The Experience Miracles Podcast

Q&A: More Than Magnesium: Getting to the Real Root Cause of Constipation

Dec 27, 2024

Why Kids Get Chronic Constipation, And the Drug-Free, Neurological Solution

Episode 66, Experience Miracles Podcast | Host: Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP, Pediatric Chiropractor & Founder of PX Docs | Published: December 27, 2024 | Duration: ~12 min

Key Takeaways

  • Research shows 1 in 4 children struggles with chronic constipation today, but in children diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, or autism, that rate climbs to over 50%, pointing to a neurological root cause rather than a dietary one.
  • The vast majority of chronic constipation cases in children are driven by neurogenic constipation, a nervous system stuck in Sympathetic Dominance (fight-or-flight), which shuts down digestive motility as a survival response.
  • Over 80% of patients who come to PX Docs with constipation have already tried diet changes, probiotics, magnesium supplements, and prune juice, and still haven’t found relief, because the root cause is neurological, not nutritional.
  • MiraLax does not address the root cause of chronic constipation and carries documented side effects including behavior issues and sensory challenges, making it a high-risk intervention with no long-term benefit.
  • Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care targets specific subluxation patterns that release tension from the fight-or-flight nervous system, activate the Vagus Nerve, and stimulate the parasympathetic rest-and-digest response, often producing immediate relief.

Why Does My Child Still Have Constipation After Trying Everything?

Chronic constipation in children is overwhelmingly a neurological problem, not a nutritional one, and that distinction is why so many families exhaust diet changes, probiotics, and supplements without getting lasting relief. When a child’s nervous system is stuck in a state of Sympathetic Dominance (the fight-or-flight response), the body physiologically reduces blood flow and neuromuscular function to the digestive tract. Motility slows, the gut muscles stop working efficiently, and constipation becomes chronic regardless of what the child eats.

This is what clinicians call neurogenic constipation, and it’s the framework Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP uses to explain why constipation appears in such high rates among children with ADHD, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorder, conditions that all share a common thread of nervous system dysregulation. In Dr. Ebel’s clinical practice, over 50% of patients diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions also struggle with chronic constipation. That correlation isn’t coincidence, it’s the same stressed nervous system expressing itself in multiple ways.

For parents who have tried everything, magnesium, probiotics, dietary elimination, prune juice, essential oils, castor oil, and even MiraLax, this episode explains why those approaches can only go so far, and what the missing piece is.

Who Struggles With Chronic Constipation, and Why the Numbers Are Telling [00:01:00 – 00:02:30]

Dr. Tony Ebel: Research now shows that up to one out of four kids struggles with chronic constipation today. That’s already a striking number. But here’s what makes this episode different from every other conversation about constipation: in our practice, among kids who are also diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, or autism, what we’d call neurodevelopmental or neurobehavioral challenges, we see well over 50% of those patients struggling with constipation as well.

That statistic is the signal. It tells us we’re not dealing with a simple dietary deficiency. If constipation were primarily a fiber or hydration issue, you wouldn’t see it clustering so heavily in children with neurological diagnoses. The fact that it does is what pushes us toward the nervous system as the real cause.

“It’s a sign of much more significant challenges going on within the body.”

Why Diet Changes, Supplements, and MiraLax Aren’t Enough [00:02:00 – 00:05:00]

Most families who come to us have already done the work. They’ve tried every magnesium supplement and gummy on the market. They’ve gone through probiotics, billions of CFUs of this one, millions of that one. They’ve cleaned up the diet: removed gluten, dairy, and chemicals. They’ve added prunes, tried essential oils, and castor oil. And for many, they’ve even tried MiraLax.

Let me be direct about MiraLax: it’s a dangerous medication with documented side effects that include behavior issues and sensory challenges. It does not address the root cause of chronic constipation at all. If your child has been on it, even briefly, you’ve probably already seen why it’s not a long-term solution.

Here’s the reality: over 80% of the patients who come to us with constipation have already made all these changes and taken all these supplements, and they’re still here because none of it resolved the underlying problem.

When you eat clean, when you eliminate gluten and dairy, when you add probiotics and magnesium, those things absolutely improve your child’s overall health and gut health. We’re not saying they don’t matter. But if the nervous system is the driver, those interventions can only go so far.

“Pediatric chiropractic was the last thing they tried and the first thing that worked.”

Take Lucas. We met him at four years old, struggling with digestive motility and chronic constipation from the start. His family had tried everything. Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care was what finally moved the needle. After so much time with stomach pain and disrupted sleep, Lucas started going regularly and easily. His quality of life improved dramatically, he could just be a kid again, play baseball, and not be held back by his gut.

The Root Cause: Neurogenic Constipation and the Stressed Nervous System [00:06:00 – 00:08:00]

There are three things every parent needs to understand about chronic constipation.

First: most cases are a neurological imbalance, not just a nutritional one. The clinical term is neurogenic constipation, constipation caused by nervous system dysfunction. Most kids today have been through stressful pregnancies, labor and delivery interventions like inductions or emergency C-sections. Many were colicky, didn’t sleep well, had sensory challenges early on. Their nervous systems are more wound up and stuck in Sympathetic Dominance, the fight-or-flight response, than previous generations.

Here’s the physiology: the sympathetic nervous system is designed for fight-or-flight. When the body perceives threat, real or chronic, it conserves neuromuscular energy for the skeletal muscles needed to fight or flee. That energy gets pulled away from the stomach, intestines, and gut muscles, which are one large system of muscles running on autopilot. When those gut muscles lose nervous system input, motility slows. The child becomes chronically constipated, not because of what they’re eating, but because of how their nervous system is wired.

This is what pediatricians and even most natural health practitioners don’t fully explain to parents, and it’s why medications and supplements alone sometimes fail. If your child’s nervous system is subluxated and stuck in fight-or-flight, you have to address the nervous system directly.

Second: the high correlation between constipation and neurological conditions confirms the neurogenic root. Almost all of our teenage anxiety patients have chronic constipation. The vast majority of our ADHD patients have it. In the autism spectrum disorder world, at every level, one through three, chronic constipation is the norm, not the exception. This pattern rules out bad genetics or nutritional deficiency as primary drivers. It confirms a neurogenic challenge rooted in the same nervous system dysregulation underlying those other conditions.

The Chiropractic Solution: Activating the “Poop Button” [00:09:00 – 00:11:00]

Third, and this is where things get practical, this is exactly why children respond so well to Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic adjustments.

What we do is specifically designed to address the neurological root of constipation. There is a specific set of adjustments that release tension from the sympathetic fight-or-flight nervous system, the tension that causes the holding and decreased digestive motility. At the same time, those adjustments activate and stimulate the Vagus Nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest-and-digest system, which is what the gut needs to work properly.

There are specific subluxation patterns in the spine that need to be addressed in the right way to achieve this. When they are, the response is often immediate. We call it activating the “poop button”, and yes, that’s both a clinical description and a running joke in our practice that we take entirely seriously.

“Our adjustments activate what we lovingly call the ‘poop button’ in a major way.”

Our practice has kept a stockpile of diapers and spare clothes for infants and toddlers for over 15 years. We have multiple bathrooms, and they’re not just for general patient use, we know that the majority of the kids we see are constipated, and our adjustments are specifically targeted at that. The response is often immediate. We plan for it.

If you’ve tried castor oil, essential oils, probiotics, prune juice, and even MiraLax and haven’t gotten lasting results, and you’re running low on hope, understand that constipation affects your child’s brain, energy, emotional regulation, and immune system. It’s not a small thing. Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care and Neuro-Tonal Adjustments are very likely what you’ve been searching for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my child keep getting constipated even with a good diet?

Most parents are surprised to learn that chronic constipation in children is frequently a neurological problem, not a nutritional one. When a child’s nervous system is stuck in Sympathetic Dominance (fight-or-flight), the body reduces neuromuscular activity to the digestive tract, slowing motility and causing constipation. Diet improvements help overall health, but they can’t resolve a nervous system stuck in this pattern on their own.

What is neurogenic constipation?

Neurogenic constipation refers to constipation caused by nervous system dysfunction rather than diet or hydration. The sympathetic nervous system, when chronically activated, redirects neuromuscular energy away from the gut. This is why over 50% of children with ADHD, anxiety, and autism also experience chronic constipation, the same nervous system dysregulation that underlies those conditions is also shutting down digestive motility.

Is MiraLax safe for kids with chronic constipation?

Dr. Tony Ebel advises against MiraLax for children with chronic constipation. It does not address the root cause of the problem, and it carries documented side effects including behavior issues and sensory challenges. MiraLax manages symptoms at best while the underlying nervous system dysfunction remains untreated. Families who have used it often report seeing these side effects firsthand.

How does chiropractic care help with constipation?

Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic adjustments release tension from the sympathetic nervous system and simultaneously activate the Vagus Nerve and the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous system. This directly addresses the neurological root of constipation. Specific subluxation patterns in the spine are adjusted to restore proper gut motility, often producing immediate results, which is why PX Docs offices keep diapers and spare clothes on hand.

My child has ADHD and also struggles with constipation. Are they connected?

Yes. Dr. Tony Ebel sees chronic constipation in the vast majority of his ADHD patients, along with nearly all anxiety patients and most children on the autism spectrum. This is because all of these conditions share a common root: nervous system dysregulation. The same Sympathetic Dominance that drives ADHD hyperactivity, anxiety, and sensory challenges is also suppressing digestive motility. Addressing the nervous system helps all of these symptoms together.

Where can I find a chiropractor who uses this approach?

Look for a chiropractor trained in Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care through the PX Docs network. The PX Docs directory lists practitioners across the country who use this specific approach with children.

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