What is Dysautonomia?
Honestly most every single health challenge both kids and adults may struggle with could fit under the definition of dysautonomia. The reason being is that dysautonomia is a condition in which the autonomic nervous system is stuck in a dysfunctional, imbalanced state.
The autonomic nervous system controls and modulates every single cell, tissue, and organ in the body. Therefore when dysautonomia takes root, it can cause a multitude of symptoms and various health conditions.
The traditional medical definition of dysautonomia keeps it more confined to conditions that have to do with the heart, lungs 🫁, and digestive system. But more modern and advanced neuroscience easily shows us that dysautonomia symptoms can also encompass things like:
Mental and Emotional Health Challenges
Immune Suppression and Autoimmune Conditions
Focus and Behavioral Challenges
Chronic Fatigue and Exhaustion
Dizziness, Fainting, and Vertigo
Anxiety and Depression
WHAT CAUSES DYSAUTONOMIA?
One word – stress.
We live in a world 🌍 absolutely overrun by stress. And it’s not just us adults and parents. Our kids are exposed to more stress, tension, toxicity, and anxiety than ever before.
All the way back in 2008 I delivered my first ever Perfect Storm Workshop to a group of mental health professionals and parents, and that presentation was entirely focused on dysautonomia. The presentation goes through exactly what I will here in this article:
What triggers and causes dysautonomia
What symptoms and conditions are caused by dysautonomia
How to measure and find out if you or your child have dysautonomia
How to care for and improve dysautonomia without drugs
For our kids, dysautonomia actually sets in early with maternal stress during pregnancy 🤰. The very first thing to develop in-utero is the brain and autonomic nervous system. So if our mothers are left in a constant state of distress and anxiety, it greatly increases the likelihood of the infant’s 👶 brain and nervous being shifted towards an imbalanced state as well.
The next primary trigger is birth intervention and trauma (forceps 🛠, vacuum extraction, induction, C-section, etc). We won’t go into detail here as we do in other articles and videos, but in short, this sort of physically traumatic birth disrupts the function of the brainstem 🧠 and upper cervical spinal cord regions.
Those areas are the “air traffic control center” for the autonomic nervous system, and specifically where the Vagus Nerve is located. The brainstem and vagus nerve are responsible for the vast majority of autonomic regulation and control. So when they are stressed and subluxated at birth, dysautonomia sets in right away.
For an infant, this most commonly disrupts their primary functions — eat, sleep 💤, and soothe. As a result, the symptoms of dysautonomia in an infant are most commonly diagnosed or labeled as colic, reflux, and constipation.
DO THEY GROW OUT OF IT?
This is where parents’ frustrations really hit a fever pitch, hearing their pediatrician dismiss their child’s struggles as “normal” and tell them, “Don’t worry. They’ll grow out of it.”
We’ve seen the exact opposite in our clinical practice. Infants and young children struggling with dysautonomia do not grow out of it. Instead, they grow into speech and motor delays, sensory processing disorder, ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, autoimmune conditions, and chronic gut issues.
While dysautonomia may feel like chronic pain and fatigue in adults, in kids it’s much more easily missed because so many of their common struggles have been normalized and dismissed.
That is why it’s not easy for a parent to learn about dysautonomia and the Perfect Storm 🌪, but it does cause so much relief for them by finally giving them an explanation and answers as to why their child struggles each day with such a multitude of symptoms.
And even better, as parents learn more and more about dysautonomia the more hopeful and excited they get to find natural, drug-free 💊 solutions to help care for and improve it!
NATURAL SOLUTIONS AND CARE FOR DYSAUTONOMIA
First, it’s absolutely crucial to not just base things off symptoms as traditional medicine does, but to actually test and measure for dysautonomia.
This is exactly why PX Docs utilize what’s called the INSiGHT Subluxation Scanning System 💻 in their offices. These scans are designed to track, measure, and quantify dysautonomia.
There are 3️⃣ separate scans that are run on each patient:
NeuroThermal Scans — using infrared temperature analysis to find and measure dysautonomia
NeuroSpinal EMG Scans — measures motor and postural function and exhaustion
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) — measures overall autonomic function, adaptability, and resiliency
Patients struggling with dysautonomia can find out if their case is mild, moderate, or severe using the Insight Scanning Technology. And even more importantly, these scans allow PX Docs to build a customized, personalized care plan designed to restore function and balance to the autonomic nervous system.
The HRV scan is by far the most helpful for patients suffering from dysautonomia and is the gold standard in assessment and tracking the effectiveness of care. Far more advanced than traditional blood pressure or heart rate analysis, HRV is a technology that can measure the exact amount of imbalance or dysfunction within the nervous system.
WHAT MAKES A PX DOC DIFFERENT
While it’s always been known that chiropractic care can improve neurological function, our PX Docs take that much farther. The entire focus of our care is addressing dysautonomia, and in turn restoring balance and function to the autonomic nervous system.
Not only do our exam and scanning technology focus on dysautonomia, so does our adjusting 🙌 technique and approach. We measure and assess for dysautonomia on each and every visit, and each adjustment is designed to these two crucial things each and every time:
Release and calm the excessive sympathetic response (fight-or-flight)
Boost and stimulate a vagal nerve and parasympathetic response (rest, digest, and heal)
Book your New Patient Exam and Scans today! Once you know the exact amount of dysautonomia your child is struggling with, you can get an exact plan to restore and rebalance it right away!
Our kids are designed to heal, and they’re darn good at it. Even if your child has gone through each step of the Perfect Storm 🌪 and struggled since early on, that can change. Click, call, and book today!
This article appeared on PX Docs.