Children, ADD/ADHD, and Chiropractic
by Dr. Christopher Kent
(Reprinted with permission from The Chiropractic Journal)
Children (and adults) with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pose a variety of challenges for any practitioner who wishes to treat them. People with ADD/ADHD invariably have allergies. The most common and problematic of which tend to be food chemicals such as artificial flavors, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives are often the biggest offenders. In addition, processed food and pesticides are likely to pose problems for such sensitive people. Processed sugar such as Splenda tops the list. Other common problematic chemical allergies include most laundry detergents, fabric softeners and laundry chemicals. Cleaning chemicals typically used in the home, school, office, and other public buildings are also usually allergenic.
Lifestyle recommendations for people with ADD/ADHD can help minimize reactions. Obvious choices would be:
Using organic laundry soaps and household cleaners, such as those in health food stores.
Eating organic, natural foods.
Avoiding junk food religiously.
Avoiding unnecessary chemicals such as artificial flavors, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives.
In addition, foods that are particularly hot, stagnating or phlegm-producing should be avoided. This includes dairy products: wheat, hot spicy food, peanuts, most commercial fruit juices, and especially processed starchy foods such as bread and pasta.
Ritalin works on the energy system of a person in the same way: it is a stimulant. It strengthens what is already in excess, and creates stagnation and heat in the body. It adds to the problem, but makes it so severe that the person with ADD/ADHD must shut down or self-destruct. The more sensitive a person is, the more challenging it is to live in this world. To put it bluntly, people with ADD/ADHD are less tolerant of artificial additives & chemicals.
Your child’s psychiatrist will not tell you this, but spinal trauma and head injuries account for as many as 20% of ADHD cases in children. While attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is mainly caused by a deficiency in neurotransmitters, a healthy, well-functioning spine is also needed for the brain to function at its best. The spine and the postural muscles that support it contain thousands of receptors that translate muscular stimulation into neurological information that travel through the spinal cord and stimulate the brain. Since the spine and the postural muscles are always at the mercy of gravity and our movement, they provide the brain’s primary source of neurological stimulation.
For this reason, treating the spine helps children and adults with ADD & ADHD, especially if they have had any spinal trauma. Chiropractic is a healing science premised on the notion that overall health is closely connected to the nervous system. Our brains are at the center of everything we do, from our conscious thoughts and actions to unconscious processes and impulses. The spinal cord, the primary communication pathway that links the brain to the entire body, is incased within the spinal column and skull. In order for the lines of communication to remain clear, the skull, the spinal cord, and the bones and muscles surrounding it have to be healthy. Any vertebral sublaxations or mechanical dysfunctions that affect the skull or spine will have a negative effect on the communication processes between the brain and the nerves, giving rise to behavioral, cognitive, and even emotional problems.
Instead of using pharmaceutical drugs to suppress the symptoms of a disorder, chiropractic care restores balance to the body by adjusting weak parts and repairing any problems in the spine. These adjustments allow the body to heal while restoring the balance in the nervous system. The approaches used in chiropractic care vary from gentle spinal adjustment procedures to lifestyle counseling. Chiropractic care can help anyone overcome ADD & ADHD. Since 1989, chiropractors have been treating hyperactive children through chiropractic techniques, and have been successful in doing so. Today, there are at least 20 official documented cases that show how chiropractic care changed the lives of children with ADD & ADHD after medication failed, and many more that haven’t been published yet. And with the advances in chiropractic medicine, treatment options for children with ADD & ADHD are even more sophisticated and varied.
Regardless of whether or not your child had spinal or brain injury, a chiropractor is able to treat the disorder through non-medical modes.
Controversy surrounds the medical treatment of prescription drugs, indeed the very existence, of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Hyperactivity is the most frequent justification for drugging children. The difficult-to-control male child is certainly not a new phenomenon, but attempts to give him a medical diagnosis are the product of modern psychology and psychiatry. At first psychiatrists called hyperactivity a brain disease. When no brain disease could be found, they changed it to ‘minimal brain disease’ (MBD). When no minimal brain disease could be found the profession transformed the concept into ‘minimal brain dysfunction. When no minimal brain dysfunction could be demonstrated, the label became attention deficit disorder. Now it’s just assumed to be a real disease, regardless of the failure to prove it so. Biochemical imbalance is the code word, but there’s no more evidence for that than there is for actual brain disease.
The use of psychotropic drugs in children has exploded in recent years. The number of prescriptions written for methylphenidate (Ritalin) has increased by a factor of five since 1991. The production of Adderall and Dexedrine, also used to treat ADHD, has risen 2,000% in nine years. The increased use of these drugs in the U.S. is at variance with the rest of the world. According to the U.N., the U.S. produces and consumes 85% of the world’s production of methylphenidate (Ritalin).
The use of Class II controlled substances to alter the behavior of children is disconcerting to many parents and chiropractors, as is the issue of whether ADD/ADHD can be properly considered a disease.
Chiropractors can treat ADD/ADHD, and the benefits of chiropractic care on children diagnosed with learning disorders and hyperactivity have been described in a growing body of scholarly publications.
A study published as early as 1975, compared chiropractic care with drug treatment in children with learning and behavioral impairments due to neurological dysfunction. It was reported that chiropractic care “was more effective for the wide range of symptoms common in the neurological dysfunction syndrome in which thirteen symptom or problem areas were considered.” The author also reported that chiropractic care was 24% more effective than any commonly used drug medications.
Al Giesen, M.D. conducted a study involving seven subjects. All subjects were of school age and had clinical findings evidencing a vertebral subluxation complex. Following chiropractic care, 57% showed an improvement in chiropractic radiographic findings; 71.4% showed a reduction in overall ADD/ADHD behavior activity; 57% showed improvement in level of autonomic activity, and 57% showed improvement in parental ratings of hyperactivity.
In addition to these small studies, case reports have been published which describe improvement of objective and subjective findings in children with ADD/ADHD and related disorders. Exploring the relationship of subluxation correction to brain function is astounding. The dramatic changes that have been reported in children medically diagnosed with ADD/ADHD following chiropractic care must not be ignored.
Every child with a vertebral subluxation needs chiropractic care, regardless of whether or not symptoms are present. By correcting nerve interference, function is improved, with greater expression of human potential. After taking away the prescription drugs and terminating drug therapy all together, many report seeing the personality, will, and soul of the child unfolding in an amazing way.
As Maria Montessori wrote, “It is easy to substitute our will for that of the child by means of suggestion or coercion; but when we have done this we have robbed him of his greatest right, the right to construct his own personality.”
Source for article: http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles
Source for article: http://ezinearticles.com/?ADHD-Natural-Treatment—Chiropractic-Care
Children, ADD/ADHD, and Chiropractic
by Dr. Christopher Kent
(Reprinted with permission from The Chiropractic Journal
Controversy surrounds the medical treatment, indeed the very existence, of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Psychiatrist Peter Breggin wrote, “Hyperactivity is the most frequent justification for drugging children. The difficult-to-control male child is certainly not a new phenomenon, but attempts to give him a medical diagnosis are the product of modern psychology and psychiatry. At first psychiatrists called hyperactivity a brain disease. When no brain disease could be found, they changed it to ‘minimal brain disease’ (MBD). When no minimal brain disease could be found the profession transformed the concept into ‘minimal brain dysfunction.’ When no minimal brain dysfunction could be demonstrated, the label became attention deficit disorder. Now it’s just assumed to be a real disease, regardless of the failure to prove it so. Biochemical imbalance is the code word, but there’s no more evidence for that than there is for actual brain disease.”
The use of psychotropic drugs in children has exploded in recent years [2]. The number of prescriptions written for methylphenidate (Ritalin) has increased by a factor of five since 1991. The production of Adderall and Dexedrine, also used to treat ADHD, has risen 2,000% in nine years. The increased use of these drugs in the U.S. is at variance with the rest of the world. According to the U.N., the U.S. produces and consumes 85% of the world’s production of methylphenidate.
The use of Class II controlled substances to alter the behavior of children is disconcerting to many parents and chiropractors, as is the issue of whether ADD/ADHD can be properly considered a disease.
While chiropractors do not “treat” ADD/ADHD, the effects of chiropractic care on children diagnosed with learning disorders and hyperactivity have been described in a growing body of scholarly publications.
A study published in 1975, compared chiropractic care with drug treatment in children with learning and behavioral impairments due to neurological dysfunction. It was reported that chiropractic care “was more effective for the wide range of symptoms common in the neurological dysfunction syndrome in which thirteen symptom or problem areas were considered.” The author also reported that chiropractic care was 24% more effective than commonly used medications.
Giesen at al conducted a study involving seven subjects. All subjects were of school age and had clinical findings evidencing vertebral subluxation complex. Following chiropractic care, 57% showed an improvement in chiropractic radiographic findings; 71.4% showed a reduction in overt behavior activity; 57% showed improvement in level of autonomic activity, and 57% showed improvement in parental ratings of hyperactivity.
In addition to these small studies, case reports have been published which describe improvement of objective and subjective findings in children with ADD/ADHD and related disorders.
More research exploring the relationship of subluxation correction to brain function is needed. Yet, the dramatic changes that have been reported in children medically diagnosed with ADD/ADHD following chiropractic care must not be ignored.
Every child with a vertebral subluxation needs chiropractic care, regardless of whether or not symptoms are present. By correcting nerve interference, function is improved, with greater expression of human potential. Many report terminating drug therapy, and seeing the personality, will, and soul of the child unfolding.