Always feeling tight in the upper back, shoulders and neck? Headaches? The problem may be in your ribs
January 14, 2022
How can I tell if ribs are the cause of my upper back, shoulder, headaches and neck pain?
It can be difficult as a patient to understand where the problem is coming from, that's where finding a trained doctor in rib injuries is important. Often, where we have pain or tightness is not necessarily the source of the problem. If you answer yes to any of these...
What do I want you to know about HBOT?
December 12, 2021
What do I really want people to understand about HBOT?
I want you to understand normal physiology. That red blood cells(RBC) carry oxygen(O2), but they have limitations. The first is that we only have a certain amount of RBC’s and they typically already maxed out in how much oxygen each RBC can carry. Also that RBC’s have limitations in...
How does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy speed up healing?
October 29, 2021
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy supercharges healing by increasing the amount of circulating oxygen in our bloodstream. It is a safe and simple application, however the healing it stimulates in our cells is miraculous.
Typically oxygen is carried by Red Blood Cells, but there is a maximum they can carry at one time. I like to picture a wheelbarrow filled...
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury, Concussion, Post-Concussion Syndrome
April 3, 2021
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is described as breathing increased amounts of oxygen within a pressurized environment, at a level higher than the average atmospheric pressure exerted at sea level (1 Atmosphere Absolute, ATA). When this occurs, a variety of physiological changes occur within our body that support healing. HBOT promotes improvement of...
The story of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
April 3, 2021
The story of HBOT
We are made up of cells, these cells make up a tissue, which makes up an organ, which drives our body. Imagine legos that are little components of a larger structure that you might have played with as a child. The legos are our cells and the building, ship, etc that you built was the organ. These legos, or cells need energy to work....
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Can Improve Post Concussion Syndrome Years after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
March 10, 2021
The results clearly demonstrate that HBOT can induce neuroplasticity and significant brain function improvement in mild TBI patients with prolonged Post-Concussion-Syndrome at late chronic stage, years after brain injury (1).
Approximately 70-90% of the TBI cases are classified as mild, and up to 25% of them will not recover and suffer chronic...
Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Portland Maine
March 10, 2021
What is happening during Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT? Under pressure, increased amounts of oxygen are transferred into the plasma of your blood, which usually contains about 3% oxygen. This increases to about 97% oxygen during hyperbaric therapy, allowing oxygen to diffuse into tissue 400% deeper than would normally be allowed. This allows tissue to...
Brain remapping to restore your back, neck and joint pain
February 19, 2021
Many of us do not consider that our brain is really made up of a bunch of maps that relate to each part of our body. This brain receives information from our body via receptor activation that delivers important feedback as to where we are in space. The brain needs an accurate map so that it can coordinate the joints, muscles and tendons of our body in an...
Visual disturbance, dizziness, headaches and other neurological complaints after concussion due to convergence excess/spasm.
February 19, 2021
I recently evaluated a patient whose diagnosis was post-concussion syndrome, which affects 20-30% (number varies) of individuals after their initial concussion causing prolonged symptoms. She came in with many complaints after experiencing multiple concussions - daily headaches behind her eyes that would often radiate to her temples on both sides,...
Double vision (diplopia) is a common complaint after concussion and often part of post-concussion syndrome
February 19, 2021
Double vision is a common complaint seen in our office and is often observed in patients after concussion and post-concussion syndrome. It may be difficult for these individuals to focus on objects, especially at near distance and may appear fuzzy, blurry or double. These patients may complain of headaches, often around the forehead and behind the eyes as...
Early Intervention of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is important in reducing long-term effects of neuronal stress or damage sustained during mild traumatic brain injury, otherwise known as concussion.
November 28, 2020
After a concussion we are providing decreased oxygen to our brain because we cannot deliver as much blood flow to it as usual. Concussive Injury leads to a period of decreased cerebral blood flow, rendering the brain ill-equipped to meet the energy demands required for restoring homeostasis. This so-called "energy crisis" creates a potential window of...
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy - miracle treatment?
August 6, 2020
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is turning heads as new research reveals incredible possibilities for healing. Not only for injured muscles, joints and wounds, but exceptional progress has been made in the research of neurocognitive conditions and the use of hyperbaric oxygen. We are seeing tremendous results in patients who have experienced traumatic brain...
Podcast on : Concussion Management
June 30, 2020
Listen to a recent podcast on breakthroughs in concussion management: Interview with the founder and clinic director of Portland Chiropractic Neurology, Dr. Aaron MacArthur as he discusses how we've been able to help so many concussion patients
...
Primary vs. Secondary Headaches
June 30, 2020
Primary headaches are those that do not have a known cause, which we refer to as idiopathic. These are the tension headaches, migraines, cluster headaches and the occipital neuralgias of the world. Secondary headaches are when there are more severe neurological implications and can be caused by tumor, aneurysm, CSF blockage, infection,...
How does your neck or back pain affect the brain?
June 10, 2020
The results are quite profound
Receptors (signaling structures) within your joints and muscles that comprise every region of your spine, shoulder, elbow, hip, knee et cetera are primary activators of your brain. Through various sensory pathways (Dorsal Column Medial Lemniscus, Spinothalamic, spinocerebellar tracts) we send information to our brain...
Depression/Anxiety: Brain Imbalance
June 9, 2020
Depression and anxiety are common threads among our culture these days. Our current medical model of treatment consists of pharmaceuticals to balance neurotransmitter levels. Yet, they often create other, more harmful symptoms than depression or anxiety. I guess the question I would ask, is it worth it? Much of neurology is now considering inflammatory...
Why is Portland Chiropractic Neurology Different: An emerging paradigm in healthcare
June 8, 2020
We are a large team that has a wide array of knowledge within chiropractic, neurology, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, nutrition, physical therapy, and rehabilitation. This allows us to provide better care for our patients as we work as a team to understand the proper diagnosis and treatment for your particular complaint. We are one of the few practices in New...
Chiropractic Neurology: A multi-modal approach
June 5, 2020
When we look at the human body, we are not looking at only one system, but of multiple systems that work in cooperation to create normal function. In turn, one of the most common mistakes in healthcare is to compartmentalize conditions, looking at them segmentally, instead of analyzing all the potential causes. Chiropractic Neurology utilizes...
Chiropractic in Pregnancy: The Webster Technique
June 5, 2020
Chiropractic in Pregnancy: The Webster Technique
Nothing causes a life change quite like a pregnancy. Making sure the physical needs of the baby will be met with all of the newborn supplies, clothing and furniture. Rearranging schedules to be sure the baby is cared for at all times. Baby-proofing the house to keep the newest addition safe...
Center of Pressure: What this means to posture, joint and spinal pain
June 4, 2020
If I drew a line right down the center of you, it should land in between your ankles. If I looked at you from the side, I should be able to draw a line from your ear and connect it straight down to your shoulder, then hip and finally your ankle. This is perfect center of pressure.
Now, if you think about this from an engineering perspective, it allows...
Bilateral Arm Tingling: The Upper Thoracic Component
June 4, 2020
We see a tremendous amount of patients who have upper extremity tingling, pain or numbness. This may originate from a cervical root impingement related to disc herniation or bulge, hypertonicity or spasming of muscles in the scapular (shoulder blade)/rotator cuff region with associated costovertebral (rib/spine articulation) joint fixation. These are all...
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy enhances multitasking ability
June 4, 2020
The brain is the body's largest consumer of oxygen, utlizing roughly 20% of the total oxygen and consuming 25-30% of total glucose (1). Even though <10% of the brain's maximal capacity is active at any given time, the brain utilizes almost all delivered oxygen (2). In order to perform different tasks or more than one task at a time (multitasking), the...
Are Posture and Biomechanical issues causing your pain?
June 4, 2020
Is shoveling really what’s causing your injuries? Or are there other underlying mechanisms that may be contributing to your discomfort? Why is it that some people end up in crippling pain from a night of shoveling and some walk away with a little muscle soreness from the great workout they got?
Underlying postural and biomechanical issues can cause...
If you've noticed a recent increase in your migraine frequency or severity, it may be due to allergies
June 3, 2020
If you have migraines you may have recently noticed an increase in your migraine headaches. We've been treating migraines at our clinic, Portland Chiropractic Neurology for over twelve years as Chiropractic Neurologists. We have specialized training in migraine care, concussion and vestibular rehabilitation and every year we notice mild-moderate increases...
A simple way to understand how mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy heals injured tissue
June 3, 2020
Under Hyperbaric Therapy (HBO2), Oxygen, which is a much smaller molecule than a Red Blood Cell (RBC), is pulled from the larger RBC, which is carrying the oxygen molecules to tissues via hemoglobin. RBC's are the vehicle transport for all oxygen within our body. After extraction, it is now concentrated within the surrounding plasma. This allows the smaller...
A new way to evaluate brain function
June 3, 2020
Functional Videonystagmography (fVNG) allows us to carefully look at specific eye movements that would not be seen with the naked eye, as they relate to brain function. Different regions of our brain control different types of eye movement, pupillary response, and optokinetic function; assessing these eye movements is one of our greatest windows into...
Mechanisms of Action for Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and wound healing
May 18, 2020
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, is the use of oxygen inside a chamber where the pressure is increased to greater than 1 atmosphere absolute (1ATA) (1).
HBOT has two primary mechanisms of action - Hyperoxygenation and a decrease in bubble size.
Hyperoxygenation is an application of Henry's law and results from an increase in dissolved oxygen...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at 1.3 atm at room temperature is just as effective as 100% oxygen at 2.4 Atm as evidenced by research
May 18, 2020
Breathing regular air under hyperbaric oxygen conditions of 1.3 Atm leads to more than 50% elevation in tissue oxygenation. There are many case reports illustrating significant effects due to small increases in air pressure, including effects on the brain (2,3,4,5). Moreover, even a slight increase in partial pressure, such as to 1.05 Atm at altitude 402 m...
Co-treatment
May 16, 2020
Co-treatment is an important aspect of the healthcare paradigm at Portland Chiropractic Neurology. We are not always the appropriate treatment for your condition. Recognizing this is something that the medical profession does very well and is an excellent model of care- a team approach, which is at the core of our integrative approach at PCN. At our...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy leads to neuroplasticity formation and repairs injured tissue at an accelerated rate
May 16, 2020
HBOT can induce neuroplasticity and significant brain function improvement in mild TBI patients with prolonged Post-Concussion-Syndrome at late chronic stage, years after brain injury (1).
Changes in SPECT images after treatment indicate that HBOT led to reactivation of neuronal activity in stunned areas that seemed normal under CT and MRI imaging....
Migraines: Proper Breathing, pH and Oxygen Delivery
April 30, 2020
Migraines are a disorder of sensory processing of the brain and involve activation and sensitization of trigeminovascular pathways, as well as brain stem and diencephalic nuclei. It is referred to as a brain state of hyperexcitability and Migraineurs have difficulty modulating, or gating sensory input, including pain at the top of the list (1). Multiple...
WGME 13 Report - PCN Concussion Treatment Specialists
January 27, 2020
Portland Chiropractic Neurology was recently featured by WGME 13 in an investigation about concussions, entitled "No two concussions are the same: What they are and the healing process." Check out the article and watch the video to learn more about concussions, how no two concussions are the same and how Portland Chiropractic Neurology specializes in...
Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Treatment for Concussion, Migraine, Depression, Lyme and more
April 13, 2019
Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or mHBOT is the medical use of oxygen in a pressurized environment at a level higher than 1 atmosphere absolute (ATA). Increased pressure allows for oxygen to dissolve and saturate more readily into our blood plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid and all liquids within our body (Henry's Law of Gases). This is...
There’s No Business Like Snow Business: Proper Snow Removal Techniques
January 23, 2019
Winter Storm Harper has come and gone, but we are still bound to have more snow in the winter weeks ahead, it is a great time to discuss proper snow removal techniques. Every winter we see a lot of patients after they have injured themselves removing snow from their sidewalks, parking lots, decks and driveways. Lower back, middle back, shoulder...
Plantar Fasciitis: What a Pain in the Foot!
January 22, 2019
In our office, we see patients for a variety of musculoskeletal issues, not just neck and low back pain, though we do treat a lot of people with those problems successfully. One of the more common complaints patients come in with is foot pain. This is often caused by plantar fasciitis, or inflammation of the soft tissue in the arch of the...
Kids at the Chiropractor
February 7, 2018
The nervous system controls every single process in your body. The brain is the leader of this operation, but it gets the information that guides its decision-making from the rest of the nerves in your body. These nerves travel from the brain into the spinal cord, which is housed in the spinal canal of the vertebral column (your spine), and then travels...
Migraines: Why do my eyes hurt?
August 7, 2017
Eye pain is a common symptom associated with Migraines. Migraines are due to central neurological changes within the brain that suffer from abnormal discharge of cells associsated with vascular changes within the walls of blood vessels. This causes constriction and dilation to occur, which is the cause of the throbbing pain experienced during a migraine....
Maintenance for your Brain: Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to reach limitless potential
May 18, 2017
At our clinic, we often utilize mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to aid in the treatment of brain injury, concussion, movement disorders, autoimmune disorders, neuropathy, neurological degenerative conditions and so forth. We are able to help our patients achieve incredible results where other treatments have failed. What I'm particularly interested in is how...
Engage your core this winter!!
February 16, 2017
Many of us spend most of our time with our core disengaged, that's just the nature of the 21st century I'm sorry to say. A Physical Therapy friend and colleague of mine, Brandon Freeman at Portland Physical Therapy, and I had a recent discussion on core, lumbar disc and lower back injury. Yes, I know what you're thinking, do these guys actually talk about...
When we experience a concussion our nerve axons (connections) are stretched!
February 16, 2017
If you connected all of our neurons, they would stretch around the earth four times. That's 100 billion neurons that make up our brain, all connected to create a framework that allows for incredible function, allowing us to love, create, think, imagine, dream, move, plan, focus, speak and the list goes on. However, our brains are so miraculous, not based...
Rib pain after coughing/sneezing during the long winter months in Maine
January 11, 2017
Good ol' Maine. We love our beautiful state, but it can be a pain sometimes. Literally. Upper back, neck and rib pain to be specific. Most of the time, patients don't remember the exact time is occurred, but upon questioning, we're often able to connect it. We see a lot of this in our practice, and certainly have more recently. We really enjoy treating it,...
Migraines: A complex disorder simplified
August 20, 2016
I hear from many people that their Migraines are due to diet, stress or lack of oxgyen, but what most people do not understand is that Migraines are a complex disorder that incorporates multiple systems within the body. It is described as a disruption in blood vessel activity in the scalp and brain by some, and abnormal activity of pain processing areas of...
Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Brain Wellness
May 7, 2016
A patient recently said to me, "that Oxygen chamber is better than a cup of coffee." Brain wellness, why don't we discuss this topic more? We're so obsessed with nutrition and exercise that we forget about a fundamental requirement for the brain, Oxygen. Unfortunately, many of us do not get enough Oxygen required by the brain to work at our full potential....
The importance of treatment frequency and following your doctor's plan: Neuroplasticity
April 8, 2016
Many of our new patients are seen 3-5x times per week for a duration of time in order to maximize results. Why is it important to follow a treatment plan so rigorous? In simple terms, the nervous system responds to repetition. Much like learning something new requires time and effort to sink in, so does the required changes occurring within our body and...
Migraines: Why we are getting tremendous results with Chiropractic Neurology
April 5, 2016
To understand Migraines, you need to understand the mechanism that causes them. So often, I am puzzled by the care that I see Migraine sufferers receiving in an attempt to "control" migraines. I have since realized that there aren't many practitioners out there that truly understand migraines and their cause. Migraine pain is severe, often one sided,...
Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Neurological conditions and Brain Injury
April 5, 2016
It is widely understood that oxygen is important in our body's innate healing mechanisms. What isn't understood is that even though we are breathing, oxygen is not perfusing areas of the body sufficient for optimal function and healing. Our brain, specifically the autonomic nervous system, regulates where blood flow will be increased or decreased in...
Do Disc Herniations Heal?
April 5, 2016
The answer is simply- YES, they do.
Discs are made of fibrocartilage, which is a very strong, supportive material made to withstand a lot of stress. Their inner materials are softer, and when a disc ruptures, or herniates, the inner material wedges through the crack like squeezing a jelly donut.
This tear in your disc is analogous to a cut in your skin. You...
Neuroplasticity Exercises to Restore Brain Health
April 5, 2016
What is Neuroplasticity? It refers to the ability of the brain to adapt, reorganizing to create new neural pathways so that we can CHANGE our brain function as needed. Why is it needed? Many of us go through life changing head injuries, major life events that alter us in some way, illness, accidents, postural changes and every day stress that can effect the...
Maintenance for your Spine equals Maintenance for your Brain
March 31, 2016
Once you're experiencing pain, it's too late. By that I don't mean that it's not treatable, but I do mean that your system has already been compensating for some time. Unless you have recently injured yourself, your issue has most likely developed over time from chronic strain due to posture, sleeping positions, habits, work ergonomics, weekend activities...
Knee pain is not the end: It could be originating from your Pelvis, Hip or Lumbar Spine
March 21, 2016
If your Hip, Pelvis and Lumbar spine are not working properly, it is impossible for your knee to function normally and absorb pressure during gait. This is because when we step, our foot transmits forces into our knee, which then transmits into our hip, pelvis, lumbar spine and so forth. This is known as shock absorption, and functions by redistributing...
20 Tips for reducing Headaches and Migraines
March 8, 2016
Drink more water
Increase Antioxidants (fresh fruits)
Supplement with Magnesium and B-complex vitamins
Eat smaller meals throughout the day (keeping blood sugar level)
Eat a big breakfast
Discontinue drinking caffeine
High protein, low carbohydrate diet
Exercise more frequently
Improve posture/ergonomics of sitting and standing
Discontinue eating dairy...
Migraines
March 4, 2016
A common condition that isn't always classified with neurological sectors is the Migraine. Migraines can be extremely debilitating, often associated with throbbing, pain sensations along with auras. Many of these auras are associated with visual changes and occur shortly before the Migraine, indicating that it's on the way.
Many of these people...
Vestibular Migraine: the second most common cause of vertigo
March 4, 2016
Migraines are one of the more common neurological conditions seen in our office. And while Migraines are often associated with pain and throbbing sensation, they are also connected with the vestibular, or inner ear systems within the brain that control balance, hearing and motion. These Migraine variants are known as Vestibular Migraines, and are the second...
Vestibular Therapy for dizziness, vertigo and imbalance
February 20, 2016
The vestibular system is a complex organ that is located in the inner ear. It looks like the combination of a seashell and a set of bagpipes. When there is a problem in these structures, the result can be debilitating- feelings of spinning, motion, disequilebrium and nausea. The most common cause of this is from BPPV, or Benign Paroxysmal Positional...
Trigger points: a more effective treatment
February 20, 2016
Trigger points are most effectively retrained by shortening and lengthening the muscle along its contractile elements with simultaneous myofascial release, known as Active Release Technique. If you're a patient in our office, this is when you are moving a body part and it feels as if we're digging our thumbs into you. This resets the neurological patterns...
Feeling disoriented? Is it vertigo, dizziness, light-headedness, post-concussion syndrome, syncope, vestibular migraine, lack of sleep or my diet?
February 20, 2016
Feeling off, or disoriented is a common thread seen within many individuals, and most certainly within the patient population treated at our office. The question is, what could be the cause? What makes a person feel like they are not centered, or balanced in their environment. The answer is simple, but the reason behind it may be complex.
If your gaze is...
The many benefits of mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
February 20, 2016
Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Concentrated oxygen at a pressure of 1.3 ATA causes an increase in oxygen delivery to injured or hypoxic tissues at a level 400% deeper than our normal blood supply can penetrate. This utilizes the properties of liquids and gases under pressure (Henry’s Law), which causes oxygen (a gas) to become dissolved into fluids such...
Whiplash: It's More than just a Neck Injury
February 5, 2016
Whiplash is often considered an injury ot the Neck, but emerging evidence and certainly our clinical experience illustrates the association of mild traumatic brian injury, or concussions associated with the force of a whiplash event. We have wondered in the past why some patients respond slower, or have emotional symptoms, fogginess, dizziness,...
Treatment of Concussion and other Brain Injuries with Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
December 13, 2015
What is rather interesting and ultimately very important about the human brain is that it is the control center of blood flow, where it is distributed and at what particular volume. This is accomplished through control of our blood vessels, either constricting or dilating as needed. However, in many patients, the injured brain is affected in such a way that...
Chronic Neck and Back Pain Generated from Faulty Eye Movements?
April 26, 2015
Yes, the brain and body are linked, but how could an eye movement change the tone of our neck or lower back muscles? The answer starts with stability and balance, when you move your eyes in a direction, you must stabilize the opposite sided musculature of the spine to brace for the sense of inertia that occurs. For instance, when we perform a saccade, or a...
What causes Vertigo, Imbalance and Dizziness?
April 11, 2015
The answer is both extremely complicated and simple at the same time. How does that occur? Well, In order to understand simplicity, you must first understand complexity. That is the case with Vertigo, Imbalance (spatial disorientation) and Dizziness. They are so common within our population that it is unnerving (no pun intended), yet with advancements in...
Massage
March 17, 2015
Massage is much more than just a relaxing experience. Massage is a great tool to use in rehabilitation of injuries of many types. Some massage techniques include myofascial, deep tissue, and stretching.
Myofascial works with fascia, which is the stuff that covers nearly everything in our bodies; muscles, muscle bundles and muscle fibers. It can become...
The core connection: Why the Multifidus muscle is the most important immediate stabilizer of the spine
March 17, 2015
The Multifidus muscle is the most important stabilizer of your spine. Why do we know that? Well, we know that because as soon as we injure the spine, the multifidus muscle is the first to atrophy. It atrophies up to 25% in the first week of spinal injury, which is incredibly important as it is the primary stabilizer of the spine. It continues to increase to...
Falling into the mental rut of winter in Maine: What can I do?
February 9, 2015
We all fall into that slightly depressed mentality during those long, cold, snowy winter months. It's unavoidable if you choose the Maine lifestyle, which has many rewards for those who can deal with a few dark wintery months. What can we do to help, though? Nutritionally, Vitamin D, Fish oils and smaller portions of organic red meats 3-4 times per week (6...
Post Concussion Syndrome : Why isn't my brain working?
February 9, 2015
Post Concussion Syndrome is a more recent diagnosis that has allowed us to describe multiple symptoms wrapped up into one unfortunate bouquet that consists of: Dizziness, Vertigo, Imbalance, Headaches, Migraines, Neck Pain, Confusion, Irritability, Slower Processing, Word Retrieval and Memory Issues. These are to name a few and are a result of mild...
The Anterior Canal: Vertigo Has a New Player
February 7, 2015
Think about what you do all day. If you are like many of us in the American culture you probably thought about texting, watching television, sitting at work, computer usage, some exercise and a myriad of other activities that you do throughout the day. There is a common theme among most of us, we're in chronic flexion, or head forward/down position. Well,...
The Thyroid Puzzle
January 15, 2015
Thyroid dysfunction can manifest itself in many ways. Why so many differing symptoms? Because every cell in the human body has receptors for thyroid hormone in their DNA. What does this mean? This means that in order for any system in the body to function, we need the Thyroid gland working optimally.
When we think of thyroid issue many of us tend to only...
Chiropractic Neurology: The New Model
November 21, 2014
Why a new model? Well, I think we can all agree that, while pharmaceuticals and surgical intervention are appropriate in some situations, the majority of issues cannot be solved with those approaches. We must ask ourselves, are people better off after surgery? Are we truly better off taking drugs for mood, attention, high cholesterol, depression, anxiety?...
Why Chiropractic Neurology is your answer for Cluster Headaches
November 13, 2014
Cluster Headaches are known as a neurovascular headache (which most headaches truly are if you understand neurology). They also go by Histamine headaches. These headaches are extremely debilitating, affecting one side of the head/face, particularly in and around the orbit, or eye. These headaches can be so bad that people often have thoughts of suicide....
The Pain-Gate Theory: How chiropractic care creates motion to inhibit pain
October 29, 2014
Our body is a network of nerves that signal the brain as to whether we experience fine touch, pressure, vibration, temperature changes or pain. Pain nerves are tonically firing, which means that they are always sending signals toward the brain. This is important and explains why we react so quickly to a hot stove, or a pin prick. Thus, the question should...
When a Doctor bulges their disc, what do they do?
October 29, 2014
About a month ago, I was performing deadlifts at the gym, and apparently doing them incorrectly. I felt a pull in my lower back, having realized immediately what I may have done- I discontinued my workout. I was hoping I didn't bulge a disc, but the symptoms were consistent with a bulge, and unfortunately, I was right. I had created a disc bulge at the...
What is Functional Neurology?
September 25, 2014
Functional Neurology is a new branch of healthcare that allows the human brain to change. It does this by restructuring pathways and signaling within the infrastructure of the brain- these changes are known as neuroplasticity.
Functional Neurologists are experts in detecting these errors in signaling within the nervous system, enabling specific treatment...
Most common food sensitivities
December 24, 2013
Those foods which are the most common among those individuals with food sensitivities include grains (including wheat, rice, quinoa, oats, barley, spelt), gluten (a component in wheat, and used as a binder in many processed foods today), dairy (primarily the casein component). There are other foods and food particles which can cause sensitivities but...
Posture
December 24, 2013
Posture
Many people that come into our office are uncertain as to why they have neck, shoulder or back pain. The common statement is that, “it came out of nowhere.” However, as practitioners we have come to realize that there is a cause for these symptoms, and it’s due to postural strain over time. As sedentary individuals, we don’t move as...
Non-surgical Spinal Decompression: A new and effective approach to chronic pain, disc injury and degenerative disc disease (osteoarthritis), migraines and headaches
November 11, 2013
Spinal decompression offers a great alternative and conservative method to aid in the treatment of chronic injuries that relate to the discs of the spine. Many individuals who do not respond to Physical Therapy, Chiropractic or other types of treatments by themselves often experience great results when those are combinated with disc decompression. Disc...
Chronic Daily Headaches (CDH)
November 11, 2013
These are headaches that are experienced more days than not-at least 15 days per month, for three months. It is not a specific type of headache, but rather a term used to describe persistent forms of other types of headaches such as: Chronic Tension Headaches, Chronic Migraines, New Daily Persistent Headaches and Hemicrania Continua.
Chronic Migraines...
Not every condition has a name or a diagnosis
October 5, 2013
We evaluate many patients who have often seen a variety of practitioners with little to no help. These people have been labeled with a diagnosis, but are still without answers. Functional Neurology is able to explain and treat many of these conditions, but laying the label of vertigo, Migraines, Headaches, Non-epileptic seizures, et cetera, hardly...
Whiplash and its involvement in Post-Concussion Syndrome
October 5, 2013
Headaches and Migraines are common symptoms that individuals often experience after even mild trauma to the head. Concussions are a mild traumatic brain injury, as they create inflammation and swelling in our cranium. These injuries can take weeks, months or even greater amounts of time to resolve if not rehabilitated appropriately. The headaches...
Disequilibrium (balance)
October 4, 2013
Balance occurs when our spine, surrounding muscles and brain are effectively signaling back and forth. If this doesn’t occur due to some error in either of the aforementioned systems, then balance and equilibrium will be affected. When we sway to one side, we stretch, or trigger sensitive spinal stabilizing muscles on the opposing side. Consider a sway...
Food sensitivities versus food allergies
July 2, 2013
Many people do not understand that there is a difference between food allergies and food sensitivities, however there is a significant difference between the two, between the mechanism behind them, and the effect that they have on the nervous system.
Food allergies occur when there is an immediate immune-mediated reaction to antigens in the ingested item by...
Vestibular Fellowship: A letter from Dr. MacArthur
July 2, 2013
As a provider with a diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology, I noticed that many of my patients would arrive complaining of dizziness and vertigo symptoms. Although I had a lot of training in these areas with my degree in neurology already, I felt there was more to ascertain about this particularly interesting subject. I had also noted that there...
Nutrition, Brain Function and Overall Health
July 2, 2013
Proper nutrition is vital to the health of every cell in our body from skin, to bone, to intestinal, to brain cells, as well as the formation of every single neurotransmitter which are essential to the function of all of our systems.
Our world today is full of conditions that, along with several other contributing factors, are the result of food that...
The Gut-Brain Axis
July 2, 2013
The function of our brain directly affects the function of our gut, and vice versa. This is a continuous cycle, unless each of the components is addressed appropriately and in concert (if it is determined that both are involved). Inadequate brain function, whether it be the result of abnormal brain maturation (such as with disorders that...
Developmental Disorders
July 2, 2013
What are developmental disorders?
Developmental disorders are disorders which occur during normal developmental growth which can occur from the time a fetus is in utero through childhood. These disorders can be due to a number of factors, but in all cases there is either complete lack of, or, a delay in maturation of certain areas of the central...