Summary
Host Blake interviews Dr. Courtney Kahla, owner of Our Well House, a nervous system-centered chiropractic practice. Dr. Kahla explains the distinction between traditional "crack and pop" chiropractic and her neurological approach, which works with stimulation and input rather than high-velocity adjustments. She describes the nervous system using a highway analogy: when physical, chemical, or emotional stressors overwhelm the body, exits close off the spinal cord highway, forcing messages to take detours that consume more energy and leave less for rest, digestion, and repair. The conversation covers Dr. Kahla's childhood sensitivity to her body's signals, her rigorous chiropractic education (21-27 credit hours per semester, comparable to medical school foundations), and how only 5 out of 80 students in her class chose the neurological path over musculoskeletal/PT-blended practice. She explains that the nervous system is the first thing to form in utero -- the neural tube develops into the brain and spinal cord, which then directs formation of all other organs. Her approach assesses health through function (sleep, digestion, menstrual cycle, skin) rather than pain alone, since diseases like heart disease and cancer can't be felt until function fails. Dr. Kahla emphasizes that she doesn't treat specific conditions but rather clears communication pathways, allowing the body to heal itself.
Key Points
- Nervous system-centered chiropractic works with stimulation and input, not high-velocity cracking and popping
- The nervous system is the first thing to form in utero; the neural tube develops into the brain and spinal cord
- Physical, chemical, or emotional stressors close exits off the spinal cord highway, forcing the body to use more energy for basic functions
- Health should be assessed by function (sleep, digestion, menstrual cycle) rather than pain alone
- Only about 5 out of 80 chiropractic students chose neurological over musculoskeletal practice
- Chiropractic school requires 21-27 credit hours per semester with curriculum comparable to medical school foundations
- The body is self-healing and self-regulating when communication between brain and body is clear
- Patients often report improvements in conditions they didn't even mention, like digestion or sleep, after nervous system adjustments
Key Moments
Nervous system chiropractic uses gentle input instead of cracking and popping
Dr. Courtney Kahla explains that nervous system centered chiropractic care works differently from traditional cracking — patients often feel like nothing happened, but within 24 hours their nervous system begins restoring function in sleep, digestion, and other areas.
"After their first adjustment, they're like, I don't feel like you did anything"
The nervous system highway analogy — clearing roadblocks for better communication
Dr. Kahla uses a highway analogy to explain nervous system chiropractic: when physical, chemical, or emotional stressors create roadblocks on the spinal cord highway, messages must take detours using more energy, and her job is to clear those roadblocks so the body can heal itself.
"my job as a nervous system chiropractor is to find those roadblocks, to clear them out and to say, you don't have to use all those gas and miles anymore. Here's your expressway"
Child completely off Miralax after seven chiropractic adjustments
A child who had been on Miralax multiple times daily for two years was completely off medication and having normal bowel movements after just seven nervous system chiropractic adjustments — without the chiropractor directly treating digestion.
"after seven adjustments at our office was completely pooping on her own and off all of the Miralax. Because it was an extra step. It was not just, oh, she has a digestion issue. Let's put something on top of that. I wasn't even treating the digestion"
Anxiety as an overactive gas pedal — chiropractic as the brake
Dr. Kahla explains anxiety as the nervous system hitting the gas pedal with every stressor, resulting in elevated heart rate, respiratory rate, and racing thoughts. The chiropractic adjustment activates the brake pedal, bringing the body into rest and digest mode.
"through the chiropractic adjustment, it actually puts you on a brake pedal"
