INSiGHT Scans: The Key to Understanding Your Nervous System
The Insight into our INSiGHT Scans
While traditional medicine focuses on symptoms and looks for clear problems in blood work, MRIs, and EEGs, we utilize a unique piece of technology called INSiGHT Scans. These scans give us an in-depth look at the health and function of your Central Nervous System (CNS).
I know that talking about technology and neurology can sometimes feel overwhelming, but that's the beauty of INSiGHT Scans - they're incredibly simple and easy to understand. In this article, we'll break down what they are, why they're important, and how they can help you and your child thrive.
What is the Central Nervous System?
The Central Nervous System is like the "air traffic control" of your body. It's made up of your brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves that branch out from them. This amazing system coordinates everything your body does, from breathing and digesting food to thinking, feeling, and moving. The main job of your nervous system is to perceive the environment and coordinate the function of all other cells. This means that even if you're working hard to improve your gut health, immune system, sleep, pain levels, anxiety, or motor skills, you might be missing the most important piece of the puzzle: your nervous system.
What is the Autonomic Nervous System?
Your autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that runs on autopilot. It controls all those things your body does without you even thinking about them, like breathing, heart rate, digestion, and even your immune response. This key part of our immune system tends to be chronically under-active in most stressed-out adults and kids. This leads to poor sleep, digestion, hormone regulation, immune function, and more.
Most healthcare providers don’t dig as deep into neurology, even though it is the most important system of our body.
Traditional medicine focuses on treating symptoms and finding obvious problems.
Movement-based therapies (like physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy) look at how well muscles and movements are working.
Chiropractic focuses on the health and function of the nervous system, the master control system that influences everything else.
Why Do the INSiGHT Scans Matter?
A child’s brain and nervous system are developing rapidly, especially in the first few years of life. Making sure this system is working at its best is crucial for their overall health and well-being.
INSiGHT scans provide valuable insights into your neurological health that you won't get from a typical checkup. They help us identify potential problems early on, even before symptoms appear, so we can take proactive steps to support your overall health.
For grownups, even though your nervous system is already developed, it is still important to help it work at its best. Most issues that parents and adults are faced with every day can be traced back to your nervous system. Anxiety, low energy, hormone issues, chronic pain, and so much more.
What Do the INSiGHT Scans Look For?
The INSiGHT Scans are designed to assess the function of your nervous system. They help us identify and track two key things:
Subluxation: This is when there's stress or interference in your nervous system, often caused by misalignments in your spine. It's like a kink in a hose - it can disrupt the flow of information and energy throughout your body.
Dysautonomia: This is when the autonomic nervous system is out of balance, leading to problems with digestion, sleep, immunity, and even mood.
The nervous system is a two-way street. Sensory nerves send information from your body to your brain, letting it know what's going on both inside and outside. Motor nerves send messages from your brain back to your body, telling it what to do.
For your body to function perfectly, these messages need to travel quickly and clearly. INSiGHT scans help us see if there are any roadblocks or detours on this communication highway, so we can address them and restore optimal function.
The INSiGHT Scans consist of three separate tests, each providing unique information about your nervous system:
NeuroThermal Scans
This scan measures the temperature along your spine, which can reveal areas of stress and inflammation.
It helps us understand how well your autonomic nervous system is regulating important things like digestion, immunity, and hormone balance.
We perform this on every person in our office. It takes only a minute or so and is safe for everyone.
We are looking for blocks color, lines of color, and overall patterns with this scan as you can see in the examples below.
Examples
This first set of photos are examples of initial thermal scans in our office, prior to beginning care. They demonstrate different versions of neurological stress and interference.
Examples
This second set of photos are examples of what the thermal scans look like after going through care and improving dramatically. Through sticking to their chiropractic care plans we were able to remove a lot of the neurological stress and tension. These examples show a clear, connected, and healthy nervous system.
2. NeuroSpinal EMG Scans
This scan measures muscle tension and activity, showing us how well your nervous system is communicating with your muscles. If your muscles are flexing all the time, it is also exhausting. This causes your brain to be burning energy that it doesn’t need to, causing exhaustion.
It's especially helpful for identifying neurological challenges that can affect motor development, sensory processing, and emotional regulation.
We perform this on kids who are old enough to sit still for a few minutes and all adults. It only takes a couple minutes and is also safe for everyone.
Examples
Below are examples from patients starting care in our office. They show a nervous system that is hyperactive and exhausted. These tight muscles also don’t feel very good!
Examples
This second set of photos are examples of what the EMG scans look like after going through care and improving dramatically. Through sticking to their chiropractic care plans we were able to remove a lot of the neurological stress and tension. These examples show a clear, connected, and healthy nervous system.
3. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Scans
This scan measures how adaptable your nervous system is to stress, how much your nervous system has become exhausted/tired, and how much active stress you are under.
A healthy nervous system can easily switch between "fight or flight" and "rest and digest" modes. This scan will show us how balanced between the two you are.
We perform this on almost everyone. Sometimes young kids are too wiggly for this one as it takes sitting still for about 3 minutes. This test, like the others, are safe for everyone.
Examples
Below are examples from patients starting care in our office. They show a nervous system that is stuck in fight or flight, stressed out, and exhausted. The white dot should be in the center of the green circle. When the dot goes to the left side of the graph, that shows a nervous system that is stressed out and in fight or flight mode. When that dot starts to shift downward, it tells us the stress has been taking hold for a long time resulting in exhaustion. This is not a good or healthy place to be.
Examples
This second set of photos are examples of what the HRV scans look like after going through care and improving dramatically. Through sticking to their chiropractic care plans we were able to remove a lot of the neurological stress and tension, allowing their body to calm down and balance their nervous system. These examples show a clear, connected, and healthy nervous system.
By combining the information from all three INSiGHT scans, we get a comprehensive picture of the health of your nervous system. This allows us to create a personalized care plan that addresses your specific needs and helps you achieve optimal wellness.
Can Chiropractic Care Help Me?
At Maximized Chiropractic, we use gentle adjustments to remove subluxations and restore balance to the nervous system. This allows your body to function at its best, naturally healing and thriving. When we have more information than just how you feel, we can make a more precise care plan and targeted adjustments. This means we go beyond symptoms and short-term health.
We've seen incredible transformations in people who receive chiropractic care. They often experience:
Reduced pain and inflammation
Improved digestion and gut health
Enhanced immune function and fewer illnesses
Better sleep, mood regulation, and energy levels
Improved focus and concentration
Enhanced motor skills and coordination
Less constipation
Fewer ear infections
Easier labor and delivery
So much more
We are so excited to be on this journey with you. With the help of technology, experience, love, and a little fun, we hope you find a new level of health!
