Does Chiropractic care help with potty training?

Answer 1

I am a Chiropractor and see I 100's of cases every year of children with nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting), encopresis (soiling pants- voluntary or involuntary) , nocturia (waking often to use bathroom) and the major factor that is the underlying issue in most cases is suppressed nerve function. Every cell in the body either has a nerve connection attached to it or are controlled with hormone signals. If a nerve experiences some compression then the cellular attachment to that nerve will be compromised. A study at the University of Colorado revealed that the amount of pressure equivalent to the weight of a dime (10 mm of Hg) can compromise nerve transmissions up to as much as 40% and even in the absence of pain.

How does this happen? Researched statistics have shown that a child will fall, on average, 5000 times by age five and all these repetitive falls can have an accumulative effect on spine and pelvis function and sometimes positioning. A improper positioned joint or muscle with irregular tension can compress proximal nerves and effect down stream tissues, just like a garden hose being stepped on with slight pressure. The hose will still flow, but not without compromise. Examples of medically recognized nerve compression includes carpal tunnel, pronator teres syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, scalene anticus syndrome, tarsal tunnel syndrome, meralgia paresthetica; sciatica from a disc lesion, sacroiliitis with a sclerotogenous referral into the sciatic nerve, or piriformis syndrome among others. These same recognized nerve compressions can occur between the space of two vertebrae (intervertebral foramina) where sensitive nerve roots exit the spine. There are 62 nerve roots from the base of your skull to your tailbone with 31 on each side of your body. The nerves that supply your abdominal and lower pelvic region are referred to as the lumbar plexus and sacral plexus. A plexus is a branching out of nerves. These nerves attach to and control internal organs, including the anal sphincter, parastalic movements of the colon and the round bladder muscle.

If a child experiences issues with these regions of the body I always perform an analysis of the spine and pelvis for proper positioning of joints and posture as this can result in pressure on a nerve and reduce the proper function of the tissues of the attached nerves. You can assess your own child to a certain level by having them stand in front of you and looking where their feet point. Are they straight or is one foot rotated out to the side?

Do their shoulders line up with their waist or are they shifted to one side?

Have them bend forward and look down their back. Are the muscles symmetrical or is there hypertrophy or enlargement on one side greater than the other in any areas?

From a side view draw a line straight down from their ear canal the front portion of their shoulder or does it fall more forward?

Lay them on their stomach or back and see if their leg lengths differ or are they uneven?

These are all indications that there may be a spinal imbalance that effects nerve function and may result in varying symptoms.

If an imbalance is found and there are no contraindications (reasons not to treat) then your Chiropractor will adjust the compromised joints by hand or with a hand held low force spring loaded instument called an Activator. You may hear a popping sound that is the release of CO2 and nitrogen gas in the joint capsule. It is not the bones grinding on each other, as all bones are covered with cartilage. The "adjustment" that is made has an effect by reintegrating or re-balancing the cerebellum in the brain to improve muscle tone of surrounding joint tissues and in turn improving nerve function to compromised tissues or cells. Much like taking your foot off of a compressed garden hose to improve the flow. Chiropractic adjustments may not be specific to treat or cure a disease, however by treating the underlying compromised nerves that supply compromised tissues and as they heal many diseases are inadvertently become cured. This is the case with the initial problems discussed earlier with bowel and bladder function, that often improve with Chiropractic care. If you take your child in for Chiropractic care you could expect improvements in one to 12 treatments and often as soon as one to two treatments. Choose natural health and let the body heal it self.