Are you feeling dizzy, fatigued, experiencing a rapid heart rate or digestive distress?

If so, you might be unknowingly experiencing the symptoms of an often misunderstood condition called dysautonomia. Don't brush off these symptoms—let's dive deeper into understanding what your body might be trying to tell you and how chiropractic care can help!

What is Dysautonomia?

Dysautonomia refers to a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is responsible for regulating vital functions in our bodies without conscious effort. This intricate network controls things like heart rate 🫀, blood pressure, digestion 💩, temperature regulation, and much more. When the autonomic nervous system isn't functioning optimally, it can lead to a wide range of symptoms and challenges.

Signs and Symptoms of Dysautonomia

Living with dysautonomia can be tough.💔 Many individuals with dysautonomia experience symptoms such as dizziness, rapid heart rate, challenges with focus or memory, digestive issues, brain fog, and even anxiety or depression. These symptoms can significantly impact their daily lives, making simple tasks feel like a monumental challenge 😖.

For babies, dysautonomia looks different, at it disrupts the primary functions that are needed for optimal health — eating, sleeping, pooping, and motor development.

Symptoms of Dysautonomia in Kids and Adults:

• Immune Challenges and Autoimmune Conditions

• Mental and Emotional Health Challenges

• Focus and Behavioral Challenges (ADHD)

• Brain Fog and Memory Issues

• Muscular Spasm or Tension Weakness

• Chronic Fatigue and Exhaustion

• Dizziness, Fainting, and Vertigo

• Anxiety and Depression

• Rapid Heart Rate or Palpitations

• Digestive Issues: Bloating, Constipation, Diarrhea, or Nausea

Symptoms of Dysautonomia in Infants:

• Reflux

• Constipation

• Colic

Don’t be fooled: If your baby is no longer colicky and now eats and poops without digestive distress it does NOT mean their autonomic nervous system is functioning well. More often than not, autonomic symptoms CHANGE as a child grows if subluxation (nerve interference) in the nervous system is not removed. So while it could appear that your child outgrew those symptoms, it’s likely their nervous system is more stressed and functioning worse, resulting in new, more serious symptoms.

Here’s one example of the possible progression of symptoms changing over time and growing into more serious issues: Colic ➡️ Ear infections ➡️ Croupy cough ➡️ Constant illnesses ➡️ Asthma ➡️ Allergies (food OR seasonal) ➡️ ADHD/ Focus issues ➡️ Anxiety or Depression ➡️ Digestive issues ➡️ Chronic pain

No one wants that trajectory for their child which is why is so important to heal the ROOT CAUSE of dysautonomia before things get worse. If you’re an adult with dysautonomia it’s not too late to find hope and healing for you either. 🌟

What Causes Dysautonomia?

The autonomic nervous system starts to "break down" due to one factor: STRESS💥, which is everywhere in our lives today. Stress comes in many forms, but can be categorized into three main categories: physical, mental, and chemical.

1. Physical stress refers to excess physical pressure or tension, injuries, or falls that impact the head, neck, and spine. This stress could come from a major accident or small daily actions like sitting at a desk all day with poor posture.

2. Mental stress refers to what and how you think that consumes your thoughts, has you feeling worried or overwhelmed, and may keep you from sleeping well.

3. Chemical stress refers to toxin exposure. It can come from medications, processed food and sugar, poor water or air quality, and chemicals from household cleaners and beauty products.

Each of these stressors negatively impacts the brain-body communication in the nervous system and can lead to autonomic dysfunction masking itself as the symptoms listed above. These stressors start EARLY in a child’s life (even in-utero!) and build up over time.

Did you know a mother's mental health and stress load can impact her baby's developing brain and nervous system?

The first thing to develop in-utero is the brain 🧠 and autonomic nervous system. However, a significant factor that can disrupt their healthy development is maternal stress. If expectant mothers experience prolonged distress and anxiety, it significantly raises the chances of the infant's brain and nervous system shifting towards an imbalanced state.

👶🏾And the stress babies face doesn't stop there....

The next contributor to dysautonomia in children is birth intervention and trauma. Procedures such as forceps, vacuum extraction, induction, or C-sections can inflict physical trauma during birth, disrupting the function of vital areas like the brainstem and upper cervical spinal cord. These regions serve as the "air traffic control center" for the autonomic nervous system, including the crucial vagus nerve responsible for regulating and controlling most autonomic functions. Consequently, when these areas experience stress and misalignment during birth, dysautonomia can manifest. And once dysautonomia sets in, it won’t go away until the build up of tension and stress in the nervous system is removed and restored to a calm and balanced state.

Natural Solutions for Dysautonomia

At Restore Chiropractic, we take our role of getting to the bottom of your health concerns seriously. We don’t want to throw another medication or “quick fix” your way - we want to help your body heal from the inside out so you can feel and function your best!

How do we do that?

First, we start with assessing the health of your nervous system through our state-of-the-art, non-invasive neurological scans. They show us how significantly stress and subluxation are impacting your nervous system. If we can see that the brain and body cannot communicate properly, we know it cannot function properly either - which gives us information about how we can help restore your health.

Not only do our exams and scanning technology focus on dysautonomia, but so does our adjusting technique and approach. We measure and assess for dysautonomia on every visit, and each chiropractic adjustment is designed for these two crucial things:

✅ Release and calm the excessive sympathetic response (fight-or-flight) from dysautonomia

✅ Boost and stimulate a vagal nerve and parasympathetic response (rest, digest, and heal)

👉 By calming the sympathetic side of your nervous system and “waking up” the parasympathetic side, your autonomic nervous system becomes balanced and is able  to focus on healing basic functions of the body (like digestion, sleep, motor function, and immune function) and can then begin to heal brain-based concerns like anxiety or seizures.

Regain control over your health now and book an appointment to be assessed with our neurological scans to get answers as to what is going on inside your nervous system. We can’t wait to help your nervous system function optimally so your body and brain can work as they should and give you a brighter, healthier future! 🥰