Neurological Soft Signs of Healing: What to Look for in Your Child’s Journey to Recovery

In the world of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care, healing is a process that happens in phases. As Neurologically-Focused Pediatric + Family Chiropractors, we emphasize the importance of observing Neurological Soft Signs of Healing early in care. These are the subtle yet critical indicators that show a child’s nervous system is beginning to recover, even before the more obvious changes in behavior or health occur.

While parents may understandably look for major breakthroughs—such as improved speech and communication, reduced seizures, or significant behavioral changes—it’s important to recognize that neurological healing starts with foundational shifts in the body. 

Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care addresses the root cause of nervous system dysfunction, often caused by subluxation, dysautonomia, or a “Perfect Storm” of early stressors. As the nervous system begins to rebalance, there are several early signs that indicate the body is on the right track.

What Are Neurological Soft Signs of Healing?

These soft signs are the early and often subtle changes that reflect improved nervous system function. They serve as a key indication that chiropractic adjustments are helping to restore neurological balance and resilience.

Some of the most common Neurological Soft Signs include:

1. Better Posture and Muscle Tone: As subluxations are corrected, parents may notice that their child’s posture improves, with less head tilting, more relaxed shoulders, and better overall body coordination.
2. Improved Sleep Patterns: One of the earliest indicators is better sleep. A child may fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up more rested.
3. Better Digestion and Bowel Movements: Many children who begin care show improvements in digestion and bowel regulation, which can manifest as more regular bowel movements or a reduction in digestive discomfort.
4. Improved Respiratory and Immune Function: Children may experience fewer illnesses, recover more quickly from colds and congestion, and show less susceptibility to respiratory issues and infections.
5. Reduced Sensory Overload: Children with sensory processing challenges often start to experience less hypersensitivity to stimuli, such as noise, lights, or textures. Things like brushing their teeth, wearing different clothes, trying new foods, or getting a haircut become much easier. 
6. More Calm and Focused Behavior: Another soft sign of healing is when children begin to show more emotional regulation, less anxiety, and an ability to focus better in school or during therapy sessions.

Why Are Soft Signs Important?

These signs indicate that the central and autonomic nervous systems are starting to reset and reorganize, allowing the body to regulate better. By recognizing these small victories, parents can feel confident that their child is progressing, even if more significant behavioral or brain-based changes take time.

Within our PX Docs Network we emphasize that soft signs are part of the process of neurological restoration and a foundation for more noticeable transformations down the road. These initial improvements pave the way for more advanced healing, such as better communication, motor skills, and emotional regulation.

How Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care Supports Healing

Chiropractic adjustments work to remove the neurological interference caused by subluxation and neurological dysfunction, allowing the brain and body to communicate effectively. When the nervous system is restored and back in balance, the body can begin to heal itself naturally. The soft signs are the body’s way of signaling that it is adapting and regaining function, leading to long-term health improvements.

Foundational Basics Before Brain-Based Advanced Therapies 

While most medical and even often holistic providers believe that common neurological conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Anxiety, and Epilepsy especially are “brain-based” problems, and therefore all treatments and care options must aggressively and directly target the brain, the truth is most of these conditions have their roots in the body or more “basics” of functions that are thrown off track first. 

The motor system, sensory system, digestive system, respiratory system, immune system, and other “bodily basic functions” are essential and foundational to having a healthy brian and overall nervous system function. So true root cause healing of even “brain-based” conditions must actually begin in the “body” and with the “basics” to be more effective, especially in the long term. 

This is also why certain treatments or therapies that target brain function first, before the foundational issues of subluxation, nervous system dysregulation, and dysautonomia are addressed often “destabilize” the brain-body connection even further. Many parents report to us that when their children undergo intensive “brain-based” treatments like lasers and primitive reflex integration early on in the healing process, things like sleep, sensory issues, motor tics, and seizures often get worse not better.

That is exactly what I experienced myself clinically early on in my career when I first integrated all sorts of brain-based therapies and biomedical interventions into my care protocols in the very early stages, before the foundational “basics” like subluxation and nervous system dysfunction were handled and getting better. As I added more and more therapies and healing modalities to my practice I expected our clinical results and outcomes to improve. But unfortunately, the opposite was true. 

This conversation of properly “sequencing” various care options and healing modalities is perhaps the most important conversation we can have with parents today, where information and access to various options (awesomely) is at an all time high. 

It’s very important that parents are informed about how essential starting with the basic foundations of nervous system function and restoration through Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care really is. This can often take weeks or even months to see breakthroughs in the Neurological Soft Signs and INSiGHT Scans for tough cases, and it’s important to wait on layering in other targeted therapies like detoxification, laser treatments, and so forth until these foundational changes are seen first. 

Here is a real life example of one of our Perfect Storm Intensive Program patients seeing incredible changes with his Neurological Soft Signs just one week into care: 

The Importance of INSiGHT Scans for Tracking Progress

While soft signs are encouraging indicators of progress, objective changes in nervous system function are best confirmed through INSiGHT Scans. These scans provide valuable data on how well the nervous system is functioning by measuring factors like muscle activity, thermal patterns, and heart rate variability. 

Positive changes on these scans demonstrate that the nervous system is moving toward optimal balance, resilience, and restoration. Tracking functional improvements objectively helps ensure that progress is happening in the right direction and provides the scientific validation that parents and practitioners need to see.

Here is an example of HRV (Heart Rate Variability) scans improving as care progresses, indicating vastly improved adaptability, resiliency, and overall neurological function: 

What to Expect as Healing Continues

As care progresses, parents may observe additional neurological milestones such as:

• Enhanced immune function
• Greater physical coordination
• Improved behavior and emotional stability
• Enhanced focus and cognitive function

The journey to recovery through Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care is unique to each child, but recognizing these early signs of improvement can give parents confidence and hope. With continued care, the body can reach its full healing potential, leading to long-lasting, transformative changes in a child’s health and well-being.

Trust the Process of Healing

While every parent naturally wants to see big breakthroughs as soon as possible, it’s crucial to understand the importance of these early neurological soft signs. They are a powerful indication that your child’s body is on the right path to healing and recovery. Through continued care, the nervous system will continue to regulate and strengthen, laying the groundwork for greater neurological restoration and optimal health.

For more information on how Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care can help your child, or to schedule an INSiGHT Scan to track their progress, visit the PX Docs directory to find your nearest PX Docs office.