Understanding INSiGHT Scans: A Parent’s Guide to Your Child’s Nervous System Health

As parents, we do everything we can to ensure our children are healthy and thriving. We carefully monitor their development, take them to doctors’ appointments, and pay attention to their physical and emotional well-being. But sometimes, the root of health issues isn’t obvious. That’s where INSiGHT Scans come in—a simple yet powerful way to assess the health of your child’s nervous system.

Unlike traditional medicine, which often focuses on symptoms and conditions found in blood work or imaging (like MRIs or EEGs), INSiGHT Scans take a different approach. They give us a clear picture of how well your child’s nervous system is functioning, even before symptoms arise. And don’t worry—it’s not complicated. This technology is designed to be easy to understand and can provide valuable information for your family’s overall well-being.

What Is the Central Nervous System and Why Does It Matter?

The central nervous system (CNS) is the most important system in your child’s body, guiding everything from their physical movements to their emotional reactions and cognitive development. Dr. Bruce Lipton beautifully describes it this way: “The function of the nervous system is to perceive the environment and coordinate the function of all other cells.” Essentially, it’s the control center for your child’s health.

You’ve probably spent plenty of time focusing on your child’s gut health, immune system, and motor development, possibly working with physical therapists, occupational therapists, or speech therapists. But what ties all these areas of health together is the nervous system. If the CNS isn’t working properly, your child may struggle with issues like sleep problems, digestive troubles, emotional regulation, and more.

The good news? INSiGHT Scans allow us to see how well your child’s nervous system is functioning—quickly, easily, and painlessly.

How Does the Nervous System Work?

Think of your child’s nervous system as a two-way street. One set of nerves, called sensory nerves, tells the brain what’s happening both inside and outside the body. The other set, motor nerves, sends instructions from the brain back to the body, telling it what to do and when. It’s a delicate balance, especially since the nervous system needs to coordinate the activities of millions of cells. In a growing child, the nervous system develops at lightning speed, particularly in the first few years of life. That’s why it’s so important to make sure everything is running smoothly.

An INSiGHT Scan helps us measure how well your child’s nervous system is performing. It provides much more useful information than traditional pediatric checkups, such as height and weight charts. Instead, it shows us how well your child’s brain and body are communicating.

What Do INSiGHT Scans Detect?

The scans look for two key issues: subluxation and dysautonomia. These terms might sound complex, but in simple terms, they refer to imbalances and disruptions in the nervous system. When these are present, it can affect your child’s ability to function optimally.

What’s always been fascinating about using INSiGHT Scans in our Pediatric + Family Practice is that you can see the exact stuck subluxation (stress) patterns in infants as you do in older children and teenagers. While it’s called something different in each age group, the actual root cause behind the challenges is nearly the same – a stressed out, wound up, out-of-balance nervous system.

INSiGHT Scans help us determine the severity and location of any problems within your child’s nervous system. This insight can explain why your child may be experiencing certain symptoms, such as frequent crying, tantrums, motor delays, sensory processing challenges, or even ADHD and anxiety. By running these scans regularly, we can also get ahead of any potential issues—catching imbalances before they lead to bigger health concerns down the road.

Types of INSiGHT Scans

That’s because each of these neurodevelopmental and neurosensory challenges is rooted in stuck tension, altered tone, and exhaustion of the neuromotor system. Most every parent of a spectrum or sensory child is familiar with the word ‘tone’, having worked with outstanding professionals like Pediatric PTs, OTs, and Speech Therapists. 

Neurological and tone challenges are a big deal, as motor function and development determine brain function and development. That means – if the EMG scan detects patterns of stuck tension and imbalance,  the brain is almost certainly stuck in sympathetic (fight or flight) tone and also struggling with an imbalance between its core functions of regulating emotions, behavior, learning, and memory. 

There are three (3) common findings with pediatric EMG scans, and we’ll briefly describe them here and then show examples of each type below: 

  1. Raging Bull – this is a child whose nervous system is stuck on the ‘gas pedal’ and entirely sympathetic dominant, leading to challenges with things such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and so forth. 
  2. Drunken Bull – this scan finding most often correlates with a child struggling with coordination, focus, reading comprehension, communication, etc. 
  3. Raging Drunken Bull – as a child gets older, often they’ll end up with both scan patterns and signs and symptoms of each.

The most exciting thing about Pediatric Chiropractic is that we can see changes in a child’s EMG Scans quickly because their nervous system is still learning to grow and adapt at such a fast pace. Their brains and bodies are growing and developing rapidly; it’s quite incredible. But that also means that when subluxation gets into the neuromuscular system (as shown on EMG), it can wreak havoc and alter their development for years to come. 

Diving a bit deeper into this particular scan, our INSiGHT EMG Scans also use a 3-step scoring system that allows us to really understand what’s going on with that child’s neuromotor system and, thus, overall brain and neurodevelopment. 

Here are the 3 scores you’ll see on your child’s EMG Scan and a quick explanation of what they mean, and then we’ve provided some examples of EMG scans as well: 

  1. Total Energy Score – this score tends to go way up in a child who’s wound up and stuck in sympathetic mode, and therefore a high score here is most often seen with our ‘Raging Bull’ cases struggling with things like anxiety, behavior and sleep issues, and so forth 
  2. Pattern Score – this is a significant score to the overall neurological tone, and a low score here indicates a child who’s likely struggling with emotional dysregulation, focus and concentration challenges, postural exhaustion and a weak core, and so forth 
  3. Symmetry Score – this score measures the balance between the right and left sides of the neurospinal system, which is crucial to be then sure that there is balance in overall brain function and coordination

Putting It All Together: How INSiGHT Scans Benefit Your Child

As parents, we want to understand what’s going on with our children so we can help them thrive. INSiGHT Scans offer a unique window into your child’s nervous system health, giving you answers and peace of mind. When your child’s nervous system is functioning well, everything else can fall into place—sleep improves, digestion works smoothly, emotions are easier to manage, and learning becomes more natural. And just like a loving parent, your child’s nervous system needs care and attention to stay balanced and healthy.

Dr. Khan will guide you through the results of the scans, explaining what they mean for your child and creating a personalized care plan to help restore balance. With regular care, you’ll start to see your child’s stress melt away, replaced by calm, focus, and well-being.

In a world where it often feels like we’re just managing symptoms, INSiGHT Scans help us look deeper. They give us the opportunity to truly support our children’s long-term health, helping them grow into happy, healthy adults.

Together, let’s ensure your child’s nervous system is functioning at its best—because every child deserves the chance to thrive.

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