Chronic Pain, Brain Plasticity And Upper Cervical Care

By Dr. Davis, N.U.C.C.A. Chiropractor 

Brain Plasticity also called Neuroplasticity is the ability of your brain to reorganize neural (nerve) pathways in the brain. In simple terms, every time you learn how to do something, you are unconsciously memorizing the process of how it’s done and what the outcome will be. As you learn, your brain is making subtle changes to accommodate the new information and ability.  Neuroplasticity is generally a good thing and allows us to survive. However, there can be negative consequences.

When a person suffers a head or neck injury as a result of a car crash, fall or other accident, the tissues around the spine are stretched and torn.  This damage creates a weakness which allows the spine to break down and lock into a stressed position.  One of the hips will be higher than the other in the standing position.  One of the shoulders will be higher and the head will generally lean to one side.  If this acute injury is not corrected a chronic pattern will develop.  Just like shaping something made of plastic the nervous system begins to develop a fixed pattern. Think of this like a bad habit.  If you do the same thing all the time your brain and your body begins to develop that pattern and the longer you have had that habit the harder it will be to break.

In the same way with these chronic spinal patterns…the longer it has been there the more difficult is will be to break the pattern.

What does chronic pain have to do with neuroplasticity?

As research techniques become more refined, researchers are able to study the human brain and its function in living people, rather than waiting for an autopsy. Up to now, researchers have been able to establish the existence of a network of pain-transmitting areas within the central nervous system (CNS). This was first demonstrated with animals and, more recently, by performing brain studies with humans.

Chronic pain is pain that has been present, either continually or off and on, for at least three to six months.  Chronic pain is complex and often difficult to pinpoint and treat by the medical profession. Acute pain is a sudden pain that can usually be identified and treated, such as a toothache, stubbing your toe, or having surgery.  Chronic pain is very common among North American adults. Data from 1999 demonstrated that about 50 million people seek help for chronic pain. Chronic pain affects people’s lives because it can cause other physical problems, affect the ability to work and enjoy life, and it can affect the social and economic status of people. Chronic pain causes lost productivity and increases health care costs.

Where neuroplasticity comes in is when acute pain develops into chronic pain. Your body reacts to acute pain as it warns you that something is wrong. Usually, once the acute pain has been dealt with, the pain goes away and becomes a distant memory. However, if the cause of the acute pain is not dealt with over the course of a few weeks, months, and sometimes even years, your brain’s “wiring” may reorganize itself and tell your body that the chronic pain should be there and will stay there.  How this change occurs is different from person to person.

Chronic back pain, particularly of the lower back, is the most common complaint of pain in the developed world, even more than headaches and migraines. It’s estimated that 70 to 85 percent of people in developed countries have had, have, or will have chronic lower back pain at some point in their lifetime.  The connection between back pain and brain function has interested researchers for quite a while. In 2004, A.V. Apkanian and colleagues analyzed 17 patients who complained of chronic back pain. After examining the patients’ brains, the researchers found that the patients had some brain atrophy (wasting away of tissue) in the brain.

“Other researchers, such as T. Schmidt-Wicke, agreed with Apkarian when that team studied 18 patients and matched them with controls, people without chronic back pain. The researchers found the same decrease in brain tissue among those patients who had pain, but not in the controls.”

Eight studies that looked at the shape and changes in brain tissue point to the issue that there is a connection between neuroplasticity and chronic pain. It appears that no matter what is causing the chronic pain, the same changes are taking place in the brain and in the same areas.

What is actually causing the brain cell shrinkage or loss?  That’s the key issue.

New research relating to the blood flow to and from the brain may provide a connection.  Phase contrast MRI of the veins and arteries from the brain to the body are showing that when a person has a misalignment of the upper neck (Atlas vertebrae) the blood flow from the brain is altered.  Once the atlas is restored to it’s normal position the blood flow is normalized.

So if someone suffers an injury that causes a misalignment of the atlas at 25 and does not find the underlying structural problem for 10 years…the brain has not had normal blood flow for 10 years! That may result in the atrophy that the researchers are detecting.  And why so frequently we see patients with Lower Back Pain or Sciatica respond so well to an upper neck adjustment with the NUCCA procedure.

If you are experiencing chronic pain an underlying Atlas Misalignment could be the reason.  To have your brain stem and upper cervical spine evaluated for an undetected injury go to  www.nuccawellness.com if you are not in the San Diego County area go to www.nucca.org

References:

http://www.spineuniversity.com/files/Journal_Watch/spineU_neuroplasticity.pdf

http://ucrf.org/projects-funding/project-descriptions#cerebral

Celebrities, Migraines and Upper Cervical Care

What do Ben Affleck, Troy Aikman and Johnny Damon have incommon?

By Dr. William R. Davis Jr., D.C., Upper Cervical Specialist

We see many athletes, artists, and celebrities getting migraine headaches including NFL giants Terrell Davis and Troy Aikman, tennis great Serena Williams, basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and baseball stars Jonathon Papelbon and Johnny Damon; actors Ben Affleck and Whoopi Goldberg.  Migraines are a debilitating type of headache that literally takes days, weeks, months and years away from many people in our society.  For instance,  I have a patient right now who gets 2-3 migraines per month.  That doesn’t seem that bad maybe to you.  But the truth is when the headaches come she is unable to do anything!!!  She lays in a dark room until the migraines go away.  The migraines last between 1-2 days at a time.  So lets say conservatively that she is losing 3 days a month to these migraines.  That’s 36 days a year…over a 10 year time period that is a 360 days…one year out of ten is lost to migraines!!!

In my office 90-95 % of patients with Migraine Headaches see their migraines eliminated while under care.  The other 5-10% at least see a reduction in the frequency and intensity of these headaches.  So why doesn’t Ben Affleck get into an upper cervical doctor’s office and get rid of those migraines?  How many games did Terrel Davis miss because of headaches?

So why is upper cervical care so effective at getting to the underlying cause of headaches?  The answer is trauma.  Physical trauma…such as car accidents, falls, sports injuries, childhood injuries and more lead to a tearing loose of the connective tissue that holds the spine in place.  Which creates a weakness.  Once that happens the spine begins to breakdown.  It starts in the most movable and vulnerable area, the top of the spine where the skull and the spine come together at the upper cervical area.  This misaligned upper neck area creates pressure on the brain stem and veins that drain the brain.  This is why pressure will begin to build up into the head often leading to headaches.  The brain stem irritation explains the nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, etc that frequently goes along with Migraine headaches.

These observations are now being demonstrated in the research as well.  A recent case study is showing that after upper cervical care using the NUCCA procedure, a follow-up Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance (PC MR) study demonstrated changes in flow from the jugular veins that leave the brain.   The subject of the case study obtained relief from migraine headache pain consistent to maintenance of his upper cervical correction by the end of thirty days. The exam continued to show improvement of the blood flow measured over the 16-week study period consistent to maintenance of upper cervical alignment.  Additional funding is being sought to do a larger study on Migraines, upper cervical misalignments and blood flow changes.

So who do you know that is still getting migraines?  Does anyone know Whoopi?  Johnny?  Troy?  How about you?  Are you losing parts of your life because of the effects of Migraine Headaches?  You can be helped!  But you have to take the first step…

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)

Can Upper Cervical Care Help Patients With Dizziness?

Can Neck Problems Cause Dizziness?

by Dr. Bill Davis

Vertigo, dizziness, disequilibrium and many other of these types of conditions can be directly related to old head and neck injuries that have never been properly addressed and the underlying damage to the upper neck has led to dysfunction in the ears, the balancing system of the body or both.

When the head or neck is injured the upper neck (Atlas & Axis) frequently become twisted and misaligned leading to a slight displacement of the head…sometimes by as little as 3/4 of a degree.  Once the heavy head (10-14 lbs) is tilting to the side the brain has to compensate for that change through the righting reflex to keep the eyes and ears level with the horizon at all times.

The entire structure of the body will twist and tilt in order to compensate for those upper neck misalignments and head tilt.  Eventually leading to pressure building up into the nerve system.  The area that is first impacted by these problems is the brain stem area, which is just basically a part of the brain that extends down into the spine and connects the the spinal cord.

The brain stem area is a key to the balance of our bodies.  This upper neck area has more pressure sensors the anywhere else in the body that feed information into the brain stem and the brain.  Also the brain stem send messages via the cranial nerves to the ears for balance as well.  Blood flow is also effected when the brain stem function is altered.

When someone is suffering from vertigo, dizziness, or disequilibrium, the brain stem is frequently involved.  Upper neck misalignments alter the brain stem function and lead to these types of problems.  When these old injuries are dealt with by the correction of the head position by a precise upper cervical corrective procedure such as NUCCA, the healing process can begin.

Holding the corrections is the key to healing, not having your spine adjusted 1000′s of times!

Now here is an example…Terry is in property management and is also an avid Bicyclist, riding up to 100 miles per week.  When he began to develop vertigo it was about 2 years after he had taken a pretty significant fall from his bike and had a motorcycle accident that seemed to make the dizziness and vertigo attacks much worse.  To the point that he was concerned even about going up on a ladder at one of his rentals.  Here is his story…

I have been suffering from vertigo (dizziness) for 6-7 years, getting more constant as the years progressed.  I tried everything…Every doctor that I could think of, EENT, general doc, vertigo specialist and finally my last hope, a NUCCA (upper cervical) doctor.  Dr. Davis helped me almost instantly.  I have not been dizzy for 8 weeks!  Thanks Breath of Life for giving me my health back!!!

Now not all dizziness, vertigo and disequilibrium is related to head and neck traumas.  But if you have a history of those types of accidents then an evaluation with a qualifiedupper cervical specialist is very important.  If the underlying cause can be identified, what a difference it can make for your life!

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for dizziness or any other condition, disease or symptom.)

More Questions About Upper Cervical Care?

Adapted from: Upper Cervical FAQ’s

by Dr. William R. Davis Jr.


Why is the upper cervical area (upper neck) so important to health and well-being?

This is essentially the epicenter of your body. The most important area for communication from your brain to your body. Complete loss of that communication can be devastating . Do you remember Christopher Reeve? Superman had a severe injury to his upper cervical spine which resulted in a 100% loss of function from that area. When you have a upper cervical misalignment you are not losing 100% of the function but you may be losing 30%, 50% or more of the function of your body.


What is Upper Cervical Care?

A unique health care solution that focuses on correcting an underlying source of interference to proper body function. Accidents and injuries can tear loose the connective tissue that holds the spine in place. This can create a weakness and allow the spine to breakdown and lock into a stressed position. This most frequently starts in the upper neck since it is the most vulnerable to injury and this leads to, in the standing position, one of the hips often can be higher than the other, laying down one of the legs often can be shorter than the other. The head could tilt to one side. And it can be progressive …so that the longer the spine is locked in this position, the more wear and tear can happen.


What makes Upper Cervical Care unique compared to other care?

There are many forms of spinal health care today. Many focus on addressing local joint motion by administering a short, quick thrust to a localized area. Upper Cervical Doctors influence the entire spinal columns postural balance by returning the heavy head to a more balanced position on top of the narrow neck. Without any popping, cracking or twisting of the spine. It is a gentle, accurate and precise procedure for correcting the spine. With upper cervical care it is not about adjusting someone thousands of times…it is about holding the correction. Staying in alignment is how a person expresses the potential for health.


Who can benefit from Upper Cervical Care?

Any adult or child who wants their body to function at a higher level. Especially those who have experienced head or neck trauma. Not all individuals are misaligned however. Many children and some adults have been assessed in our office who were found to be in alignment and no care was necessary.


How can such a light pressure make such dramatic changes?

For the same reason why one is able to move a pile of heavy bricks with a light push of a wheelbarrow: leverage. Using the first vertebra and the weight of the head to gain a biomechanical advantage, the doctor places their own body on a calculated angle to ensure the correction is specific to the patient’s individual misalignment. The force generated by the doctor is transferred to the patient in such a gentle and precise fashion that many patients are surprised by the light feel. Although the procedure is subtle in it’s application the results often are not! Our patients typically experience fast changes and long lasting results!