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Have questions about your child’s eating habits, sleep cycles, general physical fitness and overall health? If so, don’t miss the First annual Children’s Health Expo this Saturday, Saturday, Sept. 22, from noon to 3 p.m., in the lobby of Melrose Place, which is the building next to Dunkin’ Donuts near MMTV, at Bay State Centre Family Chiropractic, 304 Main St., Melrose.

Dr. Scott Darragh, DC, MPH, of Bay State Centre Family Chiropractic, has organized the event, which will the following include pediatric experts — Dr. Jeffrey Feldman, MD, FACP; Joe and Mary Ingemi, MSPT, from 1-to-1 Personal Fitness; Christine Mastrangelo, RD, from NE Nutrition Associates; Massage Therapist Emily Valentino, LMT, from Bodyography; Kathy Harlow from the North Suburban Family Network; Officer Applegate from the Melrose Police Department; Melrose Fire Department firefighter “Teddy D;: and Dr. Darragh himself. For more information on the event, call Bay State Centre Family Chiropractic at 781-662-3333.

Dr. Darragh, who has just returned from a chiropractic mission trip to Brazil, spoke with the Free Press this week about his reasons for organizing the expo.

A colleague of mine from N.J. had the idea, and he was contacting firemen, etc. to come to his event. [Pediatrician] Jeff Feldman and I are right beside each other and we refer to each other all the time. I try to have an open dialogue with pediatricians.

Why something specifically for children?

Many parents don’t know where to start. Our health care system, it isn’t; it is a sick care system. Why do we have to lose our health to enter the system? We need to start addressing causes and not simply treating symptoms.

Melrose Police Officer Applegate will be there to do car seat safety checks, and firefighter “Teddy D.” will be there talking about fire safety for the kids. We handed out fliers to hundreds of people at the Victorian Fair, and have handed out fliers at Melrose schools, day care centers, and posted them in windows of Main Street businesses.

What’s the purpose of the expo?

To educate, and to help parents to make the healthiest choices for their child, such as having a spine check for their child. Talking to others about better food choices. I’ll do spinal screenings, and Dr. Feldman will be there to answer medical questions. Food health will be discussed by Christine Mastrangelo, RD, from NE Nutrition Associates, the police will be there offering fingerprinting for kids, and the North Suburband Family Network will be there offering information about their activities.

What are common afflictions you see and treat?

People are at desks more, so we’re seeing more neck and shoulder problems. We also see a lot of postural issues in people. Poor posture affects every system in your body. Kids can have poor posture because of improperly wearing backpacks.

In older people, it is about managing their chronic conditions effectively.

How long have you been in Melrose?

Originally, I’m from N.J. I now live in Melrose and have my practice here.

How is your practice staffed?

I have two part-time people on staff. We have morning and evening hours, and we’re here two Saturdays a month. I can be called at any time; I really enjoy it when patients call me up and have questions; technically, they’re hiring me.

Chiropractic treatment is often misunderstood. Can you explain, briefly, how it works?

Chiropractic treatment gets people’s bodies to function better by treating the whole body. Chiropractic removes pressure off the nervous system [spinal nerves], allowing the body to heal and function better.

There’s a term in healthcare for when a bone in the spine goes out of its normal position and irritates a nerve — it is called “a vertebral subluxation.” That to a chiropractor is like a cavity to a dentist. It’s my job to find out how where that subluxation is, how long it has been there and how to reduce it. An x-ray will often tell with an adult. For children, I generally get information from parents. Understanding chiropractic is understanding how your body works. Chiropractic school is very much like medical school: you’re taught how the body works.

Concomitantly, children who suffer from ear infections and asthma also suffer from vertebral subluxation, which affects a nerve and affects their immune systems. The treatment is minimizing the subluxation.

What causes a subluxation in first place?

The first subluxation can occur at birth during the birth process. Even under natural means, birth is still traumatic to cervical spine. And if there is any birth trauma — forceps, a C-section, etc. — it is imperative that the child have a spine check. The youngest baby I’ve ever adjusted was five days old.

However, sometimes people come in and they want a quick fix — but often they’ve been suffering from a condition for several years. And often insurance will only pay for 12 sessions.

What keeps more people from going to visit a chiropractor?

FEAR! [Being treated medically with] shots, knives and drugs is completely acceptable in today’s society. But noninvasive chiropractic treatment is not. Sometimes, very rarely, adjustments do hurt. Sometimes people in severe pain get worse before they get better. For the most part, adjustments feel good. And there are always people who will not respond; that’s just health care in general. “Non responders” are people who just don’t respond to care. Eight-five percent of people who walk into my office will have a positive health change.

I try to instill good habits and work with my patient on what their goals are: are they ready to quit smoking? Eat better? Change their job? I treated a man who was a manual silkscreen printer. Due to his job, he was building up muscle in an upper part of his body that was out-weighting muscle in his lower back, which led him to lots of lower back episodes. He did change his job, and over a period of a couple of years, his issues subsided.

How are chiropractors viewed by the conventional medical establishment? 

A lot of medical personnel have no idea what we do. In 1987, the AMA [American Medical Association] was found guilty in the U.S. Supreme Court of trying to “kill” the chiropractic industry. Unless I actually step out of my office and introduce myself to physicians, medical professionals are not trained in medical school to learn about chiropractic. As a board member of the Mass Chiropractic Society, I’m trying to get at least a semester of chiropractic learning into a semester of medical school.

About 75 percent of my job is education. Getting people to understand the importance of spinal posture is about 75 percent of my job. It’s nice being in Boston since we are a health education mecca. I hold mandatory health education sessions each month for my patients; it’s only in their best interest. We talk about basic chiropractic health care. About 50 percent of my patients are over 70, while about 20 percent are under 10-years-old. With all the children on medication today, that number should be 50 percent.

 It’s not that we are against medication; I have a medical background [Darragh is also a board-certified medical technologist, and has a masters degree in public health], so I can see both sides of the puzzle. If you have an infection, you should take an antibiotic to clear it up.

But you’re not being taught that your body heals from the inside out. You’re handed a drug and told you’re okay. I try to get to cause of a functional problem and correct it. But people aren’t being taught that. We’re being taught about the new nebulizer albuterol treatment. Parents are looking for healthier ways to help their children, to raise them. And more are looking for chiropractic to help them, especially if they want them to be off medication. A “side effect,” if you will, of our profession is reduced pharmaceutical usage, less sick days, and people feeling better. Healthier, happier.

I firmly believe that Melrose is lacking in chiropractic treatment. There are 30,000 people in Melrose and only three chiropractors. My question for day care center providers is, ‘Are the children you care for on any medications?’ If so, my next question is, ‘How can we strengthen the health of our children without having them on so many medications?’

What was your recent mission trip to Brazil all about?

It was my third year going with “Adjust World,” a nonprofits chiropractic organization. We had about 21 chiropractors from around the world, and all met in Fortaleza, a northeast city in Brazil. The population there is 2 million people. The doctors went to different missions around the city, and we adjusted over 20,000 people — adults and children, pregnant moms, babies, etc. We were there for 14 days.

Anything you’d like to add about the Children’s Health Expo?

It’s free and open to the public. Bring your questions — and your children!

Know someone you’d like to see featured in Melrose People? Call or email Free Press Editor Carol Brooks Ball at 978-739-1314 or melrose@cnc.com.