include gentle care for a relevant musculoskeletal concern, practical positioning or movement advice, or coordination with another professional. Chiropractic care complements your child’s routine pediatric medical care and developmental screening.
Please bring relevant reports from your pediatrician, lactation consultant, therapist or other clinician. Shared information helps us understand the full picture.
Primitive Reflexes: Clues Within a Bigger Developmental Picture
Babies arrive with automatic responses that support early feeding and movement. These are called primitive reflexes. As the nervous system matures, many become less prominent while more purposeful movement develops.
Examples include the rooting response, which helps a baby turn toward a feeding stimulus; the palmar grasp, which closes the hand around a touch to the palm; and the Moro response, in which the arms move outward and then inward following a sudden change in support or position.
What Does a Primitive-Reflex Examination Tell Us?
When appropriate, Dr. Carissa includes age-relevant reflex observations within the pediatric examination. Findings are considered alongside muscle tone, movement symmetry, head control, developmental history and the concerns you notice at home.
The meaning of a reflex response depends on the child’s age and the rest of the examination. An absent, asymmetric or unexpectedly persistent response may indicate that a more detailed evaluation is needed. A single response does not provide a complete explanation for a child’s development.
What About Retained Primitive Reflexes?
The term “retained primitive reflex” describes a response that remains evident beyond its expected developmental period. In an older child, the practical question is whether the finding relates to a meaningful difficulty with movement or daily activities.
Reflex findings alone do not diagnose ADHD, autism or a learning disorder. Our goal is to understand the child’s function and identify appropriate next steps, which may include further evaluation by their pediatrician, an occupational or physical therapist, or a pediatric neurologist.
We explain findings in plain language and connect recommendations to specific goals. Progress should be meaningful in your child’s daily life, rather than judged only by a reflex score. Research has not established chiropractic adjustments as a reliable way to integrate retained primitive reflexes.
Learn about normal newborn reflexes and AOTA’s guidance on connecting reflex findings to everyday function.
Tongue-Tie, Feeding and Your Baby’s Movement
When feeding is difficult, families often receive several explanations at once: latch, positioning, milk transfer, muscle tension or tongue-tie. A careful assessment helps put those concerns into context and identify which professionals can help.
What Is Tongue-Tie?
Tongue-tie, also called ankyloglossia, involves a restrictive band of tissue beneath the tongue that limits its movement. The important question is how the tongue functions during feeding. A visible frenulum alone does not establish that it is causing a feeding problem or that a release is needed.
Persistent latch difficulty, painful breastfeeding or concerns about milk transfer deserve a feeding assessment. These concerns can have several causes, so the evaluation should look beyond a single explanation.
Where Can a Chiropractic Evaluation Fit?
Feeding involves coordinated tongue and jaw movement, sucking, swallowing and breathing. Your baby’s ability to turn their head and rest comfortably in a feeding position is also relevant to the overall assessment.
Dr. Carissa’s evaluation can consider head-turning preferences, neck movement, posture and musculoskeletal comfort alongside your feeding concerns. If a relevant movement restriction or discomfort is identified, she explains whether gentle chiropractic care may be appropriate and what it would aim to address.
A chiropractic adjustment does not cut or release a tongue-tie. When a restrictive frenulum is suspected, assessment is coordinated with an appropriate medical or dental clinician and a lactation professional, such as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Before or After a Tongue-Tie Release
If your baby has already had an evaluation or release, bring the findings and aftercare instructions to the appointment. Any chiropractic recommendation should address an identified concern; it is not automatically required before or after a release.
Poor weight gain or signs that your baby is not getting enough milk need prompt attention from your pediatric and feeding-care team.
Read the American Academy of Pediatrics’ explanation of tongue-tie and feeding.
What Does Pediatric Chiropractic Research Show?
Research is most useful when it matches the child’s age, the concern being evaluated and the treatment studied. Here are examples that help put common questions into context.
Chiropractic Care and Feeding Difficulties
A 2009 case series described 114 infants with suboptimal breastfeeding. The authors reported that 78% were exclusively breastfeeding after two to five treatments over approximately two weeks. These observations are encouraging, but the study had no comparison group, so it could not establish how much improvement was attributable to chiropractic care.
Read the infant breastfeeding case series.
Tongue-Tie and Additional Therapies
A 2024 systematic review examined alternative therapies for tongue-tie-related breastfeeding difficulties. Four studies met the review’s criteria. They reported favorable outcomes when additional therapies were combined with a tongue-tie release, but none had a control group to establish the therapies’ added contribution. Evidence for nonsurgical approaches alone was insufficient.
For families, this supports an individualized discussion of any coexisting movement or comfort concerns, rather than assuming every baby with tongue-tie needs the same treatment.
Read the tongue-tie systematic review.
Teenagers With Persistent Low-Back Pain
A 2018 randomized trial studied 185 adolescents ages 12 to 18 with chronic low-back pain. Spinal adjustment combined with exercise produced greater reductions in pain over one year than exercise alone, with the largest difference at six months.
The findings support discussing combined care for this particular concern. They do not establish the same results for infants, unrelated conditions or every chiropractic technique.
Questions Parents Often Ask
Can we schedule an evaluation before deciding about treatment?
Yes. An evaluation gives you an opportunity to discuss your concerns and understand the findings. We explain any recommendations before you decide about care.
Does a tongue-tie mean my baby needs chiropractic care?
A tongue-tie diagnosis alone does not determine whether chiropractic care is appropriate. We look for relevant movement or musculoskeletal concerns and consider recommendations from your baby’s feeding-care team.
Are pediatric adjustments the same as adult adjustments?
The approach is adapted to the child. When care is appropriate, Dr. Carissa uses light, gentle contact with positioning and force selected for the child’s age, size and examination findings.
Who provides pediatric care at At Last Chiropractic?
Dr. Carissa Taylor, DC, CACCP, focuses on pediatric and pregnancy care at our Lithia office near FishHawk. Her background includes advanced pediatric, perinatal and pediatric SOT training.
Care for Parents and Grandparents, Too
Family life asks a lot of your body, from carrying children to keeping up with work, hobbies and travel. Our team also evaluates adults and older adults for neck and back discomfort, joint stiffness and movement concerns.
Recommendations consider your health history, bone health, previous injuries, comfort and personal goals. We explain the findings and discuss an approach suited to you.
Explore our chiropractic techniques or learn about pregnancy and postpartum care.
Let’s Talk About Your Child’s Next Step
You know your child’s everyday habits better than anyone. If something about their movement or comfort has caught your attention, bring your questions to our team.
At Last Chiropractic is located at 5611 Skytop Drive in Lithia, near FishHawk West. We welcome families from Lithia, FishHawk, Riverview, Brandon and Valrico.
Use the scheduling button below to request your child’s visit with Dr. Carissa, or call 813-461-6500 with questions about getting started.