The muscles that control the ear, nose and throat system, have a nerve connection to the upper part of the spine. So if there’s a stress point in this location, it can absolutely impact the ability to drain properly which sets the stage for chronic ear infections.
But you might be asking yourself, what could have introduced a major stress point in a child’s or baby’s spine? Birth. There are so many times when we’ll be talking to parents about their child’s issues and the whole cascade started with the birth process – especially if there was an intervention with forceps, vacuum or c-section.
Even a natural uneventful birth still results in a tremendous amount of stress, especially at the top of the neck, because the baby has to corkscrew through the birth canal. Moms, you were there, right? But babies can’t say “Mom, that was crazy, can you take me to see somebody!” but they can absolutely have stress in the neck that impacts their ability to drain properly, which sets the stage for chronic ear infections, among other things.