Traumatic Brain Injury and Its Aftermaths – Dementia, Parkinson’s and Encephalopathy

This is the first in a series of articles. I recently attended a conference on Brain Injury and Neurodegeneration taught by Dr. Dan Murphy. Much of his information is extremely relevant to what is happening in America today, especially with regard to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. So watch this space for additional articles.

The first topic I would like to address is brain injury. That may seem like it doesn’t apply to you, but rest assured brain injury is ubiquitous in America today. Typical sources of trauma include:

1. Sports injuries – whether with a concussion or without. Some of the sports with the highest incidence of brain trauma include football and soccer.
2. Car accidents with whiplash injuries. In the U.S., these are the primary cause of traumatic brain injury. {Amen, Daniel MD, Making a Good Brain Great, Harmony Books, 2005, p. 28}
3. Clear-cut accidents where you bump your head – either from a fall, on a kitchen cabinet or on the car door. The kind of injury most of us just brush off.

The reason I took the class is that I had a serious concussion about 20 years ago and am now experiencing some effects from it.

So, first of all, what causes traumatic brain injury? Remember, the brain is very soft, gelatinous tissue housed in a very hard skull. When you experience a blow to the head, or a whiplash type event, your brain slams “against the walls, ridges and sharp bony edges in the skull, ripping small blood vessels, causing multiple minute bleeds and over time many areas of tiny scars.” {Ibid. p. 25}

Furthermore, brain injuries are additive. A person may not initially have symptoms when they injure a certain part of the brain, because the brain has built-in reserves. “The next brain injury, even if it seems minor, may wipe out the reserves, causing major problems.” {Ibid. pp 25-26} Therefore, it is important to build your nutrient reserves to protect your brain. I will cover that topic in my next article.

According to the Rand Corporation, the top four degenerative diseases that will bankrupt the U.S. health care system are dementia, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. They all have a common denominator – INFLAMMATION! Watch this space for further discussion of how you need to change your lifestyle and your nutrient intake to reverse the adverse effects of the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.).

Additionally, a very important tool to affect brain function is chiropractic adjustments.  A recent in-depth study of the effects of chiropractic adjustment validates the effect adjusting has on brain function. {Ogura, T, et al, Division of Cyclotron Nuclear Medicine, Tohoku University (Graduate School of Medicine), Sendai Japan, published in Alternative Therapies Health Medicine Nov-Dec 2011; Vol 17; No. 6; pp.12-17}.  There have been a variety of studies from Winsor (1921) through Korr (1979) that have claimed that compromised spinal function causes increased sympathetic tone, which is linked to immune system dysfunction, pain, vascular compromise with subsequent additional neurological dysfunction and reduced systemic health. This study, using the most advanced technology currently available, supports this model. What can we deduce from this? Regular chiropractic adjustments maintain the flexibility of the spine, reduce pain and inflammation – including in the brain. The overall result: improved mental and organ function and improved quality of life.

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Surviving a Flu Pandemic

I was surprised in discussing my last newsletter with various clients. I suddenly realized that I was the repository of almost forgotten knowledge – valuable knowledge that could be life saving. This letter is the result of that cognition.

As you may be aware, I had a chiropractic mentor – Dr. Ralph J. Martin. He was a leader in our profession, serving as both President and Regent of a large chiropractic institution, co-founding the American Chiropractic Association and the process of certifying chiropractic nationally for continuing education approval. He did much to establish the profession in the U.S. And, what I learned from him remains invaluable.

In 1918, he was a lad of 16, living in the Dakotas. He vividly remembered the Spanish flu pandemic, when people all over town were ill, and many of them were dying. His family’s doctor was the only lady chiropractor in town. When the epidemic hit, she made house calls on every family in her practice, adjusting every member of the family almost daily. I gather it was a pretty small town. The upshot of this story is that she was the only doctor in town that didn’t lose a single patient. Every other doctor was helpless in the face of the spread of the contagion.

Young Ralph was so impressed that he decided he wanted to be a chiropractor when he grew up. It took him until his mid-30s to be able to afford school, but he graduated and became a force within the profession.

You may ask, “Why did adjusting work?” Good question; and, an important question. What most of us are unaware of is that, even today, the healing process is dependent upon the body’s immune system.  It is the immune system’s ability to adapt and respond that allows you to heal – no matter what the affliction or procedure. I’ve said this before, but it bears iteration: No doctor would make the first incision if he or she wasn’t sure the body would heal up the wound. In fact, there was a chiropractic hospital in Denver (I believe) years ago where patients with T.B., as well as other infectious diseases were treated only with adjustments. The advent of antibiotics eliminated the hospital – writing a prescription is always easier and less time-consuming than physically adjusting someone.

At this point in time, it has become illegal in the State of California to advocate a chiropractic adjustment as an alternative to vaccines; therefore, I am not doing so. I am simply presenting the evidence so that you can decide what will work best for you and your family.

The effect of a chiropractic adjustment on the immune system is unassailable. Even medical professionals acknowledge its value. The following is a partial list of references:

1.    “People who receive regular chiropractic adjustments have immune system competency that is 200% greater than those who don’t.” (Dr. Ron Pero. New York Preventative Medicine Institute and Environmental Health at NYU)
2.    A group of HIV positive patients received chiropractic adjustments.  Thereafter, blood tests were performed by the patients’ independent medical center where they were under medical supervision. A 48% increase in CD4 cells was demonstrated over the six month duration of the study for the adjusted group. (The Effects of Specific Upper Cervical Adjustments on the CD4 Counts of HIV Positive Patients, Chiropractic Research J 1994; 3 (1):32-39)

3.    Studies attempting to measure the effect of chiropractic manipulation on the immune system are reviewed. Their results suggest that chiropractic or manipulative treatment may influence T and B lymphocyte numbers, NK cell numbers, antibody levels, phagocytic activity and plasma beta-endorphin levels. (James M. Allen, Chiro J Aust 1993; 23 (4) Dec:132-135)

My recommendation is that, at the first sign of illness, you call and schedule an appointment for an adjustment. Be sure to mention the reason you want a treatment, so that I can incorporate the Spears’ adjustment to the thoracic spine, which directly stimulates the lymph nodes in that area. Other modalities we offer – including diathermy – are for after an infection has become well established. Getting adjusted is a way to avoid becoming ill.