Each and every family whose child struggles with seizures and epilepsy knows that lack of sleep, weather changes, and busy, stressful seasons of life can aggravate and trigger seizures… but few have had their doctors really explain the neurology behind WHY that happens!
Once parents and patients understand the neurology behind seizures, it helps so much to be able to mitigate and manage them, oftentimes without hard-hitting drugs and medications. In 15 years of taking care of kiddos with epilepsy and seizures, we see two things that seem to be major triggers and leading causes that set the brain on fire and put it in such a ticked-off, disorganized place that it will kick out seizures.
How Is a ‘Noisy Brain’ Related To Seizures?
The number one thing that happens is the brain gets ticked off. A stressed-out sympathetic dominant brain over time can very much contribute to being a brain that kicks out stress in the form of seizures when it gets to be too much – we call it “noisy brain” or the nerd word for it is called disaffirmation. Generally, we don’t see this first variable by itself cause seizures. When something called nociception happens, which is noise or toxic mechanical stimuli into the brain, caused by physical restriction, neuro biomechanical tension, (especially in the neck and traps), we call that subluxation. This triggers a sympathetic response, and it sends this stress, noise, and noxious stimuli into the brain.
The second thing is the brain doesn’t like to be confused. Have you ever been really, really confused and you get really, really annoyed very quickly when you can’t figure something out? A mad brain is a brain that’ll be more likely to kick out seizures. So one of these on its own doesn’t necessarily trigger seizures. Clinically in case histories and in our neurological exams, we tend to find both put together are what causes the brain to be ticked off enough to kick out some of the worst conditions in the world – epilepsy, and seizures.
What Causes This Stressed-Out Brain?
The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. There are also many different parts and pieces of the brain and of course, trillions of cells, pieces, and other parts of the body. The brain and the central nervous system need to have crystal clear communication to keep all of that organized. What we have found is that a wound-up, stressed out, disorganized, and confused brain will often in response try to reset and kick out that stress and consequently, go into a seizure. It’s trying to reorganize this shop and blow off steam on its own.
That’s why so many kids, don’t start with seizures.
But what if they did start with stress? What if they did start with a noisy, disorganized brain?
What that would look like in a tiny little one is colic, constipation, constant crying, and screaming. What that would look like in a two and three-year-old is a lot of sensory overwhelm, meltdowns, behavior issues, and sleep challenges. The gut and immune challenges would continue along this stage which would lead to a lot of antibiotics, inhalers, and nebulizers. A grade school child, this could be a child who’s impulsive, easily anxious, and wound up all the time. You may see struggles with motor coordination and controlling their body, emotions, and decision-making. We call all this, The Perfect Storm. That’s what seizures are.
Seizures are everything we teach put together in one condition, but I’ll put a bow on it one more time.
The two things that trigger seizures in kids that medicine isn’t always looking for in their case histories and neurological exams are number one, a ticked-off, wound up, stressed out brain. And number two, a disorganized, dysfunctional discombobulated brain.
There’s one thing you need to know about that can trigger both of those responses at the same time, and it’s called subluxation. The biggest cause of subluxation is birth trauma to the upper cervical and vagus nerve. What we’re talking about here is also dysautonomia.
This is all simple and complicated at the same time. There’s a whole bunch of neurology behind seizures and epilepsy. But when you’re a cause-based, drug-free practitioner, like we are as pediatric chiropractors, you just keep digging until you find that clarity. You search until you find that one thing that may be triggering the seizures – that’s what we do best in the world.
What we do does not replace medicine and it is not a treatment or a cure. It is a care plan. It is a different approach to go after the true root cause of any condition from colic to seizures. We don’t treat it, we don’t cure it. We clear that interference, subluxation, sympathetic dominance, tension, and confusion. We calm and reorganize the nervous system and we continue to do that moving forward. We do so in our very specialized approach, techniques, case management, and care plans. We see so many kids move away from the struggle of seizures and medications that have so many side effects and really limit their quality of life.
If your child struggles with seizures or you know someone whose child does, please get them on this page. Please ask questions and get into the office of one of our trained and ready neurologically focused, subluxation-centered pediatric chiropractors. Take a look at our directory to find a PX Doc near you! There is always hope, answers, and drug-free action steps you can take to help your child heal.
