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In last week’s blog post we discussed some of the symptoms that are common in the “perfect storm” kids we see in our office. To review these are kids that struggle to stay calm, have trouble regulating their emotions, have poor focus, and are incredibly sensitive to the environment around them. It is not often that chiropractic is the first line of defense when it comes to kids with sensory processing disorders and ADHD but in this blog post we are going to talk about why it helps. It all has to do with the parasympathetic nervous system and here is why.
The parasympathetic nervous system is made up of several groups of nerves that stem from the neck and the low back. This part of the nervous system is famous for controlling the “rest and digest” functions of the body. When parasympathetic nerves are stimulated or “turned on” some of the things that happen include constriction of pupils, decreased heart rate and blood pressure, constriction of bronchial muscles of the lungs, increased digestion and production of saliva and mucus, and increase in urine secretion.
It is great to know what the parasympathetic system does but why does that matter to these perfect storm kids? In most cases these kids are in overdrive with their sympathetic nervous system turned on, which means they are constantly in fight or flight. The parasympathetic nervous system is the “ying” to the sympathetic nervous system “yang”. The work in tandem with each other. When a stress occurs the sympathetic reacts and allows our body to respond. After the body has accomplished it’s task the parasympathetic must bring the body back down to “normal” or a state of homeostasis. The disconnect occurs because their parasympathetic nervous system is essentially turned off which means they are in fight or flight constantly; this is what leads to a lot of elevated behaviors. As chiropractors, our job is to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and slowly allow their bodies to heal which in turn leads to more appropriate responses to stress in the body.
If this information has been helpful and you want to learn more, we invite you to attend our parenting workshop “The Perfect Storm” on September 25th. This event will be held at Lolo’s in Hudson at 5:30pm. Call the office (715-381-9965) or head over to our Facebook Page to RSVP. Appetizers and drinks will be provided! We will see you there and be ready to answer any of your questions about how we can help your child.
