How chiropractic care can help improve concentration for all ages?
Do you ever find yourself daydreaming or not being able to focus on the task at hand? As adults, this can be a frustrating thing to realize when we have a to-do list that is a mile long and only 24 hours in a day to complete it. Well, the same frustrations we feel as adults trying to concentrate, our children feel as well. School-age children with the inability to concentrate often struggle in the classroom to learn material, get frustrated easily and/or get reprimanded by the teacher for not paying attention.
The inability to concentrate is understood to be a lack of ability to focus or concentrate on doing a task or remembering information that is common to us. This can be accompanied by numerous other symptoms such as: sensory issues, sleeplessness, behavioral symptoms, fatigue, cognitive impairment, and anxiety. Some things to look for as causative factors include: nervous system interference, lack of sleep or poor routine, a diet high in sugar and fat, excessive screen time, difficulties at home, medication side effects, illnesses, & vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
Ultimately, the inability to concentrate affects the brain’s ability to function. Dr. Roger Sperry, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Brain Research, stated that 90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by movement of the spine. This is where the connection between chiropractic and concentration really takes place. Chronic nervous system interference, particularly in the upper neck region, can significantly impair a child's ability to concentrate. Specific chiropractic adjustments improve the brain’s ability to function in infants, children and adults, helping them reach their full potential by removing interference in the brain and central nervous system. It has been found that the specific area of the brain to be most affected by the adjustment is the pre-frontal cortex. The pre-frontal cortex plays a significant role in executive functions, focus control, attention, memory, initiation of activity, and response to stimuli; thus, it is an important area to address in children and adults with attention and focus problems, memory, and learning issues.
References:
- Bagnaro N. Improvement in subjective, academic and TOVA measures in a child with ADHD following upper cervical chiropractic management [case report]. J Upper Cervical Chiropr Res. 2014(3):42-6.
- Lelic D, Niazi IK, Holt K, Jochumsen M, Dremstrup K, Yielder P, Murphy B, Drewes AM, Haavik H. Manipulation of dysfunctional spinal joints affects sensorimotor integration in the prefrontal cortex: a brain source localization study. Neural Plasticity. 2016(2016), Article ID 3704964.
