{image1} Dr. Monica Maroney suggests people think of chiropractors in a similar way that they think of dentists.
"People don't wait to see a dentist until their teeth are rotting out of their head," she says. "It's the same with spinal maintenance. People should get checked regularly to prevent problems."
She feels especially convicted of this theory when it comes to children. Maroney, who owns Shorewood Family Chiropractic (4433 N. Oakland Ave.), is finishing up a three-year program in Chicago that will make her the first chiropractor in Milwaukee to specialize in children's health.
"You really need to be preventative from day one with kids," she says.
Maroney originally became interested in chiropractic for children when her daughter was prescribed multiple rounds of antibiotics after suffering from chronic ear infections and pneumonia. Finally, Maroney took her to a chiropractor as an alternative.
"From that day on she never once had to go back on antibiotics. But it wasn't an over-night transformation; it took almost a year," she says.
Today, 20-50 percent of Maroney's patients are children, and most of them visit her for ear infections. As a chiropractor she is able to assist with ear drainage, specifically, to allow the Eustachian tube to drain into the throat.
Tracy Hedman has been taking her son, Cyril, to Maroney for six months. Because Cyril has Downs Syndrome, his chance of getting ear infections is greater, but so far, he hasn't had a single infection.
"It (chiropractic) seems to have made a pretty big difference in many areas of Cyril's life," says Hedman.
According to Maroney, chiropractics are especially important for kids with special needs. "Chiropractic doesn't make everything go away," she says. "But it helps them function at their highest level and be the best they can be."
Spinal adjustments can also relieve colic, reflux, birth traumas (forceps or vacuum deliveries, cesarean sections, breech presentation, shoulder dystocia, etc.) and allergies in infants and children.
"We do the same thing for allergies that we do for everyone: check for spinal misalignment. By putting it back in alignment it takes stress off the system and allows the body to heal naturally," she says. "Basically, if you keep the spine aligned it can handle more exposure before it breaks down."
When "adjusting" babies or small children, Maroney uses very light touch, about as much pressure as a nickel on a fingertip. Sometimes she uses a low-force adjusting tool or massage techniques, especially with very young babies.
"I use very little force. It's nothing like adjusting an adult," she says.
Although Maroney graduated from a rigorous, 50-hour-a-week, four-year post-baccalaureate program at Western State Chiropractic College in Portland, she recognizes her place on the medical spectrum.
"I would never take the place of a pediatrician," she says.
Pregnant women should also consider visiting a chiropractor because it's important that the sacrum and the pelvis do not rotate or twist, which causes the diameter of the pelvic opening to be smaller, creating less room for the baby during gestation and delivery.
"And it helps with the uncomfortableness," she says. "Pregnant women are sometimes told their pains will go away when they have the baby when instead it could be cured right away."
Jessica Laub started seeing Maroney late in her pregnancy, after experiencing months of severe lower back, leg and foot pain.
"I definitely feel that she helped me to recover. I had given up hope of walking normally or feeling good again until after I had the baby, but incredibly, I did recover and felt great the last few weeks of my pregnancy," says Laub, who went on to deliver a healthy son, Amaru, in February and partially credits Maroney for her smooth delivery.
" I only wish I had started seeing her earlier in my pregnancy," says Laub.
Overall, Maroney says people in Milwaukee are favorable toward chiropractors. The market in Milwaukee isn't saturated with practicing chiropractors as it is in other cities, and because of Milwaukee's history of industrial workers who experience lots of repetition and heavy lifting, back and neck problems are rampant.
Maroney, a native of Shorewood, says she became a chiropractor because her father, a member of the Milwaukee rugby team, continuously praised his chiropractor for curing his sports-related injuries.
"I was impressionable," says the 32-year-old who now resides in Bay View.
Although Maroney focuses much of her practice on kids, she stresses her commitment to adult patients.
"Optimally, I would like to see the whole family. To have a healthy baby you need to have a healthy mom and dad," she says.
For more information, call (414) 962-5483.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
