A four-year-old boy awakened "screaming" with severe abdominal pain for the past three nights. The worried parents brought him to the ER (emergency room) the first two nights.

The MDs were unable to find anything wrong and diagnosed constipation. They prescribed laxatives despite the fact that the mother, who is an RN, told them the child had always had regular bowel movements.

On the first visit, the OD found an L5 disc to correct from his abdomen. After two such disc adjustments, he was sleeping through the night without complaint. After the third, he was sleeping better than he was before the abdominal pain began.

I don't recall ever seeing a case like this before, but the great thing about KST is that even though you may not have experience with certain kinds of problems, as long as you ask good questions, you'll be led to the right place. For me it was the first time I'd seen mid-line abdominal contact for a lumbar disc. Then again, I'd never had a 4-year-old with a disc problem to begin with.

The mother was certainly happy. When I looked back at my notes, I noticed that his third visit didn't require an adjustment; he was clear. So, it actually only took two to do the job.