Headaches and Back Pain or Brain Insufficiency? Spine Research is Starting to get Exciting!!!
The Medical field, Chiropractors, and Physical Therapist are working together for you!
Anatomically, there are 2 major purposes spine. First, gravity forces acceleration down on us at all times when sitting, standing, walking, and even laying. The spine is built to disperse this weight and allow the muscles to pull in many directions for movement. This movement feeds the joints and allows us to keep going! Second the spine protects the spinal cord. The spinal cord in simple terms is the electrical unit between the brain and every muscle and organ.
What is normal posture? (First understand the boring stuff)
There is normal values for blood work, blood pressure, hand grip strength, oxygen levels, and much more. There are also normal measurable values for the knees, hips, pelvis, and spine. Most doctors know there are “normal values” for range of motion when looking at the spine. However there are also normal values measuring spine statically standing. This has been analyzed by the medical field and proven by both medical and chiropractic! (1,2,3)
Structure Dictates Function, Function can Change the Structure. (???)
Scoliosis, thoracic hyper-kyphosis, cervical-kyphosis, and short anatomical legs are all shown to increase degeneration, affect bone development, change the way organs function, increase chances of disc herniation, and even alter blood flow. What happens when this is corrected rehabbed or surgically placed into improved positions? What happens to the pain, headaches, and factors that take away the enjoyment of daily life?
There are studies showing decreased blood flow in arteries that feed the brain when the neck starts to straighten and flexion of the neck affecting the air flow in babies! (5, 6) Pictures of the blood flow in the brain are shown below. This study showed improved brain circulation in a MRA by applying a Cervical Dennerol (orthotic device that induces curve in the neck)! (7)
“Our findings demonstrate preliminary evidence that loss of cervical lordosis may play a role in the development of changes related to the circle of Willis and cerebral artery hemodynamics and decreased blood flow in the brain.” (7)
Where are we going?
Currently chiropractors, physical therapist, and medical doctor studies are looking at improving headaches, nervous system conduction, and more. (3) They are working together to help humanity down the road! This means we are proving, that even if a person has something out of the normal range, when they reverse it, then the symptoms are also improving and the body continues to heal even 1 to 2 years down the road. Different organs heal at different rates. The intestines and liver have a pretty quick reproduction where as the heart and nerves take a lot longer. When the tension, is taken off the nerves and the diameter increases then the connection between the brain and the end organ/muscle improve. Sounds like common sense, however we still have to provide studies to see what happens when the therapy stops. Do the symptoms revert back or continue to improve? Currently doctors learning and using chiropractic biophysics are answering the questions and providing evidence all around the world. They are using a collection mirror image traction, exercises, and adjustments individualized for reproducible results. Research takes out variables, therefore clinically adding nutrition, blood work, and more can add to an individuals health and speed recovery!
Why is this important?
With cell phones, 24/7 TV, desk jobs, and weekend warriors on the rise, we are also seeing an increase in psychological disorders like Parkinson, Alzheimer, and concussions at earlier ages on a much larger quantity. Any studies showing improvement in circulation to the brain, decreased inflammation, and improved nerve conduction is a step forward! Hopefully one day getting a baseline of the spine is something done for most kids and teens to decrease problems in the future! Also, who really enjoys headaches and taking medication every week for the rest of their life or limiting the fun things in life?
- Breig, A. 1978 Adverse Mechanical tension in the Central Nervous System, Almqvist and Wiksell, Stockholm
- Augustus A. White, Manohar M. Panjabi. Clinical biomechanics of the spine 2nd edition. Lippincott, 1990
- https://cbpnonprofit.com/publications/ (Over 200 studies and continuing… Easier to reference the web-page and go to the studies from there.
- Moustafa IM, Diab AAM, Taha S, Harrison DE. Demonstration of central conduction time and neuroplastic changes after cervical lordosis rehabilitation in asymptomatic subjects: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Proceedings of the 14th biennial congress of the World Federation of Chiropractic, March 15-18, 2017
- Decreased Vertebral Artery Hemodynamics in Patients with Loss of Cervical Lordosis. Bulut MD, Alpayci M, Şenköy E, Bora A, Yazmalar L, Yavuz A, Gülşen İ. Med Sci Monit. 2016 Feb 15;22:495-500
- Shatz A, et al. Cervical posture adn nasal breathing in infancy. Acta Anat 1994;149: 141-145
- Katz EA, Katz SB, Fedorchuk CA, Lightstone DF, Banach CJ, Podoll JD. Increase in cerebral blood flow indicated by increased cerebral arterial area and pixel intensity on brain magnetic resonance angiogram following correction of cervical lordosis. Brain Circ. 2019;5(1):19‐26. doi:10.4103/bc.bc_25_18