The body’s response to the world around us: The nervous system and neuroplasticity.

Scientific advancements have helped us better understand how the nervous system and brain work and have given us greater insight into what’s happening in the minds and bodies of those who struggle.

Chiropractic, a natural healthcare method, is based on the fact that we can change our brain – we can essentially re-wire it through specific and repeated stimulation, a concept known as neuroplasticity. Just like exercise builds physical endurance, we are able to build neurological pathways and synaptic activity at any age through the chiropractic adjustment. We want the brain to be able to grow and adapt optimally.

What does that mean?

Improving brain and body communication. Chiropractic care is a gentle, non-invasive way to stimulate the nervous system. Simply put, it makes the body work more efficiently. The nervous system controls and coordinates every aspect of health. As long as it doesn't have any interference, it works beautifully. 

What do you mean by "interference"? 

There are times when too much stress on the body causes problems. Often, the first physical stress (and arguably emotional) is birth. Whether it is mom's mental health or an act of birth intervention (forceps, c-section, vacuum, etc.), stress placed on the baby can be traumatic. This birth trauma itself can place undo stress on the nervous system, especially the brain stem and upper cervical (neck) region of the spine. We often see this interference play out in the real world as diagnosable issues in babies, such as colic, constipation, problems latching, ear infections, and other common childhood issues. In older kids, we see it as ADHD, PANDAS, and sensory processing disorder. If left unchecked, as grown adults we see neck pain, anxiety, and autoimmunity, just to name a few. The neurological interference reduces the brain's ability to relax, rest, heal, and adapt to the world around it.

How does chiropractic help?

Chiropractic care is an effective therapy for all children, adults, and animals who want to optimize neurology.

By analyzing and correcting spinal interferences, stress is taken off the nervous system. A spinal misalignment, known as the subluxation, occurs when the vertebra (spinal bone) shifts out of alignment, causing tension on the spinal cord. Chiropractors are trained to reduce this tension through specific adjustments on the spine.

For babies, it often looks like sustained contact on the spine. For older children and adults, instruments or gentle movements made by hand can work. For animals, a specific thrust into the joint creates necessary motion in dysfunctional joints. In our office, we do not use any twisting or popping methods on people that is often associate with chiropractic.

But it's not just a one and done type of correction. In our office, we specifically analyze the nervous system using a state-of-the-art scan, called NeuroInfiniti, in patients over 6 years of age. This tool looks at how well the autonomic nervous system is adapting to stress. By measuring brainwaves, heart rate variability, and five other areas, we can tell if the nervous system is overstimulated, under-stimulated, chaotic, or flat out exhausted. Depending on how your results look, a specific care plan will be created that works in steps to correct the neurological communication.

In younger people and those recovering from injury, this staged approach develops a neurological foundation that may never have been fully developed or was interrupted due to an event. With appropriate stimulation, the brain’s ability to successfully process and retain information leads to better academic outcomes. In addition, there is an increased ability to control impulses, self-regulate behavior and engage appropriately with others. It also reduces signs and symptoms we associate with the common childhood concerns.

Teens and adults see improvement in these areas, as well as improvement in reading comprehension, concentration, memory, and performance at work. Reduction in autoimmune symptoms, pain, and migraines happen to be the most reported benefits in our office. Most report less stress and anxiety and a happier disposition.

For animals, we see rapid changes in behavior, strength, gait, and agility, especially in dogs or horses.

You see, it's not all about back pain in our office. Our doctors truly want to help you heal your brain and nervous system so that you can live a happy, health life.