Is Your Child Suffering From Retained Primitive Reflexes? Probably.

Opinion

Frank Grimes, DC

Frank Grimes, shown here confidently telling a mother that her baby's spleen is sad, has watched Jurassic Park eleven times

As a highly trained expert in spinal health, including advanced certificates in pediatric chiropractic, newborn wellness, and backpack weight distribution management, I work with a lot of families with young children. One of the most important topics I discuss with parents is the role of primitive reflexes in growth and development. What? You've never heard of primitive reflexes? They only play a huge role in your baby's nervous system, and that means movement, learning, and...well...everything!

It means all of the things!

Primitive Reflexes are natural movements that are present before your baby is even born, hopefully at home and naturally, because maternal pain is extremely important for bonding and attachment. Mothers who ask for pain relief during labor are also less likely to receive regular chiropractic care! These reflexes should gradually disappear as your child's nervous system grows more robust, which allows for more intentional and ultimately precise control over their body. But what if they don't? Could this cause future problems, perhaps with coordination, learning, behavior, and success in life? Yes!

Who wants a clumsy kid who can't get a job???

Primitive reflexes help babies survive, move, and develop their nervous system. Most babies these days no longer live in fear of being gobbled up by a dinosaur, like in Jurassic Park, but our primitive baby ancestors needed an edge against large predators. They needed proper control, balance, and cognitive function to crawl away from a rampaging T. rex or roll from back to front in order to fend off a diving Pterodactylus. It sure was tough being a cavebaby!

The only thing protecting ancient cavebabies from a hungry dinosaur, like this adorable compy, might just have been their ability to fight back with primitive reflexes, and maybe some kind of wooden club!

Remember Captain Caveman? Unga bunga!

If these primitive but powerful reflexes stick around for too long, like an alpha raptor checking the electric perimeter fence of their containment paddock for weaknesses during feeding time, they actually begin to make it harder for a child to develop. That's why parents need to learn about them! And this is where chiropractors like me, who have attended at least 3 weekend seminars at some of the finest airport Howard Johnson hotels across this great country (and one that was in Europe. Well, it was Montreal. But that's practically Europe!), can play a big role in educating families and helping kids to grow and thrive by integrating their reflexes the right way!

They speak French in Montreal. Ooh la la!

There are many primitive reflexes, but often the first one that new parents notice is the Moro reflex. First recognized by Ernst Moro in 1918 when he accidentally dropped a newborn down an open manhole near his clinic in Heidelberg, this key reflex is always present at birth in healthy babies and should go away after a few months. Historically, this reflex played an important role in both fight and flight, helping babies to defend themselves from predators or, if facing a particularly large dinosaur or overwhelmed by the sheer number of a group of small but aggressive dinosaurs, maybe some Microraptors or a swarm of Compsognathus, to cling to the back of a friendly dinosaur, lets say a Gallimimus, as it carried them back to the safety of the caves.

Not all dinosaurs were bad!

When the Moro reflex sticks around past its expiration date, there are a variety of possible adverse outcomes. Imagine trying to make your way in the world while constantly being triggered to defend yourself or to flee? These kids are always on edge, often acting impulsively as if their lives were constantly in danger because their brains are reacting to minor stimuli like our cavebaby ancestors reacted to a swiftly approaching Spinosaurus. They can't focus. They struggle with social interactions. They are anxious. They are terrible at baseball. Their adrenal glands are exhausted. They end up with unfulfilling careers and unsatisfying relationships. And they get asthma for some reason.

I can't know everything!

As a chiropractor who specializes in infant spinal care, I always focus on improving the communication between the brain and the body. My ultimate goal is a 100% optimized connection with absolutely no interference, like the computer system at Jurassic Park before Dennis Nedry sabotaged it with the White Rabbit backdoor program. I apply gentle adjustments in most cases, using only the amount of pressure you might use when checking the ripeness of a tomato. Sometimes a spinal segment is really stuck, however, and I need to increase the amount of pressure a bit, along the lines of checking to see if a dinosaur egg is ready to hatch. I'm just kidding. I know those dinosaurs weren't real. It was just a movie. I know that.

That's exactly what they want us to think!

Adjustments of the spine help remove stress placed on a child's nervous system and allow for proper development. If a reflex overstays its welcome, I can help with highly specific interventions like full spine x-rays, spinal manipulation (usually just the neck), recommending the avoidance of childhood vaccines, and a healthy diet. I can give parents instruction on specialized care that can be done at home, such as movement-based exercises and calling to schedule weekly treatment sessions at my clinic for the next few years in advance, even if their child is doing well. You don't stop going to the dentist just because you didn't have a cavity!

Chiropractors are the dentists of the spine!

If you are at all worried about your child's development, a thorough chiropractic assessment can help determine if their nervous system is optimized. Early intervention is important because whenever my treatments don't work it's because the parents waited too long to bring their child into the clinic. I guess some parents just don't care enough to make sure their child thrives physically, emotionally, and academically. But not you. You want your child to reach their full potential and to ensure that they become confident, capable, well-balanced adults with good jobs and a successful marriage.

Dr. Grimes is currently offering a Reflex Renovation package for children. This includes a complete spine analysis, with neurocalometric measurements and a full primitive reflex evaluation, and that thing where the chiropractor lightly thumps on your kid's back with a little handheld device, for only $99. Call today!