Babies that are hard to soothe, picky-eater toddlers, and preschoolers who freak out over transitions. Many parents have experienced this series of early life issues, and then those kids grow into teenagers with a list of all-too-familiar disorders, from OCD, ADHD, Anxiety, or even Tourette’s. What chiropractic care understands is that these are all part of the same story, the story of a nervous system under too much stress for too long. In this article, Dr Sarah Hock takes us in a different door to the same system.
By understanding how the one nervous system’s expression can have many labels over the many ages of childhood, we can identify the “hidden player” in early life. When kids are babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, the symptoms of their overwhelmed nervous systems are often labeled as digestive system issues such as colic, reflux, and constipation. Parents are taught to think of these challenges as “just a phase” they need to try to survive, and the poor kids will grow out of it. What they need to realize is that these are just some of the first red flags, and if the underlying causes are not addressed, it will lead to related issues.
As the kids become school-aged, that can look like developmental delays and social problems, which then get labeled as learning disorders and mental health diagnoses. What starts off being treated with reflux medications and behavior charts early on, winds up being prescribed stimulants or anti-anxiety drugs just a few years later, which can lead to life-long dependency. The underlying cause of these seemingly unrelated symptoms are nervous system issues which can all be helped by chiropractic care. The main thing to understand about the source of the overwhelmed nervous system is a pattern of neuro-biomechanical stress. Distorted input into the brain from noise in the system leads to distorted output to the body, including problems with autonomic imbalance.
The autonomic nervous system tells our bodies whether to be in “fight-or-flight” mode, or if it’s okay to “rest-and-digest.” When it’s out of balance, we can’t relax enough. For kids, this can mean they have trouble going from running, playing, and dealing with normal daily stress, to switching over into a calm “ready-to-learn” state of mind and body. Chiropractic care can help families shift from an early childhood marked by colic and a failure to thrive, into a bright future with a balanced, adaptable nervous system, and bodies more at ease, allowing their true selves to shine through.
If you have a baby who seems like she never sleeps, a toddler who seems like he won’t eat anything, or teens who just can’t get comfortable in their own skin, talk to us about how chiropractic care can help in your specific personal situation. We are all in this together, and Dr Lisa has been helping families like yours for over 18 years. Some of the babies she gave their first adjustments are now happy grown adults, after all. Read More