Stroke/TIA Rehabilitation

A Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) results from a reduction in blood supply to the brain. This causes a reduction of oxygen, causing the brain cells to suffer. A stroke happens when there is insufficient blood supply to the brain, failing to deliver oxygen. When the brain doesn’t have oxygen, the cells die. There are surrounding brain cells that are alive, but now, close to death or sick. These cells aren’t doing their job because they don’t have the fuel and activation to become healthy again, which are the necessities needed for a healthy brain. When treating the brain we start by locating the areas that are unhealthy and we rehabilitate them. The ability for reorganization is an extremely important feature that our brains possess however they cannot do this alone. Properly guided by therapy ensures your brain will regain its healthy function. If we have fuel and activation, we have a healthy brain.

Fuel describes the proper vitamins, minerals and oxygen. We get our nutrition from eating healthy diets (15 servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended per day), while oxygen is obtained from our lungs. However, spinal misalignment, poor posture and abnormal rib movement can reduce our oxygen content substantially. This creates a brain that is starved for oxygen and thus unhealthy. Your ribs are a connection between your thoracic spine and your sternum. This means that a problem in your spine can affect rib excursion and thus limit your oxygen intake. We can fix that. If the ribs don’t expand then the lungs can’t expand. When the lungs do not expand we don’t get adequate amounts of oxygen. For instance, the normal amount of rib expansion is rated a 3 but let’s say you only have a 1.5 expansion, you’ve just decreased your oxygen intake by half. Therefore, in order for your brain to reorganize in a healthy manner, we need to treat your brain with nutrition and oxygen intake through rib adjustments or in-office supplemental oxygen.

Activation is a key component in stroke and TIA rehab. Activation starts at a receptor, which is the starting line of communication for your nervous system. This is like flicking on a switch causing a light to work. The switch is the receptor, the electrical cords are your nervous system and the light is your brain. If there is a problem with the receptor, the nerve or the brain, the light will not come on. Therefore, we must ensure proper activation to the brain so it can reorganize in a healthy manner. What happens to the brain when it’s activated? Each receptor is connected to a group of brain cells, called neurons. When a neuron becomes activated it then has the ability to create DNA, which is the blueprint for everything our body makes. The new DNA is then made into proteins that are used as building blocks for connections between brain cells. Sodium/potassium pumps are created to keep the cells stable and healthy. Mitochondria is used to make energy for your cells and more receptors to facilitate faster transmission of electrical signals. This process is called Cellular Immediate Early Gene Expression (CIEGE). The input from our environment dictates how the cells express themselves, or respond. It sounds complicated, but it’s really simple, the more we take care of our bodies, the healthier our brains are.

At Portland Chiropractic Neurology we not only locate your problem, but we will also fix it. This will provide your brain with all the tools needed to keep your body functioning optimally.