Psychiatric Drug Use In Children Skyrockets
As many as three out of every 100 children between the age 6 and 17 in the U.S. are taking antidepressant drugs. And research now shows that usage among preschoolers has more than doubled in recent years.
Over 10% of adults in the U.S take an antidepressant. Even in adults, the effects of antidepressants are poorly understood, and virtually nothing is known about how they work in children and their long term effects on the brain. Controlled clinical studies have never been performed on minors.
Some children and adults may need medication in order to lead a somewhat normal life. Each situation is unique and it would wrong to decry someone for trying to help their children or themselves to a better life. The future of your child depends on their emotional health and cognitive ability, but many parents are unaware of the direct impact of spinal alignment on brain function.
Ground breaking research has identified changes in the brain resulting from chiropractic spinal adjustments. Researchers monitored the brain function of patients using electroencephalogram (EEG) found that brain function improves with chiropractic adjustments. Researcher Heidi Haavik-Taylor, Ph.D. said, “The process of a spinal adjustment is like rebooting a computer. The signals that these adjustments send to the brain, via the nervous system, reset neurological patterns,” said Dr Haavik-Taylor. “By stimulating the nervous system we can improve the function of the whole body. This is something that chiropractors and their patients have known for years and now we have scientific evidence to prove it.”
Dr Haavik-Taylor has spent the last seven years researching the effects of chiropractic adjustments on the nervous system. Her latest research, carried out in conjunction with fellow New Zealander, Bernadette Murphy, D.C., Ph.D., measured how brain waves are altered before and after spinal adjustments. “This is the first time that anyone has used EEGs to prove that there are definite changes to the way the brain processes information after chiropractic care.”
In another recent study of 157 children between the ages of 6 and 13 with varying degrees of developmental delay including poor memory, dyslexia, attention deficit and hyperactivity were individually assessed for vertebral subluxation (spinal misalignment). Each child was given 8 psychological tests and tested in another 20 areas of cognitive function before chiropractic correction was commenced. After anywhere from 5 days to 18 months of chiropractic care to gently correct these subluxations the psychological and cognitive tests were repeated. As a group the children improved in all eight psychological tests and all 20 areas of cognitive function. For example, in one of the memory tests, 82 percent of the children improved. According to the study, “their ability to concentrate, maintain focus and attention, and control impulsiveness and their performance at home and school improved.”
How does it work? The spinal cord is literally an extension of the brain. Misalignment or subluxation in the spine can disrupt normal nerve function in the spinal cord and spinal nerves and can also interfere with the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around the brain and spinal cord. The effects of chiropractic adjustment, especially in the upper cervical spine (upper neck) can have a profound impact on brain function.
IMPORTANT: Your child will not necessarily complain of back or neck pain when they have a serious, health debilitating subluxation in their spine. Most subluxations are non-painful even while they are severely disrupting brain and other neurological function in the body.
If a child were choking you would waste no time getting them help. Right now it’s their nervous system that may be choking and silently compromising the health of their brain and their body.
Dr. Philip Greenwood, D.C.
Murrieta, California
