CCSVI and CCVBP

[uprightdoc]

Jon,
It isn't necessary to fix herniated or buldging discs unless they are causing problems. In this regard, it is highly unlikely that the thoracic disc is causing your symptoms. On the other hand, you have a loss of lordosis in your cervical spine and possibly a head tilt to the left.

If you look at your lateral (side view) brain scan, your brainstem is aligned in an almost verticle position over the foramen magnum. With this in mind, if you look at the space in front of the lower brainstem and upper cervical spine you will see it is relatively narrow comparatively speaking. Regarding your symptoms, the vertebral-basilar arteries pass through this space and so does the subarachnoid space. Your MRI was most likely performed in the standard supine position with you lying on your back. The problem is that the brain settles or sinks slightly, when you stand upright. What this means is that when you stand or sit upright that tight space in front of the lower portion of the brainstem gets even smaller. Your symptoms are probably due to compression of the vertebal-basilar arteries and CSF pathways.

You need to get your cervical spine checked and realigned to take the pressure off the vertebral-basilar arteries, the vertebral veins, the subarachnoid space and the brainstem.

[ConstableComfortable]

Thanks Dr. F. I'll contact Dr. Heidi today.

Your description of compressed veins and arteries reminded me of another image off my MRI scans which looks odd to me. These show what looks like a vertebral artery or vein all lit up on one side, but not the other. Could this be damage caused by the compression you're talking about?

There are only 2 images but I posted additional coloured copies using the viewing software.

http://constablecomfortable.blogspot.co ... chive.html

[uprightdoc]

Jon,
You may have design variant in which the vertebral artery is larger on one side than the other, which would make you more susceptible to compression problems.

[ConstableComfortable]

Thanks again Dr F. for your time and for shedding some light on things. I'll let you know how I get on with Heidi.

Jon

[blossom]

hi dr. flanagan, not a whole lot new yet but those very small changes in the pelvic area for the good seem to be holding. i welcome any relief.

as you know my back on the right side "weakest side" has a hump from all these yrs. of stress on it. dr. weimer said he is getting that down some. the nurses aid that helps me bath says that there is noticeable improvement about from the middle down some but not a lot from the middle up. "not yet."

i have not yet gotten an mri. but, i plan on doing that soon.

thank you again for everything. you and dr. weimer both taking the time to discuss my case with one another means so much to me.

[uprightdoc]

Hello Blossom,
Your welcome - and thanks for the update. The bump in your back is called a kyphosis which often occurs along with scoliosis curves. About 1/3 of you that I have followed in my retrospective analysis have scoliosis problems. Scoliosis affects females much more than men but adult onset scoliosis affects males as well. Scoliosis causes problems and I will be discussing it further on my website and blog in the future. Abnormal curves in the spine (misalignments) affect blood and CSF through the cord the same as upper cervical misalignments affect circulation to the brain (and cord). Abnormal curvatures also traction and put tension on the cord and brain. This pulls the brainstem down toward the base of the cranial vault which can increase pressure on the brainstem and the long nerve pathways that connect the brain to the different levels of the cord. Getting a cervical MRI makes sense in your case. You most likely have spondylosis and possibly some stenosis.

[blossom]

dr. flanagan, i am going to talk with dr. weimer about the cervical mri. do you recommend any specific views as you advised me of specific x-rays.i also would like to get an mri of my complete spine as i never remember getting one since diag. any specifics on that?

thank you again for your time.

[HappyPoet]

http://www.thisisms.com/ftopicp-153059.html#153059

This was posted on FB by Arlene Hubbard. It appears to be an answer to the question raised in this thread. I don't think she would mind me posting it here:

"What is normal? Since we have our own scanner we've tested ourselves and friends of the family with other conditions. Only about 6-7 cases. We have not included these findings in any of our studies. Our preliminary thoughts are that normal vs not normal is not simply black or white. We'll need many more normals to determine this and an important question is who should be defined as normal. We agree that relatives must not be considered normal since jugular abnormalities are presumably congenital . Our own assessment is that the severity of CCSVI(number and location of obstructions) plus other factors such as history of trauma, and sources of inflammation including diet and lifestyle work together to cause CNS lesions. In fact Dr Hubbard has come to the conclusion that a less likely factor is a primary autoimmune attack on myelin-the orthodoxy of the last 40 years."

Hi Dr. Flanagan,
The above post made me think of your theories.
http://hubbardfoundation.org/

[uprightdoc]

Hello Blossom,
Dr. Weimer should be able to order the MRIs for you. Cervical MRIs are basically the same. Full spine MRI would be very enlightening in your particular case.

[uprightdoc]

Hello Poet,
What I find most interesting about Devin's case is the picture of him sky diving. I have treated people with sky diving injuries. The worst cases were the soilders from WWII and even up to the Granada invasion they were still using the old types of chutes. I treated several with compession fractures in their low back. Although much better now with the new chutes, sky diving is still a high risk sport for injuries.

[blossom]

dr. flanagan, i know this is not in line with the norm here but if you would give me your thoughts on this i'd appreciate it.

in the 70's when i got hit hard at the base of my skull kinda to the right and i had tingling in my left hand and left foot when in hosp. they put me in traction for a while and i used a home device for awhile. it helped that.

my non professional thoughts are after i had that injury i developed these bone spurs and the fall in 1990 jammed things up putting pressure on them and started these symptoms as the spurs got worse and my spine got worse from the wear and tear of dealing with the symptoms and none of this being addressed in the right way-along with the fall tilting the pelvis and started the tugging on brain stem. that same area is the area that when i position my head i can move better. also that is where these bone spurs are at. you have my x-rays. i feel and with my chiro.'s observance this is most likely a big part of my problems. we are thinking of trying some traction with in home device. just to see if it would help get the pressure off some.-----what are your thoughts----could it help or is it a bad idea from your point of view.

we are not at the point yet for me to get nucca. i am hoping soon to get those mri's. maybe they will show more.

appreciate your opinion as always.

[uprightdoc]

Hi Blossom,
I used cervical, lumbar, long axis, bucks and intersegmental traction units in my office. I also used flexion-distraction and hand traction. Intermittent is better than static traction for most spinal problems. Intermittent traction pulls on segments and then lets go, which causes pumping. In addition to stretching connective tissues the intermittent pumping action helps move edema (fluid accumulation or swelling) in the joints. Pumping also helps move fluids in and out of the cartilage of the discs. Likewise, many chiropractors and craniopaths have long maintained that pumping can be helpful to moving CSF in the brain and cord. The basic adjustive maneuvers in craniopathy are also a form of mild intermittent traction focused on the base of the skull.
The problems with all traction is targeting the correct area, slippage of restraints and strength of pull. With that in mind at home cervical traction is worth a try. Some units come with pumps that allow you to do manual intermittent traction. Discuss the differences with Dr. Weimer.

[civickiller]

have you ever had a patients atlas move where you needed to adjust your adjustments?

[DrKoontzDC]

have you ever had a patients atlas move where you needed to adjust your adjustments?

Dear Civickiller,

Typically, barring any serious injury, the way each persons Atlas & Axis misalign is the way they will always misalign when an adjustment is required. This is due to the formation of the bones in that particular individual. Some Upper Cervical Chiropractors refer to it as an On/Off switch because it has 2 positions. I prefer to think of it more along the lines of a dimmer switch because the power is never really turned off it's just turned down as the signals traveling through the brainstem become distorted as a result of the pressure from the misalignment of the vertebrae.

Once in a while, what has been reported by some Upper Cervical Chiropractors is if a person is involved in a serious accident what is possible to see is a change not only in their pattern (for upper cervical chiropractors that scan) and a change in the listing (the vertebrae and the way the vertebrae misalign). It has also been found by some in this situation where once the most recent injury has been dealt with the patient returns to their original pattern and listing.

I hope this answers your question?

Might I ask the reason behind your question?

[civickiller]

i asked because i have been seeing a ucc dr since january weekly. i have had 8 adjustments. my first 4 i felt an improvement, my last 4 there was no improvements. and its not me forgetting how i first was and saying no theres no improvement when there really was. i am a little better but no where near how i was feeling after getting adjusted. and my atlas is still going out of alignment. my right leg was pulling up 1/2 inch the first 3 visits then 1/4 inch for the last 5 visits. my lower back is hurting again, my heat intolerance is back.

so my question, have u guys ever had a patients atlas move out of alignment differently where you had to change the way you where making adjustments

i wasnt in any accidents or neck trauma of any kind