Hyperactivity; Learning Disorders

"Chiropractic…Bringing out the best in you.

Chiropractors correct abnormalities of the intellect as well as those of the body. "

–D.D Palmer, Discoverer of Chiropractic

Doctors of chiropractic have long noticed chiropractic’s beneficial effects on those with neurological and emotional problems, especially children.

A Modern Epidemic

Learning disorders are just one of many neurological problems that affect children today. They include hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and minimal brain damage among others. The number of children diagnosed with these conditions is growing at a staggering rate, as medical historian Harris Coulter, Ph.D. has noted:

The American Psychiatric Association (Third Edition, revised 1987) publishes a guide to mental illnesses in this country, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, which devotes seventy pages to “Disorders Usually First Evident in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence.” The second edition in 1968 dealt with these disorders in only 3-1/2 pages. The first edition, 1952, did not mention them at all.

These disorders have received the appellation “developmental disabilities”. Probably the leading one is “dyslexia,” also called “minimal brain damage.” Another prominent one is “autism”. But there are many others. Probably twenty percent of American children—one youngster in five—suffers from a “developmental disability”. This is a stupefying figure…

Ritalin

The standard medical treatment for hyperactivity in children is amphetamine medications such as Ritalin, Dexedrine and Cylert. Ritalin is classified as a schedule II substance by the FDA along with cocaine, morphine, opium and methadone. Ritalin can have severe side effects, including arrested growth, increased heart rate, insomnia, loss of appetite, social withdrawal, irritability, moodiness and involuntary movements or sounds. In 1988, a half-million children were prescribed stimulant drugs for ADD and ADHD. By 1997 the number was two million and it is expected to reach eight million b 2000. Interestingly, M.D.s in the U.S. prescribe five times the quantity of stimulants for children as M.D.s in other countries. Many parents are concerned about drugging their children for years and possible drug abuse and dependency. “Is there another way,” they ask?

The Cause of Learning Disorders?

Dr. Coulter and a growing number of professionals feel that many of the neurologically damaged are victims of childhood vaccinations:

A large proportion of the millions of U.S. children and adults suffering from autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia, and other shoots and branches of the hydra-headed entity called “developmental disabilities,” owe their disorders to one or another of the vaccines against childhood diseases.

Other causes of neurologic damage may be trauma to the head, severe burn, infectious diseases, accidents and falls.

What Can Chiropractic Do?

Chiropractors are trained to locate and correct vertebral subluxations—tiny distortions of spinal bones or vertebrae—that can irritate or stress the spine, discs, muscles, ligaments and nervous system.

Although not a treatment for neurological disorders, chiropractic care has given many children suffering from neurological disorders new hope. Chiropractors, parents and school officials have reported on the effectiveness of chiropractic care for children with many kinds of neurological conditions including learning disorders, hyperactivity, inability to concentrate and behavior problems.

For example, the Director of Psychoeducational and Guidance Services of College Station, Texas noted that of the 10,000 students referred to him in the previous decade, those who had received chiropractic care seemed to show the most benefit. He noticed that children failing their subjects and lacking motivation began passing their subjects, became highly motivated, and showed improved coordination and ability to participate in athletics after receiving chiropractic care. Some of the cases from his files included:

1.      High school student; non-motivated, negative, passive, nonverbal and failing in high school work despite placement in special classes. She was put on 20mg Ritalin. After chiropractic adjustments, the student was taken off Ritalin, began talking and expressing herself, and showed improved reading comprehension and reading speed.

2.      Eight-year-old boy who was extremely hyperactive, irritable and with severe behavior problems at home and school; grades were marginal to failing; on 70mg. of Ritalin/day with steadily diminishing results. After chiropractic care, Ritalin was discontinued and coordination was improved to the extent that the student became a Little League ball player. His attitude was excellent, grades were up and average of one letter grade and behavior at home and school was exemplary.

3.      A student with a four-year history of marginal accomplishment in school was nervous, underweight and suffered from insomnia. Medication was briefly tried but the student’s emotional control became poor and he frequently wept. After chiropractic care there was a marked reduction in nervousness and great improvement in emotional stability. His mother reported that his appetite was now normal and he began enjoying school during the last month.

Others have observed chiropractic’s effect on hyperactivity: “The majority of children…did, in fact, improve under specific chiropractic care.” Still others have commented that spinal care may improve I.Q.

In one interesting story, chiropractors had taken care of 244 children in a Kentucky reform school. The teachers were so impressed that they signed a petition asking for a full-time chiropractor on staff: “Not only did [the students] improve in health, but also in their school work as pupils…there has been a marked improvement in their moral life.” However, please remember that not all children respond the same under chiropractic care.

Exactly how subluxation correction affects brain function is not known. Some theorize that chiropractic care improves blood flow to the brain, others feel it lessens anxiety and promotes overall improved well-being or enhances brain function while others feel it interrupts unhealthy nerve reflexes in the spinal cord. Obviously the final word on the mechanism is not yet in.

In Conclusion

Working in concert with nutritionists, homeopaths, CranioSacral therapists, psychologists, medical doctors and other healers, including chiropractors, parents can give their children every chance for optimal life expression.

If seriously afflicted students have been found to benefit from chiropractic care, could not “average” children benefit as well? Perhaps chiropractic care could help “average” students become “above average”? Increase their IQ a few points? Improve their reading skills a little and give them an edge in alertness, coordination and speech? Why not discover the benefits of chiropractic for your own children?

Aging Process Part 1

This begins a 2 part series on the topic of aging. This topic is or will be of interest to all.

Aging can be considered in a number of ways. Each year, we get a little older. This is chronological age. Biological age is a different scale. We all know of someone 50 who looks and acts like they are 70 and at the same time someone who looks and acts like they are in their late 30’s. It is to simple to say that genetics is the answer.

One author stated that as we age we get the 4D’s. These are disability, discomfort, drugs and doctors. In general as we age we see a decrease in muscle and bone mass or density, along with a decrease in water retention and an increase in fat mass.

While years go by steadily, our bodies age at different rates depending on how we have taken care of the different systems or organs of our body.

Most people recognize the signs of aging between 40 and 50, however the seeds of this aging process start decades before.

Let’s talk about what happens to our bodies in these years.

First our brain will shrink slightly with an accompanying loss in cognitive skills. We become a little more forgetful and wonder if we are getting Alzheimer’s.

If we don’t already need glasses, our vision begins to suffer as our eye losses its elasticity as well as its ability to accommodate to lower light and distinguish colors especially yellow and blue.

Our hearing begins a gradual decline with loss of the ability to hear high tones or to listen well when there is a lot of background noise. We also slowly lose our sense of taste and smell which can trick us into wanting way more salt that we should eat to season our food.

Our skin loses its elasticity and becomes thinner. Add to these changes general decrease in functionality to our internal organs like the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and a general decrease in the ability to produce digestive enzymes and you have a rough idea of the aging process.

Enough of what we all know – as we age we degenerate.

Why does this happen?

There are many theories behind the aging process. The first centers on chance and includes the topics of oxidation and free radicals. These produce free electrons that attach themselves to our molecular structure and create most if not all of the degenerative conditions found in the body. Another example of this type of aging process is that caused by excess sugar intake that binds to proteins. This glucose or sugar binding then disrupts the ability of the cell to replicate or repair itself. The ravages of diabetes are an example of this type of aging process.

The other great classification is one best described as evolutionary or part of the grand design of nature. This one was started by a phenomenon known as the Hayflick factor. This experiment showed that cells would reproduce themselves about 50 times and then die off. This gave rise to the concept that we have an aging clock in every cell of our body. However, experiments showed that with proper nutritional support, this self-limiting replication limit was easily surpassed. This theory was replaced by one centered around shortening of telomeres. These are the endings of the chromosomes that give the blueprints that our cells need to replicate themselves.

 

These are just a couple of interesting theories and lot of research in them, but the most improtant fact in aging is imporoper fucntioning nervous system. Even if we have lowered the sugar intake and hav done nutritional support, if the nervous system is not operating at 100% then we will only get limited results. Through Chiropractic, the nervous system and alignment of the spine is 100%, then our results will have no limits. Chiropractic will be restoring function of the body and preventing degenerative joints in the spine to last longer as you age.

What are the signs of premature aging?

You cannot always tell a book by its cover as the saying goes, but you can by its content.

The earliest sign is a lack of vitality. You lose energy quickly and no longer have a sense of well being. In general, you do not enjoy life as much as you used to.

Next to go is your libido. That sex drive of your youth is gone or dramatically reduced.

You start to get muscle aches for no apparent reason and it takes longer to heal from injuries. Along with this, your immune system is weaker and you get more colds and flues and they last longer.

Your figure starts to change; you will either lose or gain over 20 pounds.

Finally, depression and anxiety are on the rise and your whole mental outlook is changed.

While we can’t stop the aging process, it is possible to slow it down and potentially to reverse some effects of our past bad habits and lifestyles.