One of our young patients, a 2-year-old boy named Knox, suffered from constipation for about a year and had just one bowel movement every few days. The little guy had lots of pushing, discomfort, and poor sleep. Knox’s mom sought help for her son’s constipation, but wanted a healthier alternative to traditional laxatives.
From Being Plugged Up to Pooping
Dr. Jon provided care for Knox, and he now goes to the bathroom with minimal struggle about 30 minutes to two hours after his adjustment. Knox’s regularity improved, and he’s now going number two almost daily! His mom was so grateful and shared her appreciation in a testimonial. While it wasn’t an overnight fix for her son, she regrets she didn’t bring him in sooner.
How Does Chiropractic Address Constipation?
You may wonder how adjusting a child could help them have regular bowel movements. The nervous system can operate in different modes. One mode that sometimes gets stuck is the stress mode, where the stress response kicks in. When that happens, there are certain parts of the nervous system that are not as active. They don’t work as well to balance the stress response.
When we start getting children like Knox adjusted, we’re trying to tap into the other side of that nervous system that helps balance the stress response. When your body is under stress, digestion isn’t a priority, so it tends to slow down.
“Once we start tapping into the calming side of the nervous system (the parasympathetic), it helps get the body out of stress mode. Once that happens, digestion becomes a priority, and those functions start to kick back in and work better,” said Dr. Jon. Sleep and digestion are the most common things that start to improve when your nervous system isn’t stuck in that stress mode.
Book an Appointment
If your little one is struggling with constipation, we want to help. Give Abundant Life Chiropractic a call today to schedule an appointment!