by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Apr 8, 2018 | Chiropractic
There was a time many people — who are not yet that old — can remember when autism was relatively uncommon. Today it’s so common special education classes have exploded in numbers many parents have a child on the autism spectrum. Although we’d like to blame increased diagnoses, the fact is overall childhood brain development disorders have been skyrocketing in the last two decades and now stand at a shocking 1 in 14 children. These disorders include autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability, or a developmental delay
According to the National Health Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), rates of autism have been rising sharply:
2000: 1 in 150 children
2007: 1 in 91 children
2010: 1 in 68 children
2016: 1 in 36 children
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Nov 24, 2017 | Chiropractic
If medical marijuana has done anything, it has been to educate us about our own endocannibinoid system (ECS) — a system of receptors on cells that play a role in inflammation, appetite, pain, mood, memory, and even cancer prevention. These receptors have come to light because they respond to compounds in cannabis, or marijuana.
A functioning ECS, which is vital to good health, produces its own cannibinoids and doesn’t need them from cannabis. For instance, the cannabinoid anandamide is so powerful researchers call it the “bliss molecule” because of its role in happiness and higher thought processes.
However, researchers have discovered some people have a endocannibinoid deficiency in compounds such as anandamide. This can lead to chronic pain disorders, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and more serious disorders. Some suggest this deficiency may be genetic.
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Nov 18, 2017 | Chiropractic
We are increasingly learning the effects of traumatic experiences on the brain, and now, newer research shows these effects can be passed on to children’s genes. Research of Holocaust survivors showed that compared to control groups, their children exhibited genetic changes that increased the likelihood of stress disorders.
Other research shows post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, can be passed on to offspring.
Plus, most trauma survivors are coping with the neurological effects of PTSD as they raise their children, which greatly shapes a child’s environment and responses to stress.
In functional neurology, we frequently work with the neurological fallout of PTSD, which can include not only being triggered to re-experience the trauma, but also heightened stress response, sensitivity to light, sound, and crowds, emotional instability, depression and suicidality, anxiety and insomnia, disassociation and numbness, and addiction.
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by Dr. Jeffrey Ptak, DC, MA | Oct 27, 2017 | Chiropractic
THE CONNECTIONS OF HEALTH
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
To be healthy you must be connected… The goal of Chiropractic is to help you reconnect…
You are born to express radiant physical, mental, and spiritual health; to radiate vitality, harmony, peace, joy, optimism, strength, love and healing at any age. It is your natural state.
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