When Your Child's Body Forgets How to "Let Go": Understanding Constipation Through the Nervous System
Author: Kelli-Jo Richard DC, CACCPIf you've found yourself Googling "toddler constipation remedies" at 11 PM, desperately scrolling through forums while your little one struggles on the potty again, you're not alone. And here's what most of those searches won't tell you: constipation isn't just a gut issue—it's almost always a nervous system regulation issue first.
Let me explain what's really happening when your child's body seems to have forgotten one of its most basic functions.
The Missing Piece: Your Child's Nervous System Has Two Modes
Think of your child's nervous system like a car with two pedals:
The Gas Pedal (Sympathetic): This is the "go-go-go" mode. When this pedal is down, your child's body is focused on survival—running, playing, reacting, staying alert.
The Brake Pedal (Parasympathetic): This is the "rest-and-digest" mode. When this pedal is down, your child's body can relax, heal, digest food, and yes—have a bowel movement.
Here's the problem: Pooping is 100% a parasympathetic (brake pedal) job.
For the gut to move things along smoothly, the body has to be in calm, rest-and-digest mode. But many kids today are living in the opposite state—sympathetic overdrive, with their "gas pedal stuck on."
When the body is in survival mode, it shuts down digestion because it's not essential for survival in that moment. Think about it: if you were running from danger, your body wouldn't prioritize digesting lunch. The problem is, many children's nervous systems can't tell the difference between real danger and everyday stress.
So digestion slows down.
Motility slows down.
And constipation develops.
The Communication Breakdown: It's All About the Signals
Here's something most pediatricians won't explain: the nerves that tell the colon and rectum what to do come from the lower lumbar spine and the sacrum.
If those segments are stressed, misaligned, or locked into a defensive tone pattern, the communication between the brain and the gut becomes fuzzy.
Fuzzy communication means:
Poor motility (things don't move along like they should)
Harder time relaxing pelvic floor muscles
Trouble fully emptying the bowels
Kids will strain, avoid going, or hold their stool because the signals aren't clear. Their body literally doesn't know how to coordinate the process anymore.
The Tension Trap: When Stress Becomes Physical
A child who is constipated, anxious, holding tension, or living in sympathetic overdrive will often have a tight pelvic floor.
A tight pelvic floor makes it physically harder to relax and "let go," even when they desperately want to.
This becomes a cycle that perpetuates itself:
stress → pelvic floor tightens → constipation → discomfort → more stress
And round and round it goes, with your child stuck in the middle, struggling with something that should be one of the body's most natural functions.
Constipation: The Body's Early Warning System
Here's what we see all the time in our practice: constipation is often the first red flag of a stuck nervous system.
We regularly see constipation in kids who also struggle with:
Bedwetting
Eczema
Sensory challenges
Frequent illnesses
Sleep issues
Emotional regulation difficulties
Why? Because they're all connected through the same autonomic nervous system imbalance.
Constipation simply shows up earlier because the gut is extremely sensitive to nervous system tone. It's your child's body waving a flag, trying to tell you something deeper is going on.
Beyond Prune Juice: How Chiropractic Adjustments Help
Let me be clear: chiropractic adjustments don't "treat constipation."
We restore tone and communication in the nervous system that regulates digestion.
When we provide gentle, specific adjustments:
The body shifts toward parasympathetic calm (brake pedal engaged)
Pelvic floor tone begins to normalize
The sacral nerves communicate more clearly with the gut
Gut motility improves naturally
Stool softens because the body is doing its job again
This is why so many kids go to the bathroom right after their adjustment. It's not magic—it's the nervous system finally getting the signal through.
What This Means for Your Family
If your child has been struggling with constipation, you've probably tried everything on the list: more water, more fiber, prune juice, Miralax, dietary changes. And maybe some of those things helped a little, but the problem keeps coming back.
That's because you're managing the symptom without addressing the root cause.
The root cause is often a nervous system that's stuck in the wrong mode—a body that can't shift into the calm, parasympathetic state it needs to digest properly and eliminate waste.
Your child's body knows how to do this. It's designed to do this. Sometimes it just needs help remembering how to shift gears.
You Don't Have to Navigate This Alone
If your child is struggling with constipation—especially if you're also seeing other signs like frequent illness, sleep challenges, or behavioral struggles—it might be time to look at the nervous system.
We're here to help your child's body find its way back to balance, so digestion can happen the way it's supposed to: naturally, comfortably, and without the nightly panic searches for solutions.
Ready to help your child's nervous system find its calm? Schedule an appointment with us to explore how gentle, neurologically-focused chiropractic care can support your family's journey to better health.
Thanks for being here,
xoxo
Dr. Kelli