Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a birth condition in which the baby's spine does not close fully in the first month of pregnancy. It can weaken the legs and affect bladder and bowel control.
- The spine forms in the first month of pregnancy — often before a woman knows she is pregnant
- In the United States, about 1 in every 2,857 babies is born with it
- Folic acid taken daily before and in early pregnancy cut the risk of these defects by about two-thirds in trials
Source: MedlinePlus; US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Cochrane review (De-Regil et al., 2015)
What is Spina bifida?
Early in pregnancy, a flat strip of cells in the baby rolls up into a tube. This neural tube becomes the brain and the spinal cord, and the bones of the spine close around it. In spina bifida, part of the tube does not close fully.
There are three main types. Occulta is a small gap in the bone and usually causes no trouble. Meningocele is a sac of fluid on the back without the cord in it. Myelomeningocele, the most serious, has part of the cord and nerves in the sac; these nerves are damaged. Surgery closes the back, but it does not reverse nerve damage. Most children have normal intelligence.
What are the symptoms?
- A sac or opening on the back; in the mild type, a tuft of hair, a dimple or a birthmark over the spine
- Weak legs, or legs that cannot move
- Trouble controlling urine and stools
- Fluid building up in the brain (hydrocephalus)
- Less feeling in the legs and back, so wounds can form unnoticed
What causes it, and who is more likely to get it?
Too little folate
Family
- A family history of neural tube defects
The mother's health in early pregnancy
- Diabetes that is not controlled
- Some medicines for fits
- Obesity, and high body temperature (fever or overheating) early in pregnancy
How is it found?
Spina bifida is often found during pregnancy. Sometimes it is found only after birth.
AFP blood test in pregnancy
A blood test of the mother that can point to an open neural tube defect.
Ultrasound scan
Shows the baby's spine and the opening before birth.
Examination and scans after birth
The doctor checks the back and skin markings; X-rays or other scans show the spine.
Before the first session, a neurotherapist asks about surgery, any shunt, bladder and bowel habits, and tests the feeling in the legs and feet before any pressure is given.
How Neurotherapy sees Spina bifida
LMNT teaching places spina bifida among the neural tube defects linked to folic acid deficiency in the mother. It works on the body's own supply line for folic acid with the Folic acid formula, and adds (8) Rt Parkhoo, the right-hip point given for the production and absorption of folic acid. LMNT does not claim to close the spine or repair nerves; it aims to support comfort, digestion and daily function, alongside the specialist team.
From a plate of greens to folic acid in the body
- Break the protein(6) Gas Only — for acid and pepsin in the stomach, so that proteins are digested
- Absorb it(6) Gas 'I' — so the intestines digest and absorb properly
- Let the bacteria work(6) Rt. Ov. — for the ascending colon, where LMNT says bacteria make folic acid
- The folic acid point(8) Rt Parkhoo — the right hip, given side-lying
LMNT's own teaching puts one instruction above the formula: a woman who may become pregnant should take folic acid daily, starting before she conceives. By the time a pregnancy is known, the spine has already closed or failed to close — no treatment begun later can reach back to that week.
It is not enough that one eats protein. The thing that matters is that it is digested.
Neurotherapy treatment for Spina bifida, step by step
Examine first
The therapist checks Liv° and Mu°, reads the reports, asks about any shunt and about constipation, and tests the feeling in the legs before any pressure.
Folic acid formula
(6) Gas Only on the thighs, (6) Gas 'I' on the calves, then (6) Rt. Ov. — lying on the back. For a child, half the adult dose and a light touch.
(8) Rt Parkhoo
Lying on the left side, the two points of the right hip are pressed alternately — only if the child can be placed on the side comfortably.
Keep the specialist care going
Surgery, physiotherapy, bladder and bowel care and regular check-ups all continue; LMNT works alongside them.
Points and formulas used
Folic acid formula
Supports the body's own supply line for folic acid — digest the protein, absorb it, and let the colon bacteria do their work.
Works through
Open →Never do this
- Children get half the adult dose and light treatment only, given by a trained therapist.
- Legs without feeling cannot warn of too much pressure. Feeling is tested first, pressure stays light, and the skin is checked after every session. A child who cannot lie on the side is not placed on the side. Rt. Parkhoo
- Gas Only is not given where there is an ulcer in the stomach or duodenum, and LMNT blocks it in constipation, piles and fistula — the therapist checks these first. Gas Only
- Rt. Ov. is not given to a child who is being treated to increase height. Rt. Ov.
- Go to hospital at once if a child with a shunt has headache, vomiting, unusual sleepiness, irritability, confusion, eyes fixed downward, or swelling or redness along the shunt.
- Cancer: if the person has cancer, (10) Pan, Thymus, Pit, Lu + Sh, Rt. Ov / Lt. Ov and (30) Medulla are never given — the therapist changes the plan.
- Keep taking the medicines your doctor prescribed. Neurotherapy works alongside your medical care, never instead of it.
From Ayurveda and the kitchen
Test yourself
What research says
- Strong evidence
Across five trials with 6,708 births, daily folic acid around the time of conception lowered the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida by about two-thirds.
- Emerging evidence
Some gut bacteria make folate, and folate made by bacteria in the intestine can be absorbed and used by the body — the body mechanism behind LMNT's colon step.
No clinical trial of Neurotherapy in spina bifida has been published yet. Improvements reported by neurotherapists are clinical observations.
For you
Women who may become pregnant
Take folic acid every day, starting before pregnancy. If you have had an affected pregnancy, have diabetes or take medicine for fits, ask your doctor about the right dose.
Parents
Keep every appointment with the specialist team. Check your child's skin daily for sores where feeling is low.
Children with a shunt
Learn the warning signs of a blocked shunt, and tell your therapist that your child has one.
This page explains; it does not diagnose. Neurotherapy works alongside your medical care — keep taking the medicines your doctor prescribed, and see a doctor for any new or severe symptom.