CCSVI and CCVBP

[uprightdoc]

Here is something right out of the last chapter in my book. Dr. Harshfield sent me the actual study, which is fantastic.

It didn't take a rocket scientist, however, to figure out that microgravity will cause venous and CSF inversion flows in the brain. The system is designed to work with gravity and it works most efficiently in the upright position. Upright posture shaped the skull and spine, as well as the circulatory system of the brain, cord and body. Humans are earthlings by nature.

http://www.uthouston.edu/media/story.ht ... a378cb1219

[NZer1]

Space Travel may actually be a useful thing after all, and what's more, we the people with MS etc may be the benefactors ;)

Thanks Dr F this is also something that the CCSVI Alliance will enjoy reading!

Regards,
Nigel

[coach]

it's been awhile since I've posted. New SXs i am having are numbness in pelvic area pubic area to be spefic, hoarseness,lack of appeite, pressure behind eyes. Stiff neck, Not all the time but annoying I am confused. Seems like I am having a pulling sensation in soft tissue around tailbone. Headaches in back of head cold hands and feet. Someone on another board said she had the numbness problem untill she had occult tethered cord surgery. OTC is not visible on mri. usually based on sxs.

[uprightdoc]

Pressure behind the eyes, nausea and hoarseness can be signs of intracranial pressure problems. Appetite is driven by the hypothalamus (autonomic system). Headaches in the back of the neck and stiff neck could be a sign of intracranial pressue problems or simply a neck problems. Your pregnancy symptoms of PPON also suggests intracranial pressure problems and possibly Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. Typically, IIH patients have signs and symptoms similar to those seen in the astronauts such as enlarged optic nerve sheaths, empty sella syndrome, enlarged perivascular spaces, concave-like wear and tear to the clivus of the base of the skull etc. OTC isn't always accompanied by classic signs. Each patient should be assessed separately based on signs and symptoms, which often involve the bowel and bladder. I would also expect signs of adverse mechanical tension in the cord such as a straight leg raising or neck flexion (Lhermitte's or Brudzinki) type signs in your case. Numbness in the pubic bone area could be several things related to the low back and pelvic outlets. The nerves that supply the front and back of the pelvis and legs pass through bone, muscle and connective tissue tunnels that can easily be distorted and compress nerves. Although your complaints are sensory, I would check the muscles in your legs and feet and the ranges of motion in your lumbar spine and pelvis as well as your posture and the alignment of your spine and pelvis. I would also check the color of your skin in your legs and feet as well as palpate the femoral, tibial and pedal pulses to check for tunnel type problems. The femoral nerve can get irritated beneath the inguinal ligament if the pelvis is misaligned.

[blossom]

The femoral nerve can get irritated beneath the inguinal ligament if the pelvis is misaligned.[/quote]

dr. flanagan you have heard me complain of numbness in my left leg immediatly after ccsvi treratment. never got any answers why it progressed across the private area into the r. leg. could it be that the numbness in the l. leg compromised my sitting etc. when i was going to dr. weimer to get the pelvic tilt worked on i recall the numbness very slightly letting up in the private area and r. leg. the numbness over all remains. any thoughts?

and, to you dr. flanagan and everyone -- putting powerful positive thoughts to the universe--that this 2013 will be a great and wonderful and healing year.

[HappyPoet]

Thanks, blossom!

Wishing a safe and Happy New Year to everyone!!

[uprightdoc]

Groin complaints are fairly common. Technically it isn't just the femoral nerve that can get irritated. The femoral and sciatic nerves are the two largest and most well known nerves of the lumbosacral plexus that is formed by the low back and pelvic nerves that arise from the lower spinal cord. The lumbosacral plexus divides into anterior and posterior divisions that supply the front and back of the low back, the pelvis and the legs. The two largest nerves of the anterior division contains are the femoral and obturator nerves that supply the front of the thigh and groin. There are others as well. The obturator nerve supplies the groin area. The nerves that come off of the anterior division of the lumbar plexus can be irritated as they pass through tunnels between muscles and their fascia of the lower body such as the iliopsoas (hip flexor) and abdominal muscles. They can also can irritated as they pass through tunnels beneath the inguinal ligament.

The position used for venoplasty could have easily strained your pelvis and lumbar spine. Prior to surgery you have a history of lumbopelvic trauma from a hard fall that caused a chronic strain misalignment of the low back. Prolonged sitting due to weakness caused additional strains, degeneration (spondylosis) and acquired abnormal curvatures (scoliosis) called co-morbidities of the spine. The co-morbidities are separate conditions caused by other factors as well as the underlying condition. Lumbopelvic strains can cause myofascial imbalances and deformation of neurovascular tunnels that can irritate peripheral nerves. They can also cause adverse mechanical tenison in the nervous system due to functional and inflammatory tethering of the cord and nerve roots and their connective tissue attachments.

In cases of groin pain, in addition to standard ortho and neuro tests, I do superficial and deep tissue palpation, check posture, alignment and range of motion in the the low back and pelvis, test strength in the pelvic and leg muscles in neutral and under loads, and I palpate femoral, tibial and pedal pulses.

[uprightdoc]

Happy New Year everyone.

[blossom]

dr. flanagan, i keep forgetting to mention something but the talk of outerspace brought to mind.

i think i mentioned to you that when this all started with me one of the things i noticed was that if i laid flat on my back for a while i could be more normal for a while. would not help if i laid on either side.

of course i am way worse now but still if i lay flat there's a difference. sadly i just can not fall asleep or stay asleep if i'm not preferably on my side. "old habits die hard."---since i am in a wheelchair i have one that the back will power tilt that i am on my back with knees bent. this is good and i can manage to get some arm exercise with little weights etc. ------but i have found that if i tilt the chair and lower the back so that i have say higher knees than head similiar to a slight tilt on an inversion table. if i wait a couple minutes i can get more strength-my hands open better-grip is better. it's not say the gravity thing that comes into play because i let my arms dangle on each side to do the wrist etc. it's weird but when i just feel that slight tug or the little bit of the blood rush heavy head thing that goes on i know i feel and do better. which is the opposite theory of ibt therapy. i know you said traction could help but i had not pursued because of the lack of having help. i don't know if it takes the pressure off the spurs but even my hands etc. warm up better. "i call it my bat therapy." also, i was thinking of getting one of those inflatable neck braces because i can not stand a reg. brace long and at least i could let the air out until the help comes. are there any kind you could reccomend if you think a brace would be beneficial. any thoughts on all these questions are appreciated.

[blossom]

dr. flanagan, i had put this on tims thinking this cold benefit some. but, i'd really like your input.

i know the scalene muscles play a big part in tos. but looking at this animation and then reading the massage protocol maybe some will get better flow and relief.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=MygDJtu8EtA


After years of massage and also my own experience of stress in my body, two important muscles to massage in the neck are the SCM (which is the sternocleidomastoid) and the scalenes.

First, the SCM (sternocleidomastoid) gets its name from: sterno which refers to sternum, or breastbone, cleido refers to clavicle, or collarbone, and mastoid comes from attaching to the mastoid process which is the bony knob behind the ear. This muscle gets used when leaning one’s neck forward looking at the computer or with any activity where one leans the head forward, i.e. looking at your blackberry. Also, anyone who slouches are habitually leans forward will experience pain here. These are the muscles that can pull so tight they can cause a hump behind the neck (when they are not released). (This happens over an extended amount of time.) The stress put on this muscle can cause trigger points which can cause various problems ranging from sinus tension, sinus congestion, headaches, ear aches or flutter in the ear, jaw tension (which is sometimes misdiagnosed as TMJ) and even dizziness. They can refer pain to the back of the neck and top of the shoulders, too. The list goes on, yet you get the idea of how powerful of an effect this muscle can have when it is taxed.

When I massage this muscle it is not pleasant, by no means. In fact, at times some clients will literally reach up and put their hand on my hand (the one doing the massage), as a sort of reflex. I usually start the session off by saying, “This is an intense muscle to work and during the time I am working it you may feel sensations in your head that will stop when I stop working on it, yet the results will be great relief.” I joke by saying that the nickname I have for this muscle is the- B**** muscle or the cussing muscle, because it hurts while I am working it. Although, I have to say I do have some clients who enjoy the feeling. It is a sort of, “Hurts good,” as they say. Some people have such tight SCM muscles that I can barely put my fingers around it. There are those whom I can not even massage their SCM, it is too tight and thick. When this is the case, I do point work by releasing the scalenes and tilting the head to the side along with breath work.

A way to grab your own SCM muscle is to look straight ahead. Tilt your head to the right as if in the 3 o’clock position. Then while keeping it at that position, bring your chin towards your left shoulder (the opposite shoulder) only a few inches. Now, take your pointer finger and thumb on your right hand and pinch the thick muscle. You can move your fingers up or down from where you started to see where you feel the most sore area. That will be your key that you have found the area that needs tension released. If you do this a few minutes a couple times a day, you can relieve a lot of tension from your neck. You can do the same on the left side, yet reverse the directions as explained with the right.

One thing to be aware of when you work the SCM is to steer clear of the carotid arteries. If you feel a pulse, stay away from that area. Do not massage where you feel the pulsing of the artery. These are located high up under the chin near your windpipe. STAY AWAY from that area when massaging the SCM. (The SCM connects at the back of the jaw bone below the ear.)

The second group of muscles that are key to releasing much tension in the neck are the scalenes. Scalenes are the size of spaghetti noodles and they attach behind the SCM. There are some that even attach to the first and second ribs. There are three to four scalenes depending on the person. Some people do not have the scalenus minimus. (It is a normal human variation.) They contract when lifting your shoulder to keep your purse, bag or backpack in place. Or if you are nervous and hike your shoulders up from shallow chest breathing (versus breathing from the diaphragm), this can also cause tension in these intricate muscles. Asthma, allergies, and a bad cough can cause bad trigger points, as well. Even though these muscles are small, the pain can be extremely painful when they have trigger points. The pain from these can trigger pain in the upper arm, forearm, hand, pectoral area, back of arm and between the shoulder blade and spine (the rhomboid area). Many times pain from the scalenes can be misdiagnosed as bursitis or tendonitis in the shoulder. Another interesting fact is that tight scalenes can cause swelling in the hands and fingers. The reason being is that tight scalenes can compress the axillary vein, since it runs behind the scalenes.

Both the SCM and scalenes are affected when one experiences whiplash or any other violent movement of the head during a fall or an auto accident.

A way to work your scalenes is to look straight ahead and tilt your head to your right shoulder. Take your thumb and press in behind the SCM(on the right side). Turn your nose towards your shoulder. I find it easiest to place your thumb and walk it up and down behind the SCM. While that action is taking place you can move your head back and forth by moving nose towards shoulder, then ear towards shoulder. Alternating back and forth. Another move that helps is while your head is turned and tilted, press your thumb against the scalenes and wiggle your thumb back and forth while it keeps contact behind the ridge of the SCM. You can also place your thumb on the scalenes and tilt the head into the thumb between your muscle and shoulder while the head is pressing down towards the shoulder you are pressing up against the scalenes.

This may be tricky to understand by reading this article, therefore I want to recommend the book that taught me my tricks. The name of the book is, “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, “ By Clair Davies. It is an amazing book that is easy to follow and very friendly to people who do not know much about bodywork. For instance, if you have neck pain, you can look up neck pain and then it will describe every muscle that can cause neck pain and show where the areas of pain referral are for each muscle. I feel it is an important book that everyone should own, because it empowers one to figure out which muscle is causing pain in the various regions of the body. The book addresses all muscles in the body that can cause trigger points.

When I massage these muscles on my clients, I have tailored the techniques and made up my way of releasing them. These muscles can be so painful to work, that sometimes it is nice to have someone work them for you. Another key is to focus on your exhale while applying pressure. While I do this work, I coach the person by telling them when to inhale and exhale which helps tremendously. This seems to calm the person, as well. In the meantime, get to know your SCM and scalenes until I see you. Or find a therapist near you who knows how to work these important muscles. Happy trails and many wishes for happy neck muscles…

Cheri Keeler

[uprightdoc]

... since i am in a wheelchair i have one that the back will power tilt that i am on my back with knees bent. this is good and i can manage to get some arm exercise with little weights etc. ------but i have found that if i tilt the chair and lower the back so that i have say higher knees than head similiar to a slight tilt on an inversion table. if i wait a couple minutes i can get more strength-my hands open better-grip is better. it's not say the gravity thing that comes into play because i let my arms dangle on each side to do the wrist etc. it's weird but when i just feel that slight tug or the little bit of the blood rush heavy head thing that goes on i know i feel and do better. which is the opposite theory of ibt therapy. i know you said traction could help but i had not pursued because of the lack of having help. i don't know if it takes the pressure off the spurs but even my hands etc. warm up better. "i call it my bat therapy." also, i was thinking of getting one of those inflatable neck braces because i can not stand a reg. brace long and at least i could let the air out until the help comes. are there any kind you could reccomend if you think a brace would be beneficial ...

Blossom,
As we have discussed before, tilting your head forward brings the spurs closer to the belly (ventral) side of the cord and compresses the epidural space, which contains the vertebral veins. This causes venous hypertension and decreased blood flow to the cervical cord in the area. I further suspect that spurs (spondylosis) affects CSF flow. Tilting the wheelchair back so that your knees are higher than your head has the same effect as tilting your head back, which relieves the pressure and improves flow. Being wheelchair bound causes acquired secondary changes in the curves of the spine such as kyphosis and scoliosis. The changes in curves puts your head well forward of the normal postural gravity line, which strains the cord, spine and connective tissues. The spondylosis, kyphosis and scoliosis changes in spine cause deformation of the thoracic outlet tunnels including the intervertebral foramen, the scalene muscles, the clavicle (collar bone) and the pectoralis minor muscle. Deformation of the tunnels can compress blood vessels of the arms.

I like your term "bat therapy." Your bat therapy has a similar effect to inversion tables and distraction (traction) tables, which decompress the joints and intervertebral foramen of the spine. Distraction of the spine also stretches and relieves muscles and connective attachments, which is more important than massaging the belly of the muscles in cases such as yours.

An inflatable neck collar that can be used in the seated position is certainly worth a try in your case. I don't have a brand to recommend but there are several on the market. Shop around. If you have trouble deciding which one to buy let me know.

[uprightdoc]

I have treated many cases of TOS and never saw one that was simply due to muscle tension in the scalenes or pectorals. There is nearly always an underlying structural problem that causes the dysfunction, imbalance and tension in the muscles and other outlets.

[blossom]

dr. flanagan, the scalene muscles would have an underlying culprit in most cases. especially in a case like mine. i know a massage in gen. just makes a person feel better. but, i don't ever recall getting a massage like this one. the more disabled i become the more at times the neck and shoulder area muscles feel like hard knots. can't be good for blood flow either. muscles in that area at times feel like they could pop my head off. do you feel this would possibly benefit somewhat and cause no harm?

[uprightdoc]

There is no harm in trying and it may provide some relief.

[NZer1]

Some thing of interest?

A Link Between Heart Disease, MS and Alzheimer's
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Chlamydia pneumoniae is back in the news. Not to be confused with Chlamydia trachomatis, which is sexually transmitted and lives in the genital tract, C. pneumoniae has long been thought to be a major factor in many respiratory infections, MS, and cardiovascular disease. And now, new studies indicate it may very well play a major role in triggering the onset of Alzheimer's. disease
http://www.jonbarron.org/article/link-b ... alzheimers