Empowering Women in Chiropractic - Enuresis and Constipation from a Chiropractic Lens!

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Elizabeth and I wanna thank ChiroSecure for always having our backs and giving us this platform to spread the word about chiropractic kiddos to the world so we can have a better future. So right now, Elizabeth is gonna take a short nap.

I am Monika Buerger, and today we're gonna talk about constipation and enuresis from a chiropractic neuro mechanical lens. Whoa, how exciting is that? First of all, pop quiz. What is the definition of a functional bowel disorder? That's been a term used in the medical world for, I don't know, at least a decade now.

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So when you see that, read that, hear that, what does it mean to me? It means chiropractic, because functional bowel disorder are really defined as dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. Whoa. It is imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic tone. That's what functional bowel disorders are basically mean.

When I see that I'm like all over the chiropractic world with regards to individuals from kiddos on up that are struggling with constipation, diarrhea, and resis, any bowel disorder. So let's dive in and dig in and look at this from a chiropractic lens. First of all. Obviously the autonomic nervous system's gonna regulate peristalsis.

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Are we hungry? Are we not hungry? Do we have to urinate? Do we not? The information, the visceral information from the body into the brain gets processed as sensory information. So here's the fun scoop. How does this tie into chiropractic? Okay. The circuit between the cerebellum and. An area called the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex.

You don't need to know this, but what I want you to understand, it's all about neural circuits, so information from the body, sensory information coming in pops into the cerebellum and needs to go up. In this case when we're talking specifically about enuresis nocturnal Reis, daytime reis basically unable to control the bladder.

There's a circuit between the cerebellum and this area of the prefrontal cortex, and both of the cerebellum and that prefrontal cortex are said to have executive functioning regulation, higher order functioning cognition. Okay? So we got that defined. So that's a big circuit, especially with anur Resis, if there is a disconnect between information coming into the ero.

Hitting that dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex. There can be dysregulation and autonomic regulation with regards to enuresis. Okay, so as far as constipation goes, there's, they don't see that circuit as directly being involved with constipation, but the cerebellum has control over somato visceral responses.

Okay, here's the exciting part. We, Dr. Heidi Hoick out of New Zealand has shown now this is with the adult population, that when we do a chiropractic adjustment, that somatosensory processing in both those areas of the brain can be engaged, can be enhanced. Whoa. So essentially the information. From the intestines, from the bladder come up to the brain, have to regulate in the cerebellum and in that part of the prefrontal cortex.

And if there is a vertebral subluxation, potentially that information is skewed and the body doesn't respond in the right mechanism. In the right manner, meaning they wet their pants or they don't have good peristalsis. Okay, so now let's tie another piece to this. What does posture and proper milestones, especially in the first year of life, have to do with any of this?

Because they're showing now there's a direct connection between kiddos. Even older kid, even teenagers that have nocturnal enuresis also have poor postal control. Poor balance and poor posture and basically in our terms, pelvic misalignments or pelvic distortion. Okay, so let's break that down further.

So there was a study they did that took a 111 kiddos with nocturnal anis compared to 60 typical healthy. Teenagers. Alright, so the age groups were seven to 11 and 12 to 16, I believe. And what they looked at balance and posture in those, in, in both groups. And what they saw was those that have nocturnal resis had poor balance control, both with eyes open and eyes closed.

So they tested 'em on a a solid surface. Then on a unstable surface, eyes open and eyes close. So let's break that down for a minute. Eyes open, generally will have more of a target on the vestibular system. Testing the integrity of the vestibular system, which is greatly housed in that upper cervical spine.

The information from there into the cerebellum, the vestibular information is huge. Okay. Then they test them with their eyes closed. Proprioception is knowing how to move and our bo our body and our joints in space. It's knowing where they are in space and how to move them in space. When we take the eyes, the vision away, it's harder.

Proprioception has to work harder. So in this particular case, when they close the eyes, they showed a harder time with balance and postal control. So we've established vestibular and proprioceptive information were distorted in those with nocturnal anis. They also did looked at posture and they did a plumb line basically down.

Ears over shoulders, over hips, et cetera. And what they found was a pattern of basically anterior rotation of the pelvis, which led to a hyperlordosis. This, all of this. Speaks volumes and should blur out at you as chiropractic cases because if the body if there have vertebral subluxations and there's lack of proper vestibular and proprioceptive input into the brain.

That's gonna distort and balance our balance control. If we have anterior rotation in our world, vertebral subluxations of the pelvis, it can distort information from the spine, from the pelvis all the way up. So looking at these and adding it up, it, what we need to look at is not just the neurologic po, potential neurological con, pathological neurological.

Reasons for anus constipation, but a vertebral subluxation pattern that's distorting information from the spine, specifically vestibular and proprioceptive information from the spine up to the brain, distorting the patterns, the information of the circuit from the cerebellum to that prefrontal cortex and boom, that is the basis of chiropractic care.

Now they also show that, from a poor posture control standpoint, it can compromise, put pressure on the visceral organs and that can lead to more constipation issues, pelvic movement patterns, of course, that can distort and cause intra abdominal pressure leading to more constipation issues Plus.

The cerebellum is very has a very big process a big role in processing sensory information from the visceral organs and leading to possible emotional disturbances that can be associated with constipation. Boom. I know that was a lot to cover. I know that was a lot to, to integrate, but basically if we have poor postural stability and poor postural control.

This can be a potential mechanism between behind constipation and enuresis. Now, let's take it one step further. I always talk about rewind and fast forward. When somebody is coming into your office, a older kiddo's coming into your office at that present time, they say eight years old, 10 years old, whatever.

Oftentimes that their problem, what they're presenting for at that time, you need to take a rewind lens to it. The problem actually originated way back in early childhood development, probably in that first year of life. So if they didn't undergo proper neuromotor movement patterns in that first year meeting, proper progressive milestones, it can show up down the road.

As whatever they're presenting towards. So in this case, what you need to look for is a. If you're treating a ba a, a infant fiddle fart, in that first year of life, there's a couple key patterns that you wanna make sure happen about five to six months of age. You want them grabbing their toes to their nose.

I always talk about toes to their nose. They should be scooping their toes up and bringing 'em up. That is gonna help build the pelvic floor, especially the transverse of Dominus for later on. Bowel and bladder function. So five or six months, toes to the nose, symmetrically, and then it should go asymmetrically, one leg at a time.

The other key that you wanna look for is those first three, six months of tummy time. Are they able to meet those progressive tummy time motor milestones, not just being in tummy time and lifting their head up. Are they pushing up? Are they coming into what I call a pull push fly, where they're up and their arms and legs, their arms are at the side and legs up?

Are they able to rotate through their access? That is all bringing on board core, core posture control. That can be the basis of everything we just talked about. So some key things that you need to understand from the first year of life on to the older child, in the older child. Check their balance.

Simply do a tandem leg walk. How is their balance? Have 'em stand on one leg. How is their balance? If you have a unstable cushion or some kind of there, there's a bunch of apps out there now that you can test balance if you have a chronic enuresis or constipation case. Check these simple somatosensory these sensory motor skills and see if they can if they can do them.

If not, add maybe some of those exercises into your chiropractic adjustment routine in order to enhance and further along their neurological integrity. So hopefully you enjoyed this and you will find all this information and so much more. Our Academy of Neurodevelopment practices are foundations of neurodevelopment, so make sure you scroll down, click join, and get all the tools you're gonna need to help enhance the lives of these children.

Again, Elizabeth and I wanna thank ChiroSecure for giving us this opportunity. We cannot wait to see you in July. Until then, hopefully all of you have a great 4th of July and will be back with more amazing information.

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