CCSVI and CCVBP

[uprightdoc]

Nigel, For pre and post checks on objective signs I would recommend standard neurological tests including: station (eyes open and closed while standing on two legs and one leg) and gait (sobriety test etc); cranial nerves, normal and pathological deep tendon reflexes; simple sensory pinwheel and brush tests as well as muscle tests to check strength and coordination.
I was in a study group many years ago where one of the chiropractors used plethysmography and doppler scans pre and post adjustments. It is good tool that would be handy in deignated research facilities.

[costumenastional]

Dear Doctor Flanagan,

these are stolen from Dr Conicello's facebook page. I wont tell if you dont

Straightening of the cord before:



3 weeks after adjustment. From the comments below the pic I understood that this is a case of a young person. I don't know what he was suffering from.



And this is me. Is this a bad case of straightening? From what I ve been told from Dr Koontz this happened due to upper cervical spine subluxations (Atlas and Axis). I can't imagine another reason myself...

Normal



inverted



Would you say that there is a chance for my cord to get better, with some kind of curve and all?
And is it my impression or my atlas is different?

[DrKoontzDC]

And is it my impression or my atlas is different?

It's not your Atlas that is different. You have what is called a posterior ponticus which is a calcified ligament that connects to the Atlas.

[costumenastional]

Can you please fix it tonight?

Seriously...this sounds bad!
You mean that there is a ligament glued on my Atlas which potentially prevents it to move properly????

What about the curve I am missing? I know we have already spoke about it but given that my misalignment is so serious I didn't pay so much attention at the time. I can feel some difference though (as far as my neck feels) and I meant to talk to you about it in the evening.

[costumenastional]

I checked it out:

http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S07 ... ci_arttext

I was actually referring to my atlas being shorter and I found out that I have a ring in my atlas !!!

But from what I can understand it s not too bad.

an ossification with functional significance, developed in other primates (Krishnamurthy et al., 2007) in order to protect the passage of the vertebral artery in a region which, by its sinuosity, is susceptible to being damaged or compressed as a result of craniocervical dynamics.

[uprightdoc]

Well so much for trying to sneak some pictures past Dr. Koontz and secretly posting them here. He is like your mama. He's got eyes in the back of his head. You better watch your back.

The ponticulus posticus is particularly interesting in your case because they have been associated with migraines and ischemia (decreased blood flow) through the vertebral-basilar arteries. They can be congenital or acquired such as through trauma. The vertebral-basilar arteries also supply the cord. Your cervical curve isn't that bad. The problem is that it is forward of the gravity line.

[costumenastional]

Thanks for the reply Dear Doctor Flanagan!

I am sooo grateful Dr Koontz caught me on the act He has been very busy lately.

So, my straightening is not very bad and this is good news of course.
Tonight, I intent to talk further with Dr Koontz about that ring even though it is obvious that nothing can be done about it.

[uprightdoc]

It's just another challenge that further complicates things. The big challenge is to get Atlas back under your head where it is supposed to be. In your case, it is tilted to the left and well forward of gravity. That's because you landed on your right side. That poor position is causing a great deal of strain on an already overburdened system with a ponticulus posticus to make matters worse.
If you look at the x-rays of the child you posted you will notice that the head is far forward of gravity. Post correction it is in a balanced position over the atlas. Also notice the size of the child's head relative to atlas. The human head is large and the neck and neck muscles are small because the head is supposed sit balanced on top of the spine, which requires little energy. In your case and the child the muscles must work overtime. It will probably take months to straighten your neck out and decrease pressure on the brainstem.

[NINOU]

NINOU, what are your signs and symptoms? Do you get migraine-like headaches? How is your balance? What other tests have been done?

I don't have any migraine. No problem of balance, but I can't stand up alone.
My left arm is very weak, I can not lift it alone over 45 °.
Disappearance of the pulse with the arm raised and an muscle pain with outstretched arm .
Other pictures : http://ivcc.fr/images/cerv2_jcm.jpg and http://ivcc.fr/images/cerv1_jcm.jpg
Many thanks

[costumenastional]

It will probably take months to straighten your neck out and decrease pressure on the brainstem.

I can only wait and hope for the best. At least I know that I am under the best care possible.
Thank you Dear Doctor Flanagan.
Having both you and Michael by my side makes the difference.

[uprightdoc]

NINOU, I still need to know more about your signs and symptoms. I discuss scoliosis in my book. Scoliosis causes functional stenosis of the spinal canal which contains the vertebral veins. You obviously have a curvature problem that is causing significant distortion of the thoracic outlet, so much so that it your pulse disappears as you raise your arm overhead. You also have a significant head tilt and loss of cervical curve looking at you from the side. Again, you would be a perfect case for MRA and MRV baseline study of brain circulation as suggested by Dr. Haake. Considering the rapid progression of your edss and now a TOS, I wouldn't wait. I would suggest you try upper cervical chiropractic for sure. You have nothing to lose. Check out Fernando's post of his x-rays back around page 2 or 3. He also has curvature problems and MS. So does CurIous who also posted his x-rays.

[NINOU]

Dear Dr Flanagan,
many thanks for your reply.
I don't know what to tell you more about my symptoms ..
For several weeks, I have the feeling to sleep more and more twisted. I have difficulty extending the fingers of my left hand, but remain flexible. My feet are cold and insensitive.
Find here my scanner report :
http://ivcc.fr/CR_angioscanner_eng.doc

I'm living in France near Toulouse. I don't know any chiropractor. I found only one on the yellow pages.

[uprightdoc]

NINOU, this is challenging. Is your main complaint weakness? Is the weakness mostly in the legs or the arms or both? What are your brain symptoms?
You have an anatomical variation in your transverse to sigmoid to internal jugular routes. You probably were born with a reduced drainage capacity. You also have a spinal curvature which makes me suspicious of other design flaws such as a tethered cord from below. Short cords often play a role in scoliosis. Go back and read Fernando's post and look at his full spine x-ray. Curvatures are common causes of TOS and I worked on them at both ends. Fernando's doctor used a heel lift which got rid of his Lhermitt's sign. There are many ways to balance the spine and reduce the stress on neurovascular tunnels. I was able to successfully correct most cases of TOS. A fairly recent study proved that decompressing a TOS reduced venous back pressure against the brain.

Unfortunatly, France is terrible toward chiropractors that's why there are so few and you have a very serious case that calls for best chiropractic care you can possibly find. Nonetheless, find out more about the only chiropractor in town. Where did he go to school? How long has he been in practice? What methods does he use? Does he take x-rays? Craniopathy and SOT are excellent in the hands of an expert and they are very safe for a condition such as yours. When you find out more about the doctor let me know.

[DrKoontzDC]

I'm living in France near Toulouse. I don't know any chiropractor. I found only one on the yellow pages.

A week ago I received a request for an Upper Cervical Chiropractor in France and through doing a search in French I was able to find 2 Upper Cervical Chiropractors that use NUCCA. However they are the only 2 I was able to find in France and I do not know much about them except that they were listed on a blog entry from another NUUCA Chiropractor in Canada. They are not listed as being apart of the National Upper Cervical Chiropractors Association (NUCCA) but not all chiropractors decide to join or affiliate themselves with their respective associations. If I'm able to track down any other Upper Cervical Chiropractors in France I'll be sure to let you know.

If you speak to either one of them please do as Dr. Flanagan suggested and ask the important questions such as:
What school did they go to?
When they Graduated?
What technique they use?
Do they practice only Upper Cervical? or do they add other techniques in?
Do they take x-rays?
Do they use any kind of scanning equipment?

So you can be a little more knowledgeable before you call them I suggest you look over this post I made which will give you more information on the different Upper Cervical techniques used.

http://www.thisisms.com/ftopicp-137647.html#137647


regards,
Dr. Koontz


Dr Xavier MALFRAY
11, avenue Albert Raimond
42170 Saint Priest en Jarez
France
Tel : 04 77 92 67 44

Dre Laurence NIGRON
22, rue Henri-Bordeaux
74000 Annecy
France
Tel : 04 50 23 29 08

[costumenastional]

Dear Doctor Flanagan, thank you for the e-mail. I can only agree and hope it's gonna get significantly better at some point.

The last few days had been rough. I even told Dr Koontz that I thought I might had to be readjusted when we met last night.
I hate it when this damn disease comes strong on you and reminds you that it s nearly impossible to get rid of it.

The scanning results consisted with my instinct. So, he went on and did an adjustment. Even though the cracking sound was not as loud as the first time a month ago, I felt that there was indeed a need for it to be pushed back in place. It s like it's trying to escape but the good doctor wont let it do it's thing. He will push it back towards the right direction.

I guess that the fact I held my first adjustment for a month is as good as the fact that this time the movement of the vertebrae was smaller.

There was a friend with me last night. He has been complaining for neck pains for many years. An orthopedist looked at his neck x rays and told him that his cervical spinal cord was in a very bad state. And of course he would have to live with it. A couple of years ago he experienced serious arm pains and not long after that his brain issues started. Cog fog, memory loss, fatigue etc.

He doesn't have MS. Even so, the x ray Dr Koontz took showed numerous issues, from misalignment to disc degeneration. He received his first adjustment and hopefully he will see improvements down the road. He is 60 yo and most likely it will take up to a year for his spine to get better. Hopefully he will stick with the treatment because his x ray was really bad.

About that ring in my Atlas, Michael believes (and I hope) that it is not tight enough to put significant pressure to the vertebral artery which goes through. It would be better if it didn't exist of course but since this is not the case nothing can be done about it.

I don't feel better MS wise so far. But as both doctors suggest, I can't leave my neck like that. It's not because they say it. It's because it is the truth. This condition is extremely sneaky and it had been working silently destroying my life for the last ten years.

I must be patient. And this is the hardest part.