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If you’re a parent struggling with the challenges of chronic neurological conditions in your child—ranging from autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder to anxiety, seizures, and OCD—then you’re likely familiar with the emotions that come along with these challenges. Such as frustration, exhaustion, and a relentless pursuit of answers. Despite navigating traditional medical avenues, searching online resources, and trying out various therapies like PT, OT, and speech, you might still feel like you’re stuck without solutions or definitive answers.
Welcome to what we call “The Perfect Storm”. An accumulation of traumatic events, toxins, and developmental disruptions that can leave your child’s nervous system in an endless state of imbalance. This can begin as early as during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and/or early childhood, causing your child to go off track.
This blog is for parents who refuse to resign themselves to the status quo of chronic illness and medication dependency. It’s for those who seek genuine understanding and drug-free alternatives to support their child’s well-being. As we dive into the details of The Perfect Storm, our aim is to empower you with knowledge and actionable insights to reclaim control over your child’s health journey.
Understanding The Science of The Perfect Storm
Before discussing what we call The Perfect Storm, it’s important to understand the scale of this issue. Shockingly, statistics reveal that 1 in 4 children struggle with chronic illness. While sensory issues affect 1 in 6 kids, and Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 36 children. These numbers shine a massive light on the urgency of addressing the root causes behind these health challenges in our kids today.
One of the fundamental truths often overlooked is the interconnectedness of various health issues in children.
Conditions like colic, constipation, eczema, and ear infections aren’t isolated incidents that children outgrow. Rather, they serve as precursors to more complex neurological conditions. This interconnectedness forms the blueprint of The Perfect Storm, a sequence of events that shapes a child’s developmental trajectory.
The Origin of The Perfect Storm
The Perfect Storm very often begins during pregnancy, where high levels of maternal stress can profoundly impact fetal development. As a pregnant mother, if your nervous system is stuck in a “fight or flight” sympathetic stress response, then all those stress hormones are shared with your developing baby’s nervous system. The umbilical cord doesn’t just bring nutrients and oxygen to your baby. It also serves as the electrical “power” cord that connects your nervous system to your baby’s nervous system.
Next is the birthing process, which only aggravates the storm. Particularly with interventions like forceps, vacuum extraction, and c-sections. All put immense pressure on your baby’s head, neck, and delicate brainstem area as they yank, twist, and pull on a brand-new infant. These procedures can subject infants to significant physical birth trauma, particularly affecting the brainstem and nervous system.
This immediately shifts your baby’s nervous system into a sustained “fight or flight” sympathetic response. This results in subluxation and shuts down or suppresses the function of the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system. Which is the system in charge of rest and digestion.
It’s crucial to understand that when your child’s nervous system becomes overstressed and imbalanced, a host of challenges arise. Their immune and digestive systems bear the brunt, leading to frequent illnesses. When this happens, unfortunately, the typical response from pediatricians often involves prescribing antibiotics and other medications. However, these medications can worsen the situation by disrupting the connection between the gut and brain. Further derailing the child’s health.
This downward spiral can eventually manifest as asthma, allergies, ADHD, anxiety, and more. Despite each condition being treated separately, they all stem from underlying issues. Issues like subluxation, neurological dysfunction, and dysautonomia—a state where the autonomic nervous system has lost its equilibrium and functionality.
The Role of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care in Restoring Balance
We know about this deep foundational, true root neurological cause of chronic illness in our kids. We are equipped with advanced technology that can help restore nervous system function by identifying and addressing subluxation and neurological imbalances. Using our INSiGHT Scans, customized care plans, and adjustments, the aim is to alleviate stress, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and facilitate better brain-body communication for your child.
We never want you to feel alone in the storm, so if you’re ready to start down a new path toward understanding the true root cause and healing for your child, we want to help.
Please reach out to RCW today! By equipping yourself with knowledge and embracing proactive measures, you can rewrite the narrative of your child’s health journey. We want to help you and your child navigate the storm and emerge stronger on the other side.
Parents, this information may leave you a bit frustrated or upset, but we need to address a problem that’s been going on for far too long. Pediatricians have been telling parents that certain conditions are just a part of childhood and that their children will grow out of them. However, this is simply not the case.
If you have been up all night with your child who is experiencing colic, chronic constipation, reflux, or ear infection after ear infection, it’s essential to know that these issues will not simply go away on their own. If your child is struggling with tons of tantrums, meltdowns, developmental delays, and difficulty sleeping, don’t let anyone tell you that it’s just a phase.
We understand that as a parent, you know when something is wrong with your child. You may have been told to wait it out, but we want to assure you that there is more going on. Just as your gut tells you. The science behind these conditions is related to the function and development of the central and autonomic nervous system. An area that pediatricians may not understand very well, but is the absolute specialty of neurologically-focused pediatric chiropractors.
What Happens When There is Stress Built Up on the Nervous System?
Whether your child is two months old or fifteen years old, we have found that the neurology behind colic, sensory processing issues, autism, ADHD, anxiety, constipation, and chronic autoimmune challenges are virtually the same.
It all comes down to the nervous system being subluxated, stressed, and stuck in what’s called sympathetic dominance, or imbalance.
Over time stress and tension are placed on the nervous system from early childhood stressors. Stressors like prenatal distress, birth interventions, and trauma, and the exposure to toxins early in life. This leaves the entire nervous system dysregulated and out of balance, leading to a condition called dysautonomia.
This is why it’s so important to look for the root cause of their challenges. Instead of just labeling it and sending you and your child off to different specialists. We can help address the overactive and overstimulated sympathetic side of the nervous system in children with colic, sensory issues, and anxiety. Our office is very focused on functional neurology.
If you only chase symptoms, you’re not addressing the root cause. The nervous system controls everything from digestion to immune function, respiratory system, social-emotional regulation, and neurological development. By focusing on the nervous system first, you can get everything else figured out and functioning again much easier.
Challenges you’ve been told your children will “grow out of” like colic and chronic ear infections, can actually lead to chronic autoimmune challenges, allergies, and a compromised immune system. That makes it easier to catch every cold that comes around. Especially if each time they get sick they’re prescribed more antibiotics and other medications that further suppress gut-immune function.
Additionally, behavioral issues like tantrums, meltdowns, and hyperactivity are often dismissed as typical childhood behaviors. But these behaviors can be symptoms of larger issues related to neurological development. They can cause anxiety, hyperactivity, and emotional challenges in school and later in life.
The Perfect Storm Pathway
Regardless of where you are in this perfect storm pathway, you deserve to know what’s really going on with your child. Keep learning about their health, and consider using advanced technology like our INSiGHT Scans to measure and locate the stress and subluxation in the nervous system.
We specialize in adjustments that release stress, and lower sympathetic tone. These can help your child get out of the “storm” caused by these challenges. By getting the parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve activated and “online” once again, so much natural healing and health restoration can occur. Even older children can benefit from this kind of care. The nervous system remains plastic and can be changed even after years of stress.
Our office is neurologically-focused and uniquely equipped to address the common themes and threads behind all of these challenges. We provide drug-free action steps that can help your child and your family.
If you or someone you know has been told to simply wait and see, please share this information. Help spread the truth about the impact that neurologically-focused chiropractic care can have on your family’s life.
We are here to help you restore hope, find answers, and take action for the health and well-being of your child.
As parents, one of the most profound responsibilities we have is safeguarding the health and well-being of our family. When faced with challenges – whether physical, developmental, or emotional – our search for answers and solutions becomes all we think about. Central to this journey is the question: “When will I see the results I’m looking for?”. It’s a natural concern rooted in our love and desire to see our kids grow up healthy and thriving.
The truth is, the answer isn’t always straightforward. It depends on so many factors. Starting from your child’s struggles at birth to their current developmental stage and the severity of their current challenges. For you as a parent, the list of factors is even longer. Injuries, medications, work stress, burnout, etc. And even then, there are objective measures and test findings that can influence the timeline of improvement.
As chiropractors with extensive experience in neurology, pediatrics, and confronting tough conditions, we understand the urgency and need for clarity in yours or your child’s healing journey. We can often predict, with a fair degree of accuracy, when and how healing will occur.
Our ability to make these predictions stems from years of working with people facing similar struggles, understanding neurology, and leveraging scientific knowledge. We take yours or your child’s story, and key neurological metrics into account to craft what we call “Your Care Plan.”
This isn’t just any plan; it’s a tailored roadmap to recovery. It’s personalized, grounded in neurology and science, and shaped by our collective experience. All providing insights into the unique healing journey.
So let’s dive deeper into what constitutes a care plan and why it holds the answers to the burning question:. “When will I see results in care?”
Understanding the Science Behind Your Child’s Care Plan
Every single aspect of care we provide at RCW is focused on the nervous system and promoting what’s called neuroplasticity. It’s a big, nerdy word, but its essence is quite simple and important. Especially for little ones and for us as parents navigating the demands of everyday life.
Neuroplasticity is all about ensuring that the body’s most critical system – the nervous system – can do what it does best. Rest, relax, heal, grow, and adapt. These five elements are the cornerstones of well-being. From the tiniest infant needing ample sleep to parents and children alike requiring resilience in our chaotic, stressful world.
When we craft a care plan, every aspect revolves around nurturing neuroplasticity. It begins with our doctors taking the time to genuinely listen to your concerns, setting goals collaboratively, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to assess the state of yours or your child’s nervous system.
We use advanced tools like the INSiGHT Scans. A remarkable set of three scans that dive deep into the central nervous system. These scans help us identify and measure stress, tension, and dysfunction that might be lurking within the autonomic nervous system. Terms like subluxation, dysautonomia, and vagus nerve dysfunction may sound daunting, but they simply point to an overstressed, fatigued, and malfunctioning nervous system.
From there, our team constructs a precise, customized care plan tailored to your specific needs. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach: it’s a personalized roadmap designed to optimize neurological function and well-being. Our clinical care planning system integrates history, neurological examination, and INSiGHT scan findings to determine the ideal frequency and duration of care.
At the report of findings visit, we sit down with you to review the scan and exam results, and present your personalized care plan. It’s an empowering moment – a clear action plan to guide toward health and healing. This visit marks a pivotal moment for families, offering clarity, direction, and hope.
The Incredible Power of Care Plans
The incredible miracles we witness daily at RCW all begin with a care plan. These initial changes set the stage for even greater transformations. Here’s where the beauty of chiropractic shines through: we address neurological interference and imbalance naturally without reliance on drugs. Once we restore balance to a nervous system, remarkable shifts occur:
- Better sleep
- Improved digestive regularity
- Reduced symptoms tied to ADHD and anxiety
- Enhanced ability to manage sensory processing challenges
- Increased energy levels
- Decreased emotional and behavioral stress
Just take a look at the chart showcasing the most common responses to neurologically-focused chiropractic care. Who wouldn’t want to experience these incredible long-term benefits firsthand?
These incremental yet significant changes provide the momentum the nervous system needs to achieve major milestones and results. Such as improvements in speech, behavior at school, immune balance, developmental challenges, and beyond.
There’s nothing more powerful than parents seeking hope, answers, and help for their children. Never cease pursuing those avenues; it’s always worthwhile.
For your next steps, reach out to us today and connect with one of our dedicated care advocates to have all your questions addressed. Especially those concerning the timeline for neurological healing and restoration. Your healing journey starts at RCW.
As a parent, nothing can prepare you for the distress of seeing your baby cry inconsolably for hours on end. If your little one is crying for more than three hours a day and seems impossible to comfort, there is a good chance they are experiencing colic. This diagnosis affects about 25% of infants, leaving many families feeling overwhelmed and helpless.
It’s important to understand that colic isn’t just regular fussiness or tummy troubles that babies outgrow. It’s not just gas pains, food sensitivities, or issues with tongue and lip ties. Instead, colic often stems from deeper neurological imbalances and disruptions in your baby’s nervous system signaling and digestion.
Research has shown that colic isn’t something babies grow out of, and is a condition that requires attention and understanding. It is in no way your fault as a parent, nor is it a reflection of something you’re doing wrong. Understand that colic is a neurological imbalance and dysfunction that disrupts aspects of an infant’s well-being. Including sleep, digestion, and soothing mechanisms, can help you find the right care for your baby.
So, if you’re a parent who is overwhelmed by your baby’s persistent crying and you suspect there’s more to it than just typical infant behavior, this is for you. We’re here to offer insights beyond traditional medicine and to introduce drug-free solutions. Neurologically-focused chiropractic care has helped numerous families find relief for their little ones.
Exploring Colic’s Root Causes
As mentioned, colic often originates from something called subluxation and vagus nerve dysfunction rather than just gas pains or food sensitivities. Subluxation refers to areas of misalignment and tension in the spine. Vagus nerve dysfunction can disrupt vital functions such as digestion, immune response, and relaxation. Understanding these underlying issues is crucial for effectively addressing colic and promoting your baby’s well-being.
The Science Beyond Surface Symptoms
Colic affects approximately one in four infants, leading to prolonged crying episodes and challenges with traditional soothing methods. The origins of this neurological dysfunction can often be traced back to pregnancy. Maternal inflammation or a high-stress pregnancy can shift a baby’s nervous system into a state of dysautonomia. Where the fight-or-flight response dominates, affecting crucial functions like sleep and digestion.
During childbirth, birth stress and interventions such as forceps, vacuum extraction, or C-sections can further exacerbate these issues. The upper neck and mid-back area houses and protects the vagus nerve. A vital nerve responsible for sleep regulation, digestion, and relaxation—can experience misalignment and tension. This leaves your child’s nervous system trapped in sympathetic fight-or-flight mode, hindering their ability to find comfort and calm.
The Road to Relief From Colic
The journey to understanding and addressing colic can be daunting, especially when conventional wisdom may suggest that colic is a passing phase. The truth is that unresolved colic can lead to other health challenges, such as constipation, ear infections, and developmental delays. However, there is hope!
Specialized care protocols, including advanced technology like INSiGHT Scans, can guide precise care plans. These scans provide invaluable insights into your baby’s nervous system function. Pinpointing regions of dysfunction and subluxation and guiding the development of a precise care plan tailored to your child’s needs.
Once armed with this comprehensive assessment, we start with gentle neurologically-focused adjustments aimed at restoring proper nervous system function. While activating the vagus nerve and alleviating digestive issues associated with colic.
Taking Action for Your Baby’s Well-Being
If you find yourself exhausted, yearning for real answers to the root causes of your child’s colic, we’re ready to take that next step with you. Please reach out to RCW today to schedule a new patient consultation and exam for your baby. Restoring nervous system function brings fast relief, helping your baby thrive!
While talking about poop may bring laughter to kids and parents alike, when your child faces chronic constipation, it becomes a serious concern. Recent research suggests that approximately 25-30% of children experience constipation, impacting their overall well-being. More than a digestive issue, chronic constipation is often a symptom of an underlying problem linked to various childhood conditions. Such as autism, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, developmental delays, and ADHD.
If you have dealt with your child struggling with chronic constipation, you know the repercussions on their lives are significant. It affects their immune system, sleep, energy levels, and emotional regulation. If you have exhausted various remedies, including diet changes, prune juice, probiotics, and even Miralax, this is for you. Let’s dive into the genuine root causes of chronic constipation. Let’s go beyond nutritional imbalances, and provide drug-free options to enhance your child’s quality of life.
A Story of Hope
Consider Lucas, who began experiencing stomach issues at the age of 4. His daily struggles with pain led his family through a maze of doctor visits, X-rays, ultrasounds, and a traumatic experience with Miralax. Despite feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, a glimmer of hope emerged when they stumbled upon a social media post mirroring their story. Skeptical yet desperate for answers, they sought help, leading to transformative changes in Lucas’s life through neurologically-focused chiropractic care.
Understanding the Science: It’s Neurological
Chronic constipation is not merely a genetic or nutritional imbalance; it’s primarily a neurological imbalance. Many parents, like yourself, have already explored diet modifications, probiotics, and supplements. All with little success in achieving relief for their children. Clinically, chronic constipation is often “neurogenic,” indicating an overactive sympathetic nervous system and dysregulated digestive muscles.
This neurological imbalance, termed subluxation and dysautonomia, triggers a fight-or-flight response, diverting energy away from the digestive tract. When your child’s nervous system is in this protective and stressed-out state, it greatly impacts the gut and digestive system. Mainly by “conserving energy” for the skeletal muscles (to fight or flight) and taking it away from the muscles of the digestive tract.
This is why we see chronic constipation strongly correlated with conditions like autism, ADHD, sensory challenges, and anxiety. They all stem from that same neurological imbalance.
Neurologically-focused chiropractic adjustments, particularly targeting your child’s vagus nerve and parasympathetic system, provide a drug-free solution to restore balance and alleviate chronic constipation. The focus of our adjustments is to stimulate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve. Which in turn stimulates and activates digestive motility and relaxation for your child.
Next Steps: Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic
So, if you are grappling with your child’s chronic constipation, understanding the neurological component is crucial. We see the difference our specialized approach here at RCW makes on a daily basis. Our goal is to activate your child’s parasympathetic nervous system. We humorously refer to this as “hitting the poop button”. Our adjustments promote digestive motility and relaxation within their nervous system.
To learn more about how this works, or get your child scheduled for a consult and exam, please reach out to RCW today! Investing in your child’s neurological well-being not only addresses chronic constipation, but opens the door to a happier, healthier future for them.
As parents and dedicated pediatric chiropractors at Rochester Chiropractic and Wellness, we have witnessed the struggles that countless children face – battles against unresolved anxiety, poor sleep, low immunity, and inflammation, despite the tireless efforts of you parents striving to support your child’s health. This struggle leaks into their behavior, marked by frequent meltdowns and an inability to self-calm or regulate. These persistent challenges may be indicative of a constant activated stress response causing struggles for their delicate nervous systems.
The alarming truth is that over 77% of today’s youth suffer from chronic health conditions, with neurological and mental health disorders standing out as the most prevalent. The latest clinical research points to dysfunctional nervous system patterns that serve as the main drivers when it comes to these conditions.
Specifically, when your child becomes stuck in “fight or flight” mode, the cascade of stress hormones disrupts vital processes like digestion, immunity, and development. The restorative parasympathetic “rest and digest” activation becomes suppressed, spiraling into a relentless cycle known as the “Perfect Storm.”
If your child is stuck in the “Perfect Storm” of symptoms, leaving you feeling helpless in your pursuit of solutions – rest assured this is a scenario that resonates with so many parents, and it’s crucial for you to recognize that you are not alone. Understanding that these challenges are linked to the nervous system is pivotal in navigating the journey toward better health for your child.
How Kids Get Stuck in a Fight or Flight Stress Response:
Your child’s nervous system, like a switch, goes between active and relaxed modes. When there’s a short-term danger, it goes into “fight or flight” mode. But problems happen when the stress reaction stays for too long.
The Vagus Nerve’s Function
At the heart of nervous system regulation is the vagus nerve, controlling the activation of the body’s “rest, digest, and regulate” parasympathetic nervous system. This critical nerve regulates digestion, breathing, heart rate, and inflammation and is more tied to restoration. We also know that the vagus nerve is essential to social and emotional regulation, speech, and so much more.
Impaired vagal tone traps your child in fight or flight, leading to a condition called dysautonomia. Dysautonomia (or out-of-balance autonomic nervous system) can then lead to a host of other chronic health challenges in kids.
What Getting Stuck in Fight or Flight Looks Like in Kids
Here are signs that your child may be stuck in fight or flight mode:
- Heightened baseline anxiety, worry, and panic responses
- Frequent emotional meltdowns and outbursts
- Disrupted sleep and nightmares
- Loss of appetite or overeating
- Increased food sensitivities and allergies
- New onset headaches or body aches
- Overreaction to minor frustrations
- Poor focus and concentration troubles
- Frequent illnesses and decreased immunity
- Persistent fatigue or hyperactivity
When your child’s nervous system gets overloaded and stuck, churning out stress chemicals, it turns into a range of symptoms that can disrupt health and development. Leading to:
- Anxiety and Mood Changes
- Cognitive and Behavioral Challenges
- Physical Hurdles (including): Headaches, body tension, abdominal pain, low energy, and immune weakness
- Growth and Development Delays
How to Get Our Kids Out of Fight or Flight Long Term
Parents, you hold immense power in nurturing your child’s well-being at home. It’s always a great idea to engage daily in breathing exercises, helping with the relaxation response. You can try gentle movements like yoga to process cortisol. Ensure optimal nutrition to replenish drained reserves, and consider natural supplements for gentle inflammation modulation. Prioritize restorative sleep for holistic health.
However, time and again, we meet parents who have tried everything under the sun to help their child learn to calm, regulate, and balance their emotions and nervous system, but to no avail.
In cases where the nervous system seems stuck in fight or flight, the crucial first step is Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care.
These adjustments target vagus nerve stimulation and release pent-up stress within the sympathetic nervous system, proving way more impactful than traditional methods.
As adjustments start to help restore better sleep patterns and enhance neurological health for your child, you can then introduce breathing exercises, calming activities, and nutritional programs.
So, if your child is expressing symptoms tied to a stuck-on, fight-or-flight nervous system, and you’ve exhausted every avenue without success, consider addressing nervous system dysregulation and subluxation as the missing link.
