Fixing Stroke Victim Cranial Imbalances (2 of 3)

My main focus while treating Jeff was correcting his Atlas. This is the first vertebra at the top of your spine, also known as the C1. I also wanted to take pressure off of his cranium so any brain function wasn’t inhibited. By doing this we can then calm the nervous system which has been over excited. This excitement causes everything below the brain stem to become hypertonic (very tight and tender to the touch). As you can see from the chart below Jeff had 3 Vectors of Force, a vector of force is inter-cranial pressure that stems from cranial bones adjusting due to trauma or an imbalance stemming from the body.

Looking at the chart above the three X’s indicated are the vector areas. The Vestibularcochlear, Facial, Trigeminal, Oculomotor, and Vagus nerve had been inhibited through these forces in the cranium and atlas. We can also see Arndt–Schulz Law in full affect here as well as the affected right arm. The inhibition of these nerves were causing Jeff to have facial paralysis, speech difficulty, balance and coordination issues, as well as affecting cognitive function like rapid thought processes and short term memory.    

Arndt–Schulz Law of Stimulus- For every nerve impulse, a small impulse stimulates function, a moderate impulse inhibits function, a large signal suppresses function.

Lovette Reactor

Another factor that we look at is the relationship between the pelvis and the cranium through the Lovett Reactor System. When looking at the reactor you must remember opposing distortions are BALANCING, distortions that are the SAME are IMBALANCED. When examining Jeff’s standing measurements we can see that the temporal bones and the anterior pelvic (ASIS) measurement are even and meeting the demands of the righting reflex. When looking at the posterior measurements you can see that the occiput tilts low on the left side while the back of the pelvis (PSIS) stays level, Jeff is NOT meeting the demands in this area. Anyone not meeting the demands of the Righting Reflex will experience MORE PAIN.

While on the topic of balancing the body and how the cranium and pelvis are interrelated, I’d like to touch on another factor influencing the body, Subtle Proprioceptive Mechanisms (SPM’s). An SPM is an internal force such as organ dysfunction that causes distortions in the body to switch while in the laying position. When looking for SPM’s we will look for discrepancies in the standing to laying down measurements. While standing the body is under the influence of the spine and our larger active muscles that help support us and move. While laying down these muscles are now inactive and we can see a different type of force being put on the body. SPM’s will cause measurements to get WORSE in the lying position or they will actually switch sides when measuring. Jeff had five SPM’s affecting him that could only be seen with him lying down. This switched both tilts and exaggerated the obliquity in his cranium, his shoulder and pelvis switched tilts as well and the left hip became anterior when lying. For Jeff many of these stresses came from the cranial imbalances as well as Heart, pericardium, and lung SPMS’s.

I hope now that you can understand these forces and imbalances and how deeply are body can be affected from trauma. Atlas and cranial pressures, the Righting reflex, and SPM’s can all affect us much greater than just tight muscles. These distortions are not complex to understand they are just foreign to many of us. I encourage any chronic pain patient or if you have a loved one suffering from a severe trauma like a stroke to please seek help from a Neurosomatic therapist so that issues can be treated thoroughly and affectively by looking at the deeper layers of dysfunction in the body and correcting them to alleviate that pain.

 If you have any questions about today’s post or have more questions about how NST can help your chronic pain please contact us at 941-735-0205 or at  www.PainfreeSRQ.com