As a chiropractor that gets to work with kiddos and moms, I get to discuss the importance of primitive reflexes to my patients. These reflexes play a big role in your baby’s movement, learning, and nervous system. Over time, they should disappear as your child develops better control over their body. But if they don’t, they could cause issues with coordination, learning, and behavior. That’s where chiropractic care can help!
What Are Primitive Reflexes?
Primitive reflexes are natural movements that begin before birth. They help babies survive, move, and develop their nervous system. As babies grow, these reflexes should go away, allowing them to do more complex things like sitting, crawling, and walking. This allows for proper motor control, balance, and cognitive function.
If these reflexes stick around too long, they can make it harder for a child to learn, move, or stay focused. That’s why it’s important for parents to know about them! This is where chiropractic care can help play a key role in supporting the nervous system and integrate the reflexes.
Key Primitive Reflexes and Their Developmental Role
Moro Reflex (Startle Reflex)
Appears: At birth
Integrates: 2-4 months
Purpose: This reflex is responsible for fight or flight reaction.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to hypersensitivity, hyper reactivity, poor impulse control, sensory overload, and social and emotional immaturity.
Rooting Reflex
Appears: At birth
Integrates: 3-4 months
Purpose: This reflex is responsible for automatic response towards food.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to thumb sucking, fussy eating, dribbling, speech and articulation problems, or being a picky eater.
Palmar Reflex
Appears: At birth
Integrates: 5-6 months
Purpose: This reflex is responsible for automatic flexing of fingers to grab.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to poor manual dexterity, difficulty with fine motor skills, or messy handwriting.
Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR)
Appears: At birth
Integrates: 6 months
Purpose: This reflex is responsible for helping assist a baby through the birth canal.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to poor hand-eye coordination, difficulty with handwriting, trouble crossing vertical midline, poor visual tracking, and problems reading.
Galant Reflex
Appears: At birth
Integrates: 3-9 months
Purpose: This reflex is responsible for assisting a baby through the birth process (postural control).
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to postural issues, fidgeting, bedwetting, poor concentration, or poor short term memory.
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR)
Appears: In utero
Integrates: 3.5 years
Purpose: This reflex is the basis for head management and postural stability.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to poor muscle tone, toe walking, poor balance, motion sickness, spatial orientation issues
Landau Reflex
Appears: 4-5 months
Integrates: 1 year
Purpose: This reflex helps assist with postural development.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to poor motor development.
Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR)
Appears: 6-9 months
Integrates: 9-11 months
Purpose: This reflex is responsible for preparation to crawl.
Signs of Retention: It may contribute to poor posture, poor muscle tone, poor hand-eye coordination, inability to sit still and concentrate.
The Role of Chiropractic Care in Reflex Integration
As a chiropractor, I focus on making sure the brain and body communicate at 100% with no interference. Gentle adjustments can help remove stress on the nervous system so your baby can develop properly. If a reflex is staying too long, chiropractic care and simple exercises can help the brain and body work together better. Also working with parents to incorporate movement-based exercises at home can support a child’s neurological development even better.
If you see these signs, a chiropractic evaluation can help check if your child’s nervous system is working properly. Early intervention can support a child’s ability to thrive physically, emotionally, and academically.
Primitive reflexes are the building blocks of neurological and motor development. Chiropractic’s goal is to support a healthy nervous system from pregnancy through childhood. By addressing retained reflexes early, we can help children reach their full potential, ensuring they grow into confident, capable, and well-balanced individuals.
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