Month: August 2016

Natural ways to help with ADHD

I just wanted to put into writing a few of the suggestions I mentioned in my video about things that you can be doing for your child if they have been diagnosed with ADHD.

Being the most common childhood health problem of any kind world wide and the most common childhood mental illness, children as young as 3 years old are being put on drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall. These statistics are making headline news! Is this really what we want for our children? And for out future generations? We should be asking why AHDH is on the rise and what can we be doing to help.

First of all, what is ADHD? To put it simply, it’s a brain imbalance. The “name” for it is Functional Disconnect Syndrome. Your brain should be balanced and working as one to create proper functioning of the body. Being imbalanced simply means that the two hemispheres of the brain are not electrically balanced or synchronized which can cause problems such as ADHD, autism, asthma, allergies and many other things. So what is the goal…. FIX the disconnect. By doing this we are getting to the root of the problem and not just chasing and treating symptoms. We can address this physically, mentally and emotionally.

First- What is your child eating for breakfast?? After all, the never ending stream of commercials for sugary breakfast items such as fruitloops, lucky charms, poptarts and many others have a huge impact on what your child desires to eat for breakfast. Starting their day off with a rush of sugar will be of no help to a child struggling with a hyperactive condition. Instead replace their breakfast with items high in protein such as eggs and try to stay away from excess sugar. Sugar is like a toxin to the body and is highly addictive, see my previous blog on how sugar is affecting people every day.

Second- How much activity is your child getting on a daily basis? Making sure that they are getting plenty of physical activity in is very important in brain function and development. If your child spends more time in front of a screen than they do physically active this is also something that you can change to have a positive impact on your childs behavior.

Third- As a chiropractor I feel the deep obligation to share how wonderful chiropractic care is for these children. I adjust the vertebrae in the spine to get to the brain, with each adjustment I am sending positive information to the brain and “re-calibrating” it. Adjustments directly affect the brain in a positive way by dealing with the spine which houses the spinal cord. Get your child to a chiropractor and have their spines checked. By clearing the pathway from the brain to the body of interference, the bodies function increases!

Watch my video here to learn more!

Also, here at YFC THIS Thursday August 25th from 6PM to  7:30 PM Dr Jessica will be discussing Natural solutions to ADHD in more details! Don’t miss this FREE event! Visit our YFC facebook page for more details!

Dr. Nicole Davis graduated from Logan University with not only her Doctorate in Chiropractic but her Bachelors in Life Sciences. After working with hundreds of clients a week in a busy Ohio Chiropractic clinic, she decided to head home to Des Moines to be closer to her family.  She currently specializes in family wellness care with advanced training in pediatric and pregnancy care, working alongside 2 other doctors in the only Wellness Center in Iowa to offer Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Specialized Pediatric and Pregnancy Care as well as Functional Medicine.  She loves spending time with family, friends and her dog, Maci. She is here to serve her community with love, support and enthusiasm.

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Chiropractic care for your TMJ

Did you know that Chiropractic care can help with TMJ pain and discomfort?? After ruling out problems inside the mouth and with the teeth ask your chiropractor if they can help!

The jaw is a hing joint and the 2 joints work together simultaneously to open and close the jaw, however this doesn’t always happen correctly. Sometimes the jaw can be “off track” and one side may open before the other and vice versa. When the function of the jaw is off you can get discomfort in the jaw and even headaches. A chiropractor is trained to analyze this joint along with all other joints in the body for proper function and bio mechanics. If this is off a chiropractic adjustment can help! There are many different ways to adjust this joint, manually (with our hands), with an activator and with a pro-adjuster. Along with the adjustment there are soft tissue techniques that allow us to treat the muscles surrounding the jaw to decrease spasm, pain and inflammation. We can do this with our hands and we can also use ultrasound therapy to treat these muscles. Avoiding hard candy, hard foods and chewing gum will also help your jaw to heal properly and maintain proper function after it is restored!

Check out my video to learn more!

Dr. Nicole Davis graduated from Logan University with not only her Doctorate in Chiropractic but her Bachelors in Life Sciences. After working with hundreds of clients a week in a busy Ohio Chiropractic clinic, she decided to head home to Des Moines to be closer to her family.  She currently specializes in family wellness care with advanced training in pediatric and pregnancy care, working alongside 2 other doctors in the only Wellness Center in Iowa to offer Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Specialized Pediatric and Pregnancy Care as well as Functional Medicine.  She loves spending time with family, friends and her dog, Maci. She is here to serve her community with love, support and enthusiasm.

Ear Infections: How can Chiropractic help?

ear_infection pic

Ear infections are very common in children and one of the most common reasons for antibiotic use. But did you know, that the majority of ear infections are actually caused by a viral infection, not a bacterial infection? So that is why the antibiotics given to children don’t always work. They are actually weakening the immune system further, since antibiotics kill all bacteria in the body, including the “good” stuff. But that is actually not where I want to go with this topic…

Some of the most common causes of ear infections are allergies, mechanical obstructions, infections, nutritional deficiencies or even birth traumas.

Just a little anatomy lesson about the ear: We have a small tube, called the Eustachian tube, that connects the middle ear to the throat to allow fluid to drain through the nasal passage. Most ear infections involve the middle ear. In children, the Eustachian tube is small, narrow and is horizontal. In adults, it is wider and angled downward to allow fluid to drain with the help of gravity. Because of the position of the Eustachian tube in children, it is more likely that fluid will not drain properly leading to fluid buildup and obstruction, putting pressure on the eardrum and can lead to infections.

There are small muscles that surround the eustachian tube that cause it to become wider to allow fluid to drain. These muscles are supplied by nerves that come from the brain (cranial nerves) and the neck (cervical nerves). If there is nerve interference in these areas, it can affect the function of these muscles and prevent them from working properly.

As chiropractors, we remove nerve interference to allow the body and nervous system to function like it should. We allow the body to do what it is meant to do, which is heal itself. Chiropractic also decreases inflammation and muscle tension, it increases mobility and blood/lymph flow, which all affect the function of the middle ear. Not only does chiropractic adjustments help mobilize the drainage of the middle ear, they also increase the immune system 200-400%.

So if you are looking for a natural way to help with ear infections, give chiropractic a try!

Dr. Jess

 

2Dr. Jessica Stensland is a busy family wellness Chiropractor in Urbandale, Iowa. She spends her weeks taking care of dozens of families.  Not only does Dr. Jessica specialize in pediatric and pregnancy chiropractic care, but she’s a board certified Acupuncturist.  Dr. Jessica believes that a healthier community means taking care of all ages.   She is a Minnesota native and enjoys seeing family and friends in her free time, in addition to staying active and reading the many books she has on her kindle.