This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Thank you Dr.s.
My BP has been taken by our MS nurse regularly and I am of the opinion she is up to the task. I will talk more my GP in about an hour.
Dr F is it possible that CSF fluid gets trapped in the spinal canal in my case? I am very aware at the moment that spine, particularly neck movement causes my symptom of electrical sensations and it cases a pulling of muscles in my legs and arms. My thought is that the fluid becomes trapped because of my chari and bulges and puts pressure on cord and or nerve exits?
Neava, I have the contacts that Dr. K speaks of for chiros in NZ and I have experience with our local Funnell Chiropractic. I am still swamped and will ring soon, sorry.
Regards All,
Nigel

the contact details of person would be great
neava

hi nigel

i have neurologist appointment today,
so when ever you have time is great,
or wait, we have coffee group thursday, we can catchup then, if you find time gets away from you,

neava

Hello all,
For those of you intereted in the subject I have included the link below to my latest blog on the design of the base of the skull and posterior fossa and their role in Chiari malformations. I will be covering much more on the posterior fossa as the site develops.
http://www.upright-health.com/posterior ... hiari.html

Hello

I have been following your posts for a little while and I am wondering if you can provide me with some information. I live in Manitoba, Canada and am wondering if you know of anyone in this province who would be capable of doing an assessment of my upper spine?

I had a swallow test done and the tech who read the xrays noticed a bump pressing on my throat, she mentioned that mainstream Dr's would say it didn't matter but after reading some of the posts here I am very interested in seeing if this is a factor with my health issues.

Thank you very much for any information you can provide.

Dr. Flanigan_Greetings. I have been lurking on your thread for some time now. I was recently in Austin, TX and had the opportunity to visit a NUCCA level II certified Chiropractor. Below I will give you an overview of my history and the x-rays she took. First I would like your comments on her method of correction.

Lying on my side on the table with my head resting on an adjustable platform, she strenuously worked her hands together, making slight grunting noises, then fairly gently touched my jaw, near my ear. She did this over and over for most of two hours. Afterwards she seemed exhausted. She said I would be quite sore the next day, I was not. From her pre x-ray she determined my atlas was out by 4.5 degrees. The after x-ray showed 1 degree. I was also placed a number of times standing on a device that measured head tilt.

I returned three days later and there was another two hours of more of the same. In the end she said I was straight, and again was told to anticipate soreness. Again, there was none. I will be back in Austin in July. Is there anything to gain from seeing her again?

My questions are: Is this standard NUCCA correction? Is there any way that I should be able to tell if this was $400 well spent? I have noticed no improvements, but my true goal is to continue to notice no significant loss.

My history: I am a 58 yo male. I crushed C-5 in 1988 in a boating incident. I had cervical fusion C 4-6. My first neurological episode was in 1993, tingling and loss of feeling in various parts of my body. That resolved on its own over 6 months or so. In 2008, after noticing a continuing decline in balance, I went through MRI and lumbar puncture and got an MS diagnosis. Since then my left leg has developed weakness, foot drop and spasticity. In September 2010 I had veno-plasty and recovered most of my balance loss and energy. The leg is unchanged. The improvements have held.

I have a .jpg of the before and after x-rays but I can't figure out how to get them here. Can anyone help me on that? It may be as simple as turning html on, but I can't find a control for that either. In "My Info" I have selected "Always allow html". Is there someplace else for that?

Boo

Thanks Cece

Hello Munchkin,
Can you provide a little more information. A bump on your throat is a vauge discription. What are health issues are you having that you feel might be due to the bump on the throat? There are throat muscles that can be affected by head and neck misalignments and TMJ problems.

Hello CaptBoo,
You have significant problems with your cervical spine. You crushed C5 and subsequently had fusion of C4-C6. Your initial x-rays show a left head tilt that was substantially reduced in a few treatments. I am guessing that the first visits for consultation, x-rays and first adjustment cost about $200. At $50 per office visit you had 4 follow up visits.

It is far too soon to evaluated effectiveness of care. With or without improvement in symptoms so far, your neck is in bad shape and it would be wise to have it corrected and maintained.

The NUCCA doctor is doing an excellent job. The strain on the doctor isn't so much in the hands as it is bending over and taking and holding their line of correction. The device you are standing on is a very sophiticated expensive piece of equipment called and Anatometer by Bench corporation. It measure pelvic and shoulder rotation and tilt, head tilt and rotation and weight shifts. I used plumb lines and a hand held device in my office called a scoliometer. Upper cervical should be evaluated after a month of care and then after three months. It takes time for the body, brain and cord to adjust to changes.

Thanks you for the reply Doc. The $400 was for 2 sessions, each over 2 hours and probably 6 x-rays. I do plan to go back in July, it's 600 miles away, so regular visits are not an option. Follow-ups are about $50.

My biggest question is really, how can the correction be made when so little force is actually applied?

She did say she was planning to use my case to get her Level III certification.

Do you have any thoughts on what kinds of changes I may expect to see or feel in the coming 30 days?

Thanks for your time and thoughts.

Boo

Hi Dr.
My visit with the GP went well. He understood my dialogue and had read my copy of this thread of recent time.
Firstly my BP was low, 90/60 at rest and for the first time raised to 100/75 on standing. It has always dropped in the past.
The approach is that I will have xrays on cervical spine and also my LH hip as it is problematic as well.
There is another letter of request to the neuro for MRI and for up right MRI I believe. The Dr knew exactly what we had been discussing here!
Ironically my symptoms in the last few days have changed. I am getting the L'Hermittes symptom almost constantly. Any movement in my neck sets this off at present. Even coughing will send a shock through my spine arms and legs. There is at present a tingling in my hands and fingers that is constant and does fluctuate with movement but does not go away. The tingling at times feels like my legs want to pull upward into a fetal pose.
How this develops or subsides is going to be of interest. It is to be honest a bit scary.
Have just hauled out my MRI's to compare with your brilliant description on your site. Upright MRI would be the only true indication in my situation. Things to the untrained eye look ok. Straight line of the brain stem although there are places where contact 'could' occur and deviate the cord either at the skull front of the foraman magnum or also at atlas/axis level. This would only be indicated on upright MRI. The deviation and contact points of the C5/6 disc bulge IMO would be impacting the cord when the spine is flexed, and the possibility of drawing the brain stem into contact as well with the foreman magnum. In my mind a form of tethering? Stretching the cord between to points when the neck is curved (because the cord is unable to move freely in the spinal column)? Not sure if that is 'tethered cord' syndrome?
A dear friend is having her second angio treatment in NZ as we speak and I am extremely side tracked waiting for her text. Fingers and toes crossed!
Regards Nigel

Funny just found this article in my inbox.

A 3T MR Imaging Investigation of the Topography of Whole Spinal Cord Atrophy in Multiple Sclerosis
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2011 Apr 28. [Epub ahead of print]

By performing whole spinal cord imaging at 3T, the authors aimed to investigate the topography of spinal cord atrophy in multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to controls. They found a trend towards lower spinal cord volumes in progressive forms of MS at the upper cervical levels compared to controls which was significant when compared to RRMS/CIS patients. In contrast they found a trend towards increased spinal cord volumes in RRMS/CIS patients compared to controls throughout the cervical and thoracic cord which was significant at the T10 vertebral level. The authors believe the larger volumes seen in RRMS/CIS may reflect inflammation and odema, and suggest that the specificity of spinal cord volume measures for neuroprotective therapeutic effect may be limited.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21527570

Hello

I have problems swallowing, small bits of food get stuck in my throat. The thought was that this was caused by the MS, I have very tight muscles on the left side of my neck and intermittent neck stiffness. There is a crackling noise when I turn my head in either direction, it is more noticeable when my chin is pointing down towards my chest. Prior to being diagnosed with MS I would have a difficult time lifting my arms above my head and as the years have gone by it just gets more difficult.

I wasn't sure if you wanted all of the issues.

At this stage I have many MS issues including numbness, drop foot, weakness in hands and legs, fatigue, balance issues, ataxia, heat sensitivity, these are the main ones.

Thank you for your time and response

Hello Boo,
NUCCA uses very little force because they use a great deal of leverage applied along precise lines of correction. The contact point near your jaw in the transverse process of C1/atlas. When you are lying on your side, your head is resting on a special headpiece that is precisely set. C1 is suspended in this position over the edge of the headpiece, which makes it easy to slip back into proper postition beneath the skull where it belongs. You should see changes on the Anatometer.

You seriously injured your neck in a boating accident. Fixing your neck makes sense. It is a healthy thing to do for your spine and nervous system. The alternative is to leave it the way it is, which is probably what caused the MS in the first place.

munchkin wrote: I have problems swallowing, small bits of food get stuck in my throat...I have very tight muscles on the left side of my neck and intermittent neck stiffness. There is a crackling noise when I turn my head in either direction, it is more noticeable when my chin is pointing down towards my chest. Prior to being diagnosed with MS I would have a difficult time lifting my arms above my head and as the years have gone by it just gets more difficult...

I have many MS issues including numbness, drop foot, weakness in hands and legs, fatigue, balance issues, ataxia, heat sensitivity, these are the main ones.

Hello Munchkin,
You have neck muscle tightness and occassional stiff necks with cracking sounds when turning your head that are worse when you tilt your head upwards. A basic neuro test would tell if you have problems with the hypoglossal cranial nerve. Other than that, based on your symptoms, it is likely that your neck problems are affecting your tongue and throat muscles. The hyoid muscles control the hyoid bone, which is the wishbone of the throat located beneath the jaw and above the Adams apple. It is often aggravated in neck conditions.