Pediatric Wellness
HELP YOUR CHILD THRIVE AND FLOURISH
Natural & Holistic Health Care for Children
Network Care, also known as Network Spinal Analysis (NSA), is a gentle chiropractic method focused on enhancing the body's innate healing abilities. It involves light touches along the spine to help release tension in the nervous system, improve energy flow, and promote healing.
For children, this technique can be particularly beneficial in addressing common issues such as stress, anxiety, poor posture, and developmental delays.
Whether you're seeking to improve your child's nervous system function or simply help them be as healthy as possible, Network Care provides a powerful, holistic solution.
Discover how Network Care can be tailored to meet the unique needs of children at different stages of growth.
Network Care for Children of All Ages
INFANTS & TODDLERS
Network Spinal Care is a gentle, holistic way to take care of your child’s health and lead them on a path to wellness.
Starting as early as the birthing process, our bodies are potentially subjected to various traumas and stresses, and that causes stress and strain to the developing spine and nervous system. The result is a fight/flight pattern that develops in the infant’s nervous system, and can interfere with their sleep, latching and feeding, digestion, mood, and meeting developmental milestones.
With Network Spinal Care, a gentle precise touch to the spine releases tension in the nervous system, resulting in a quieting and calming effect on the stress response of the nervous system. Network Care is a relaxing experience for infants and toddlers as their nervous system moves into the healthy, healing parasympathetic rest/digest mode.
Proven Benefits of Network Care
for Infants & Toddlers
Soothe colic symptoms
Healthier sleep habits
Easier latching
Achieved milestones
Enhanced immune system
Reduced fussiness
Support physical development
Improved speech/language development
Improved eye contact
CHILDREN
As a child gets older, chronic postural and health problems can occur from prolonged sitting, lack of physical activity, sports injuries, carrying heavy schoolbags, extended time using a computer and electronic devices, peer pressure and school stress. These common stresses of childhood activate the fight/flight stress response of the nervous system.
Network Care helps to relieve this stress, moving the nervous system back to the rest/digest healing mode, which leads to more resiliency to stress and improved posture, more energy, better ability to focus and concentrate, fewer headaches, improved ability to handle stress, better sleep, feeling more relaxed, and enjoying better heath in general.
Parents report to us that their child gets sick less often than their peers and are more resilient to stress. They also see improved and enhanced sports performance because their reflexes and ability to heal are much quicker.
Proven Benefits of Network Care
for Children
Stronger immune system
Improved eye contact
Better focus
Better mood
Less anxiety
Better sleep
Less stress
Improved speech & language skills
TEENAGERS
Teenagers are subjected to many physical, mental, and emotional stresses. Peer pressure, social media, school stress, college admission, family dynamics, sports injuries are all examples of common stressors a teenager experiences.
As a result of these daily stresses, teens can experience chronic fight/flight nervous system response. The resulting effect can be:
Anxiety
Headaches
Back pain
Poor sleep
Depression
Digestive problems
Difficulty focusing
Network Care helps teenagers overcome these challenges.
Proven Benefits of Network Care
for Teens
Adapt to stress more effectively
Improved focus
Feel more calm & relaxed
Improved overall health
Stronger immune system
Increased energy
Improved sleep quality & duration
Better school performance
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
Network Spinal Care is an ideal intervention for children with autism. The gentle, precise touch to the spine releases tension in the central nervous system, resulting in a quieting and calming effect on the stress response. The rest/digest parasympathetic mode is activated and “turned on” as the fight/flight/freeze sympathetic mode is “turned down”.
With Network Care, the Vagus nerve maintains a healthy tone, resulting in a child feeling more calm, improved digestion/appetite, better sleep, improved eye contact.
The more frequently a child’s parasympathetic nervous system is turned on, it interrupts the fight/flight/freeze pattern and rewires the central nervous system to run in a healthy parasympathetic mode.
The gentle Network Care contacts signal the brain that the body is not under attack, interrupting the fight/flight pattern and advancing the healing process.
Proven Benefits of Network Care
for Children with Autism
Better sleep
Improved eye contact
Improved digestion & bowel movements
Better appetite
Improved language skills
More appropriate social interactions
More focused
Feel more calm & relaxed
ADHD & Autism
“Dr. Karen Lumb is amazing!!! My son Dominick is a child with Autism and ADHD. He has very little self-control and seems to just wander off in his mind a lot. Our first visit with Dr. Karen was phenomenal. He was bouncing around on the table and within 2 minutes he was asleep. He woke up and looked at me and said, “That was AMAZING!” He has been doing better with focus and self-control since starting our sessions and looks forward to the next.”
— Jennifer A.
Allergies & Immunity
“With Network Care, my 3 year old daughter, Serena, is continuing to show improvements in her verbal skills, expressing herself more verbally, with an increase in the appropriateness and creativity in her speech. Serena is now using phrases that she’s heard before in appropriate ways…Her self-stimulatory behaviors have decreased greatly…Her classroom teacher is reporting that her focus and attention is improving.”
— Ellen W.
Medically Complex Child
“My daughter Alexia was born a medically complex child. With multiple surgeries and her self-esteem diminishing, I was very worried and seeking help. She was abused at daycare. The toll this took on her body was tremendous. She was like a little girl in a cocoon. Soon after starting care with Dr. Karen, she started to unravel the cocoon she wrapped herself in and her wings came out & now she is a full-blown butterfly. Her personality is back! It’s been amazing for me to get my girl back!”
— Jennifer
Children & Teens Benefit from Network Care by:
Improving spinal health, resulting in increased brain function
Calming the nervous system, leading to better mood, focus, and emotional regulation
Boosting immune system function and improving quality of life
Autism & Network Care
The social engagement system is how we engage with the world.
We smile, speak, look, listen, laugh, turn our heads. We breathe easily and let the world in. The social engagement system operates when we feel safe, or put in another way, our parasympathetic nervous system is engaged. It enables friendly, social interaction and this helps us to be in a calm state for good health and restoration of cells. However, the social engagement system does not work so well when we are in Fight/Flight/Freeze or immobilization. It goes offline as we are more focused on looking after our safety.
When our parasympathetic NS and the Vagus nerve are functioning in a healthy manner, we are calm, we interact, our heart rate is normal, we can digest food easily, and we breathe calmly. Additionally, we can speak easily, make good eye contact, smile, turn our heads, and listen to the nuances in a conversation. We can move and interact with grace as well as digest food and repair our cells. When we are calm, there is enough energy to go around.
Children with autism struggle to adapt to change, stress, and conflict.
Current research points to the fight/flight/freeze survival mode of the nervous system, instead of the rest/digest mode, as being engaged and activated in children with Autism.
The parasympathetic (rest/digest) and sympathetic (fight/flight/freeze) parts of the nervous system make up the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The Vagus nerve controls the parasympathetic, or rest and digest mode, of the heart, lungs and digestive system. Under stress, the functioning of the Vagus nerve is suppressed. When in a calm state, the Vagus nerve works closely with the social engagement system.
The social engagement system involves neural pathways embedded in several cranial nerves that develop in utero. These nerves essentially control the muscles we need to engage with our world — social gesture and orientation, voice prosody, smiling, laughing, chewing, ingesting, seeing, looking, and, engaging. As a parent of an autistic child, you will quickly recognize that these behaviors are reduced in your child. If a child is in the “safe” rest/digest mode of the nervous system, they smile, observe faces, listen, talk, raise their eyebrows as they communicate verbally and non-verbally. If a child has the fight/flight/freeze mode activated, they do not engage socially or make eye contact.
The social engagement system develops during infancy. But if an infant’s nervous system had been in distress and all energy had been diverted to safety, the fight/flight/immobilization response became the primary mode for the developing child, and will feel painful, agitated, difficulty with digestion, and the social engagement system does not get developed and integrated.
According to researchers, the individual nature of the nervous system and its response to the world can account for the vast nature of the autism spectrum.
https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/nerves-control-heart-rate-may-contribute-autism/
Signs of healthy Vagus nerve function include the ability to rest, breathe, digest our food, be socially engaged with others, feel creative and energized, process our emotions, and experience resilience to stress.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Our son was diagnosed at the age of 3 with Autism. After 2 visits, he would run in the office eager to see Dr. Karen’s warm and smiling face and jump on the table face first. After about 8 visits he now enjoys his treatments, he is more relaxed and focused, his social skills and eye contact have improved. We have also noticed a vast improvement in his language development and his eagerness to learn.
— Elizabeth T.
Research
“Improved Language Development Following Network Spinal Analysis in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Dr. Karen initiated and completed this yearlong case study involving two children in her practice with autism and speech and language delays as they received Network Spinal Analysis chiropractic care. She documented their profound improvements in speech and language abilities. These children saw an average increase of 24 months of language development in one year.
Autism
“Since starting Network Care, we’ve seen our 3 year old son’s speech grow from 3-4 word sentences to 6-7 word sentences, and he’s begun asking questions for the first time. He is acquiring phrases like, “I’m glad to see you!” and “How are you doing?” and “Come on in!” and he’s using them appropriately. He’s more present and engaging socially with us at home and with his peers at school. Last week for the first time, he spontaneously said, “I love you Daddy!” with no prompting from anyone. His imaginative play is more and more extensive…He often engages his sister to play with him…and his self-stimulatory behavior has decreased.
— Holly R.
Allergies & Immunity
“Working with Dr. Karen Lumb has been a wonderful experience. I bring my 6 year old daughter to her for allergy problems. Since she was 2 years old, she has been on 2 different types of medicines every day and would still get very sick, and it would take forever for her to get well again. We started coming in June and since then my daughter has come off all medications. She has only been sick once and bounced back quicker than she ever has. Since we’ve been coming to see Dr. Karen, my daughter is healthier, and her not having to take those medications everyday has been a huge blessing.”
— Ashley S.
Somato-Respiratory Integration (SRI) & Mindfulness
How is SRI Practiced and What Are Its Benefits?
Children and teens hold their breath when distressed, and breathe more fully when relaxed.
During the SRI exercise, their hands are placed on three specific areas of the body where the Vagus nerve innervates. The Vagus nerve controls the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” mode of the heart, lungs and digestive system. When the Vagus nerve is stimulated, parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” activity is restored. This connection to the Vagus nerve through gentle breath and focused attention signals the brain that you’re not under attack and interrupts the fight or flight pattern.
By increasing your vagal tone, you increase your tolerance for stress and increase adaptability, relaxation, curiosity, and a sense of safety.
Living in a nervous system that is easily triggered, vigilant, or shut down creates more fear, discomfort, and lack of fulfillment. Practicing SRI, children and teens experience greater relaxation, reduced anxiety and nervousness, increased ability to focus, and better overall mood.
Today, there is a significant body of research that points to a wide-ranging number of benefits resulting from mindfulness interventions. In children and teens especially, breathing techniques common to mindfulness practices help relax the body and mind; thus enabling access to a more focused mind. By enabling young minds to achieve a state of calm through breathing exercises in the classroom or at home, our children can be empowered to gain self-control and focus.
Somato Respiratory Integration (SRI) is an easy-to-learn body/breathing exercise that combines touch, breath, movement and focused attention to increase mindfulness, relaxation and ease, while reducing stress and tension.
This breathing exercise, which is easy for anyone of any age to practice, can be performed in a variety of settings. SRI advances the healing process, and reverses the “fight or flight” stress response. When a person is stressed, the “fight or flight” mode of our nervous system is triggered. In children, this can cause headaches, restlessness, anxiety, difficulty focusing, and digestive problems.
SRI and Autism
Breathwork, such as SRI, activates the Vagus nerve and, therefore, the parasympathetic nervous system. It helps to ease anxiety, re-focus the mind, and ground the body.
Contemplative practices have been shown to have many benefits to mental health. Not only are somatic practices such as SRI linked to decreased brain inflammation, better memory, and increased ability to learn new information, but it is also linked to healthier vagal tone. Specifically, mindfulness has the ability to activate the Vagus nerve, especially when there is breathwork involved.
As an added bonus, mindfulness practices, such as SRI, can help to increase interoception (the ability to monitor internal states like hunger, thirst, sleepiness, etc.), which many Autistic people and people with ADHD struggle with.
National Institute of Health (NIH) supports the use of healing techniques and deems these as “essential” in order to improve the lives of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism.
The NIH recognizes that low Vagal tone is present in children with autism and that significant improvements in quality of life have been documented when vagal tone improves which benefits children with autism.
About Dr. Karen Lumb
Dr. Karen Lumb is passionate about helping infants and children on their path to extraordinary health and wellbeing.
As a mom, Dr. Karen chose Network Care as her son’s primary health care after years of witnessing first hand children of all ages heal quickly through Network care. She observed babies who were fussy and colicky, kids who were chronically sick, and children who had sensory and spectrum challenges get incredible results with Network Care.
Her own son received his first Network session just days after his birth and he continued to receive Network Care throughout his childhood on a regular basis. Fewer colds, ear infections and flu, amazing ability to focus, healthy emotional regulation, sleeping soundly, meeting all developmental milestones, and enhanced ability to handle stress are just a few of the benefits that her son experienced growing up with Network Care.
Any parent who is looking for a holistic way to improve and enhance their child’s physical, mental and emotional health will find that Dr. Karen is a compassionate, warm and caring holistic practitioner.
She has 25+ years of being a parent and working in pediatrics as a speech pathologist and Network practitioner.
She easily connects with infants, children and teens, and loves helping kids who were chronically sick, struggling, and loaded up with medications and therapies transform and reach incredible levels of health, happiness, and well-being once again.
Signs that your child may benefit from Network Care
Poor sleep
Depression or Anxiety
Reduced eye contact
Picky eater
ADD/ADHD
Asthma
Autism
Back and Neck Pain
Birth Trauma
Difficulty Breast Feeding
Bedwetting
Head Injury
Headaches
Irritability
Torticollis
Constipation
Chronic Ear Infections
Decreased Ability to Handle Stress
Delayed language development
Poor attention span
Withdrawn
Difficulty regulating emotions
Reduced appetite
Sensitivity to touch, sound, light
Frequent colds and flu
Fatigue
Learning problems
Please contact our office today for a complimentary consultation or to schedule your child’s exam.
