When the senses and the brain aren’t in healthy communication
Sensory processing disorder is a label given to those that have difficulty integrating all of the senses, processing them, and responding in a healthy way to them. Some kids have challenges sitting still, some kids struggle with coordination, some kids find school a place where things don’t make sense. A number of kids who experience multiple challenges above, are sometimes labelled SPD.
The body has 7 senses: vision through the eyes, hearing with the ears, touch through the skin, taste using the mouth, and smell using ones nose. Your body also has 2 movement senses – proprioception in the muscles and the vestibular system in the head creating a sense of balance. In the label of SPD, these senses are not communicating correctly with the brain.
Think of the nerves connecting the brain and senses as a set of highways. These highways should be smooth and clear, so that the brain and senses can communicate quickly. If you have been labelled with SPD, then your highways are bumpy and congested. You can also think of the senses as having a volume control. If the volume is turned up too high, you will feel your senses too strongly. If the volume is too low, you won’t feel the sensations, and you often crave more sensory stimulation.
Chiropractic helps build up the connections between the senses and the brain. It helps to clear and open up the highways between the senses and the brain. The traffic or roadblock is often caused by a subluxation. Subluxations are imbalances in the spine that cause stress and disturbance in the nerve signal, which comes from the senses.
We look at this specifically in our centre, especially with children who have been diagnosed with SPD, autism, ADHD, anxiety disorders, learning challenges, or any other labelled sensory imbalance, using a computerized spinal nerve scan. The nerve scan detects nerve signal imbalances, revealling areas of challenged communication between the brain and the body.
If you would like to find out how chiropractic can benefit your child that has been diagnosed with any of the above challenges, give our centre a call, 905-850-0909 or email info@vaughanchiropractic.com, and we look forward to seeing how we can help.