You have noticed something you want to understand better. Before booking, you want to know what the evaluation involves and what the scans can actually tell you.
At Harlan Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we use INSiGHT technology as part of our chiropractic assessment. The measurements add information to the conversation; they need to be interpreted alongside your child’s history and examination.
Three different types of information
Heart rate variability, or HRV, measures variation in the time between heartbeats. It can provide information relevant to autonomic activity. Readings are influenced by age, breathing, illness, movement, and the conditions in which the measurement is taken.
Surface electromyography, or sEMG, records electrical activity from muscles near the spine. It helps us examine patterns of muscle recruitment and differences between sides. It does not directly measure your child’s brain activity.
Thermal scanning measures skin temperature patterns along the spine. These patterns can contribute to the chiropractic assessment, but temperature differences do not diagnose an organ problem or identify the cause of a child’s symptoms.
The measurements used depend on your child’s age, cooperation, and clinical situation. We explain the process before beginning.
What a scan cannot answer on its own
These scans are not images of the brain or spinal cord. They do not diagnose ADHD, autism, anxiety, constipation, or sleep disorders. They also cannot establish that a child has vagus nerve damage or that an adjustment will resolve a particular concern.
Your observations still matter. So do physical findings, existing diagnoses, and the recommendations of other clinicians involved in your child’s care.
How the results inform our recommendations
We review the measurements alongside the examination and explain the relevant findings in everyday language. If chiropractic care is appropriate, we discuss its purpose, potential risks and benefits, and how we will reassess the child’s response.
Ongoing progress scans will be completed when clinically appropriate. We also consider comfort, movement, daily function, and your feedback. A change in a scan does not, by itself, prove a meaningful improvement in health.
Your questions belong in the visit
Ask what each measurement means, whether it changes the recommendation, and what other evaluation might be needed. You should leave with an explanation you understand rather than a graph you are expected to interpret yourself.
The first step is a conversation about your child. From there, we can decide what information is useful and what next steps are appropriate.
Learn more about our pediatric chiropractic evaluation.
Further reading
- PX Docs: Why We Scan
- CLA INSiGHT scanning technology — information about the instruments used in a chiropractic assessment.