From pediatric health crises to adult neurogenesis and spinal integrity, the September 2025 On Purpose Science Segment reminds chiropractors that health is not the absence of disease—it’s the full expression of life.
By Christopher Kent DC, JD, MBA, ACP
When You Are On Purpose, You Are Not Alone
In this month’s On Purpose Science segment, Dr. Matt McCoy and I examined several important new studies that shed light on the deteriorating state of human health, the resiliency of the human brain, and the critical importance of the chiropractic approach in addressing both.
America’s Pediatric Health Emergency
A new paper in JAMA revealed something deeply troubling. American children are dying at rates 80 percent higher than those in other wealthy nations. The data show that the United States experiences an excess of 54 child deaths every day compared to what would be expected if we simply matched the mortality rates of our peers. Among infants, premature birth and sudden infant death syndrome are major drivers, while among older children, firearm injuries and motor vehicle crashes dominate.
This is not simply about mortality. The researchers looked at eight national data sources and found deteriorating health across every measured category. The proportion of children aged 3 to 17 with at least one chronic condition rose from 26 percent in 2011 to 46 percent in 2023. Chronic diseases, obesity, depression, and poor sleep are all on the rise. Nearly 40 percent of high school students now report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
Dr. McCoy noted that the data cutoff was 2023 and wondered aloud what the results would have shown if the study had stopped in 2019, before COVID. My reaction was the same. The timing is not coincidental. When you see the trend lines shift so dramatically after 2020, it should make any honest scientist pause.
We are witnessing a pediatric health emergency, but it is not one that will be solved through more medication or more interventions. The problem is systemic. The solution must be salutogenic—centered on restoring the body’s ability to express life. Chiropractors working with families and children have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference.
“We have the answer, or at least a big part of it.”
Hope for the Brain: Neurogenesis in Adults
Amid the bleakness, there is hope. Another study published in Science has confirmed what many of us have believed all along: adult brains grow new neurons. Using advanced imaging and molecular techniques, researchers found newly formed neurons in adults up to age 78 and identified the cells responsible for creating them—neural precursor cells in the hippocampus.
When I studied neurobiology decades ago, we were told that the adult brain could not generate new neurons. You were born with a fixed number, and from that point on they simply died off. That depressing idea has finally been laid to rest.
This discovery aligns beautifully with chiropractic philosophy. The body is not a machine that inevitably breaks down. It is a self-developing, self-maintaining, and self-healing organism. Dr. McCoy put it perfectly when he said that the more salutogenic you are, the greater your capacity to be healthy—whether that means growing a kidney cell or a brain cell.
“Never remove hope from a patient. Chiropractic can help you. I don’t know to what extent yet, but I will try, and we will see.”
Inflammation, Pain, and Immune Function
Another study examined salivary biomarkers of inflammation in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain. Researchers at CMCC found elevated levels of several inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-6. The interesting part is that these biomarkers were identified in saliva rather than blood, using noninvasive sampling methods.
At first glance, this might look like another back pain paper. But viewed through the chiropractic lens, it is actually about immune function. Inflammation is not an isolated process—it reflects the state of the nervous system and the body’s ability to regulate and adapt.
Dr. McCoy observed that during the COVID years we reviewed numerous studies showing how saliva testing can reveal immune status. This new work continues that thread. It also reinforces why the chiropractic model, which seeks to remove interference to the nervous system and restore adaptive capacity, is central to true wellness.
“It’s not another pain paper, it’s another immunity paper.”
Seeing the Spine in Motion: The Case for Videofluoroscopy
Finally, we discussed a fascinating paper by Len Vernon and Adam Ben titled Documenting Cervical Spine Injury Following Negative MRI Findings: Clinical and Medical Legal Overview of Dynamic Imaging. The authors make the case for videofluoroscopy—dynamic imaging that allows us to see the spine in motion.
For too long, many have accepted static X-rays and MRI scans as sufficient. But these methods often miss the subtleties of ligamentous injury and cervical instability. Videofluoroscopy captures what happens between the static positions, revealing patterns of abnormal motion that correlate with injury and neurological compromise.
Loss of cervical lordosis, for instance, is often dismissed as muscle spasm. Yet it can compress or stretch the carotid sheath and vagus nerve, alter cerebrospinal fluid flow, and disrupt the dynamics of neurovascular function. The paper reminds us that hypolordosis is frequently a visible marker of deeper ligamentous damage.
“Normal cervical lordosis plays a critical role in maintaining proper neurological function. The loss of that curve should never be dismissed as benign.”
Dynamic imaging also has medicolegal importance. It provides objective evidence for ligamentous injury and helps clinicians document the true nature of trauma. Most importantly, it informs care. Before applying any force to the spine, we must know whether the segment is already hypermobile or unstable.
As Dr. McCoy noted, it’s remarkable that we are still having this discussion in 2025. The technology has existed for decades, yet many in our profession continue to rely on outdated models. Videofluoroscopy should not be controversial—it should be standard practice for anyone serious about spinal analysis.
The Bigger Picture
The studies we reviewed this month reveal both the peril and the promise of modern health. Children’s health is collapsing under the weight of a failed medical paradigm. Yet within the same scientific literature, we see evidence of the body’s regenerative power and the sophistication of its innate intelligence.
Chiropractic stands at the crossroads of these realities. We are called not just to treat symptoms, but to restore the mechanisms of life itself.
The pediatric health emergency, the rediscovery of neurogenesis, the insights into inflammation and immune function, and the precision of dynamic imaging—all point to the same truth: when interference is removed and adaptation is restored, the body heals.
And that is why we do what we do.
About On Purpose
The On Purpose Podcast is hosted by Christopher Kent DC, JD, MBA, ACP and Matthew McCoy DC, MPH. Since the early 1990s, On Purpose has been the spearhead of the Chiropractic Freedom Movement. It began as mailed cassette tapes, evolved into CDs, then online audio, and now lives on Substack with full-length video segments in Science, Philosophy, and Politics.
Tagline: When You Are On Purpose, You Are Not Alone.
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