What Blood Work and MRIs Can't Detect in Your Child
Has your child been to countless doctor appointments, endured multiple rounds of blood work, and maybe even expensive MRIs or other tests, yet you still don't have real answers about what's causing their chronic health struggles? You've been told everything looks "normal" on their labs, but your child is still dealing with sleep issues, digestive problems, behavioral challenges, or developmental delays.
Meanwhile, you might be hearing "They'll grow out of it" or are discussing ways to manage the symptoms. You're left feeling frustrated, unheard, and desperate for answers that make sense.
You're not alone, and more importantly, you're not wrong. For some families, looking at how the nervous system is functioning can provide another piece of information about their child’s health and development.
The Missing Piece That Changes Everything
What if there were a safe, science-based examination that could help reveal underlying nervous system stress contributing to your child’s symptoms — one that is gentle enough to be used with newborns, and advanced enough to pinpoint areas of dysfunction that traditional scans can’t detect?
At Ottawa ChiroHouse, our chiropractic assessments include objective neurological scanning technology that helps us evaluate aspects of nervous system and neuromuscular function.
Looking Beyond Traditional Testing
Typical medical evaluations — like blood work, MRIs, and EEGs — are designed to detect specific pathologies or emergencies. These tests are essential in many situations. But what happens when they all come back “normal” and your child is still clearly struggling with significant health challenges?
Blood work, MRIs, EEGs and other medical investigations provide important information and are appropriate when clinically indicated.
But when those investigations do not fully explain what a parent is observing, it may be helpful to consider other aspects of a child’s function as well. One of the most important systems influencing your child’s overall health and development is the central nervous system.
As Dr. Bruce Lipton, a renowned cell biologist, explains:
“The function of the nervous system is to perceive the environment and coordinate the function of all other cells.”
This means while you've probably invested considerable time, energy, and resources trying to improve your child's gut health, immune system, and motor development through various therapies, your child’s nervous system is responsible for how these systems communicate, coordinate, and adapt to the world around them.
Understanding Your Child's "Air Traffic Control" System
Think of your child's nervous system as the "air traffic control" for their entire body. It coordinates every internal function with every movement, thought, emotion, behavior, and cognitive process. When this system isn't functioning properly, it affects everything else – which is why you might be seeing multiple, seemingly unrelated symptoms.
Consider this: your child's brain doubles in size during the first year of life and continues rapid development throughout childhood. During this critical period, nervous system assessment is far more important than knowing where they sit on a height and weight chart. Yet how many healthcare providers have thoroughly evaluated this system?
The Three Scans That Reveal What Others Miss
Advanced neurological scanning technology, specifically INSiGHT Scans, can detect nervous system stress, tension and dysregulation. These three completely safe, non-invasive assessments provide a comprehensive picture of your child's nervous system function:
1. The NeuroThermal Scan
The NeuroThermal scan measures small differences in skin temperature along either side of your child’s spine.
Why does this matter?
Skin temperature is influenced by the autonomic nervous system. This is the part of your child’s nervous system that helps control the things their body does automatically, including the digestive system, immune function, hormones, and sleep regulation.
Looking at temperature patterns along the spine gives us objective information about how this part of the nervous system is functioning.
Simply put: it gives us another window into the part of your child’s nervous system responsible for many of the automatic functions happening in their body every day.
2. The NeuroSpinal EMG Scan
The NeuroSpinal EMG scan measures how much electrical activity is happening in the muscles along your child’s spine.
Why does this matter?
Your child’s brain and nervous system are constantly communicating with their muscles to help them sit, stand, balance, move and maintain their posture.
The scan helps us see how much those muscles are working and whether the activity is balanced from one side of the spine to the other. It can also show us different patterns, such as areas where the muscles are working harder, areas with lower activity, or places where the pattern of muscle activity is uneven or less coordinated.
Simply put: it helps us see how your child’s nervous system and postural muscles are working together, and where their body may be using more or less muscular effort.
3. The Heart Rate Variability Scan
Heart rate variability, or HRV, measures the tiny differences in time between one heartbeat and the next.
Why does this matter?
Your child’s nervous system needs to change gears all day long. It needs to help them become alert and active when they are playing, learning or dealing with a challenge, and then shift toward rest and recovery when it is time to calm down, recharge or sleep.
HRV gives us information about the two sides of the autonomic nervous system involved in these changes: the side that helps the body become more alert and the side that supports rest and recovery.
Simply put: it gives us information about how your child’s nervous system is shifting between “go” and “recover”
Why Children Don't "Grow Out Of" Problems
It’s common to hear that kids will grow out of things like colic, tantrums, or sensitivity — but what we see in practice is that these often evolve into other challenges over time. Early signs of nervous system imbalance can become chronic concerns like anxiety, digestive issues, or learning difficulties if not addressed.
What INSiGHT Scans reveal is that these early challenges often reflect:
Stress that gets “stuck” in the system
Poor balance between the brain and body
Disorganized communication pathways
The Power of Precise Measurement
The beauty of these scans is that they give us objective insight into what your child’s nervous system is experiencing — so we’re not guessing or just reacting to symptoms.
With this information, we can build personalized care plans that help support healthy regulation and development, allowing your child’s nervous system to function more adaptively and calmly.
Your Next Steps: Empowering Your Family's Health Journey
As a parent, you know your child better than anyone. Trust your instincts when you feel something isn't right, even when tests come back "normal." You have the right to:
Seek comprehensive assessments that look beyond symptoms
Ask questions about your child's nervous system function
Demand answers that address root causes, not just symptom management
At Ottawa ChiroHouse we understand that the nervous system controls everything in your child's body. When it's not functioning optimally, neither is your child. We would love to help you understand if nervous system dysfunction is something that could be contributing to your child’s challenges and explore if chiropractic care can help.
If you are ready to advocate for your child’s optimal development and long-term wellbeing, give us a call today to schedule a consultation! If you are not local to us, check out the PX Docs directory to find a PX Docs office near you.
