Pediatric Chiropractic? Yes, chiropractic can assist your child in many ways that you may not have known were possible! As Humans, our nervous system is continually processing our environment, taking in all the stimuli around us. The purpose of the nervous system is to access the environment, process the information and adapt appropriately. If there is a disconnect or dysfunction within the nervous system, the brain will be unable to process the information and an aberrant (or inappropriate) response will result. Most of the time, the information processing is done under the threshold of our conscious awareness. Children are sponges, taking in an access of information from their environment which makes it difficult to adequately process and adapt to the overload of information.
When the nervous system is overloaded with too much information, the stress threshold is reached and each new stress can send their body into chaos or survival mode. The adjustment helps a child take in the information and process more efficiently so they can have an appropriate or optimal response.
Why does this happen? A subluxation. A subluxation is a misalignment in the body that is restricting the nervous system from functioning optimally.
How does a subluxation affect my child?
TONE/ TENSION
INCOORDINATION
When a subluxation is present in the body, it causes an excessive sympathetic dominance.
Sympathetic dominance is the nervous system state of Fight-or-Flight, stress state if you will, when the body feels threatened and goes into survival mode. When sympathetic dominance is present, there is an imbalance in the body’s ability to establish coherence and equilibrium. The body may present as too tense, too tight, too wound up. Clinically, this may present in the child as colicky, torticollis, plagiocephaly, constipation, feeding and sleep issues in infants. In older children it may present as chronic ear infections, poor sleep, inability to regulate mood, issues with meeting milestones (roll over, crawl, walk, jump) delayed/ dysfunctional speech, anxiety/ depression and ADD/ADHD. Too much or too little of something causes dysfunction and dis-ease.
Incoordination is dysfunction or lack of coherence between the systems of the body (digestive, motor coordination, eliminative, immune, detox, etc). These areas are not getting the complete nerve impulses from the brain to carry out their functions appropriately. Hormones are affected which results in a cascade of secondary conditions. This then alters the development of the child.
By addressing the nervous system directly it goes to the source of the issue and allows for improved:
sleep
digestion
cognition / focus
coordination/ balance
performance / recovery
The nervous system is responsible for sensory and neuro-processing regulation. It must assess the environment, process the information around us, adapt, and make an appropriate response. If the nervous system is not functioning optimally, due to a misalignment or tension being held in the body, the nervous system’s capacity to adapt will suffer. Overtime, the breakdown of the system will result in the body starting to express symptoms. These symptoms are signs that the body is not functioning optimally and is stressed.
Our goal is to find where the body is working well and allow that proper function to spread to the rest of the body. We remove any obstructions to the nervous system so that the body can function, grow, and heal as it is intended.
What does an adjustment look like?
The adjustment itself is NOT what you may think. No cracking, twisting or popping! We meet the child where they are at. Sometimes the kiddo will lie on the table, other days they may be too busy and want to get adjusted while they are playing. The adjustments are gentle and specific using the amount of pressure that you would use to hold a ripe peach. We often use the clicker or the pediatric head piece in the office as children respond very well to the precise vibration allowing their body to release the subluxation (misalignment in the body that is restricting the nervous system from functioning optimally) and go back into alignment. Many parents are surprised at how calm, relaxed and still their child is during their adjustment. A child’s adjustment is amazing to watch, as you can see their body shifting in real time!
Can Chiropractic Help?
We often get ask…. “I have a friend whose kiddo struggles with X or Z. Can chiropractic help?” The answer is almost always, YES! Since the nervous system is responsible for neuro-processing. If there is any dysfunction with the processing of information, this can result in an improper output - ie Symptoms. Regulating the nervous system allows for the secondary symptoms - symptoms- to disappear. Every child benefits from getting adjusted.