Chiroblog

When parents bring their child to a pediatric chiropractor, it’s often because they are noticing patterns—how their child moves, reacts, or regulates themselves. They have colic/reflux and are always upset after eating.  They might be on the autism spectrum and get dysregulated easily when there are too many people, bright lights or loud noises.  The child might have ADHD and be distracted constantly while doing homework but can focus on Pokemon or Minecraft for hours. 

One helpful way pediatric chiropractors might think about these patterns comes from biology, using something called Tinbergen’s Four Questions. While originally designed to understand animal behavior, this framework also helps explain how a child’s nervous system functions and develops. It reminds us that behavior and movement aren’t random—they reflect how a child’s brain and body are working together right now.

The first two questions focus on the present and the past. The first question discusses what is know as Mechanism, looking at what’s happening in the nervous system today, such as how a child processes sensory input, coordinates movement, or responds to stress. Ontogeny, the second of Tinbergen’s questions, looks at how those patterns developed over time, including early milestones, birth experiences, or periods of stress. Together, these 2 perspectives help families and practitioners understand a child’s current needs without jumping to labels or diagnoses.

The other two questions help pediatric chiropractors see the purpose and the bigger picture. Function, the 3^rd question, asks what a behavior might be trying to accomplish—many challenging behaviors are actually protective or adaptive strategies. The final question, Phylogeny, reminds us that many primitive reflexes and stress responses are deeply rooted in human evolution and early development. When viewed together, these four questions encourage a whole‑child approach—one that sees each child’s nervous system as adaptive, developing, and worthy of support as they grow.

Someone asked me yesterday, “my child has ADHD but might also have autism.  How would you approach their case?”  Using Tinbergen’s four question concepts, we approach each child not as what their diagnosis is, but how their nerve system is functioning.  It is not a ‘cookie-cutter’, one-size-fits-all method, but very individualized based upon what sort of exam findings they have.  Then we tailor-make a care plan for each child, and importantly perform re-evaluations every 5-10 visits to make course-corrections as the child improves.  If you want a very gentle, individualized approach to help improve your child's nervous system, then pediatric, brain-based chiropractic is for you...and your child!

References:

https://lalandlab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2015/08/Publication199.pdf

https://academic.oup.com/emph/article/2019/1/2/5232207

Recent research in neuroscience is showing that the brain is far more adaptable than once believed. A 2025 article from Psychology Today explores how “brain maps” — the brain’s internal representations of the body, senses, and movement — can change and strengthen through experience. When these maps are clear and well‑organized, the brain can process information more efficiently, supporting learning, focus, emotional regulation, and recovery after stress or injury. This process highlights the brain’s ability to grow and adapt throughout life, especially during childhood.

In children, healthy brain mapping is closely tied to movement, sensory input, and nervous system balance. Everyday activities like crawling, walking, playing, and even maintaining posture send important signals to the brain that help refine these maps. When the nervous system is overwhelmed or not functioning optimally, these signals may become less clear, potentially affecting attention, coordination, or behavior. Supporting the nervous system during key developmental stages can help children build better foundations for learning and resilience.

Gentle pediatric chiropractic care focuses on supporting the nervous system by improving how the body and brain communicate. Using light, age‑appropriate techniques, pediatric chiropractors goal is to reduce stress and enhance sensory input, which may help the brain create clearer, more efficient maps. When combined with healthy movement, proper sleep, and improved nutrition, gentle chiropractic care can be a supportive part of helping children thrive as their brains grow, adapt, and develop.

We see kids with developmental delays begin to thrive while under chiropractic care, and kids with autism who are minimally speaking become more calm and more communicative.  Pediatric chiropractic is a healthy addition to their lifestyle, and helps their parents too!

Reference:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/recovery-from-brain-injury/202511/the-science-of-brain-maps-and-cognitive-amplification

An article in a 2019 issue of Psychology Today entitled, The Puzzle of the Unbalanced Mind, compares two kinds of “fitness landscapes,” which are simple models showing how different amounts of a trait affect an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce. In a symmetrical fitness landscape, individuals with low to medium levels of a trait have the highest reproductive success, and as you move toward either extreme—too low or too high—the number of successful offspring decreases. Mutations can widen the range of trait values, causing some individuals to fall into less optimal fitness zones on either side of the peak. In contrast, a cliff‑edged fitness landscape shows a situation where increasing a trait generally improves reproduction—right up until it hits a dangerous tipping point. Just past that peak, even a small shift can push individuals “off the cliff,” causing sharply reduced fitness.  The term fitness, as used by the author of the article, refers not to athletic ability but to the physical and behavioral health of that person.  So reduced fitness relates to a child who may have a weakened immune system, or more difficult behavioral issues.

Fitness landscapes offer a helpful way to understand why some children struggle more when their bodies or nervous systems drift away from an ideal range of balance and coordination. In a child’s developing spine and nervous system, there is a “sweet spot” where mobility, posture, primitive reflex integration, and sensory processing all work together smoothly—similar to the middle zone in a symmetrical fitness landscape. When birth strain, limited neck motion, poor crawling patterns, or retained primitive reflexes shift a child away from this zone, the system must work harder to interpret sensations, coordinate movement, or regulate behavior. Pediatric chiropractic care gently supports children by improving spinal motion and reducing tension, helping the brain receive clearer, more organized input from the body. This effectively moves a child toward the optimal middle of the landscape, widening the buffer between them and the “cliff edge” where small challenges can lead to bigger struggles—whether that’s feeding difficulty, colic-like discomfort, increased startle responses, or motor‑development delays. In this way, gentle pediatric chiropractic care supports resilience in growing children, helping their systems stay balanced, adaptable, and functioning at their best. 

We have seen countless times how children with autism come to the office for their first visit and are dysregulated and highly charged, and within several weeks to months they become more calm, focused and communicative. 

Reference: 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201903/the-puzzle-the-unbalanced-mind