We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.
This is Chapter 4 from RC’s best-selling book:
“Basic Principles of Chiropractic Neuroscience”
These materials are provided as a service to our profession. There is no charge for individuals to copy and file these materials. However, they cannot be sold or used in any group or commercial venture without written permission fromACAPress.
Chapter 8: Clinical Disorders and the Sensory System
This chapter describes those sensory mechanisms, joint signals, and abnormal sensations (eg, pain, thermal abnormalities) that have particular significance within clinical diagnosis. The basis and differentiation of pain are described, as are the related subjects of trigger points and paresthesia. The chapter concludes with a description of the neurologic basis for the evaluation of the sensory system and the sensory fibers of the cranial nerves.
THE ANALYSIS OF PAIN IN THE CLINICAL SETTING
Although all pain does not have organic causes, there is no such thing as “imagined” pain. Pain that can be purely isolated as a structural, functional, or an emotional effect is rare. More likely, all three are superimposed upon and interlaced with each other in various degrees of status. This is also true for neural, vascular, lymphatic, and hormonal mechanisms.
Common Causes of Pain and Paresthesia
The common causes of pain and paresthesia are:
(1) obvious direct trauma or injury;
(2) reflex origins in musculoskeletal lesions, which deep pressure often exaggerates, such as trigger areas;
(3) peripheral nerve injury (eg, causalgia), which results in an intense burning superficial pain;
(4) the presence of nerve inflammations and degeneration of the peripheral or CNS, which frequently cause other changes indicative of such lesions;
We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.
This is Chapter 4 from RC’s best-selling book:
“Basic Principles of Chiropractic Neuroscience”
These materials are provided as a service to our profession. There is no charge for individuals to copy and file these materials. However, they cannot be sold or used in any group or commercial venture without written permission fromACAPress.
Chapter 4: The Horizontal Neurologic Levels
and Related Clinical Concerns
This chapter describes the basic functional anatomy and clinical considerations of the horizontal aspects of the supratentorial, posterior fossa, spinal, and peripheral levels of the nervous system.
OVERVIEW
The reader should keep in mind that the various aspects of the nervous system as described in this manual (eg, longitudinal and horizontal systems) are only reference guides that are visualizations of a patient’s nervous system in the upright position. They can be likened to the lines of longitude and latitude on a globe of the earth.
Such systems do not exist physically, but they do serve as excellent mental grid-like tools (viewpoints) during localization and areas in which and from which relationships can be described. For example, although the longitudinal systems take a general vertical course within the spinal column there are numerous alterations and they actually become horizontal when decussating. While the horizontal levels are spatially placed in and extend from the CNS in a general segmental manner, they soon take a widely diffuse course as they project toward their destinations. Thus, references to longitudinal and horizontal levels are just general viewpoints.
It is helpful for study purposes to isolate the body into certain systems, as described above, organize systems into organs, organs into tissues, tissues into cells, and cells into their components. However, we should keep in mind that, physically and functionally, there is only one integrated body and it is more than the sum of its parts. And even the body cannot be thought of as truly separate from its external environment. Although we may do this for study purposes, it is a limited viewpoint.
We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.
This is Chapter 3 from RC’s best-selling book:
“Basic Principles of Chiropractic Neuroscience”
These materials are provided as a service to our profession. There is no charge for individuals to copy and file these materials. However, they cannot be sold or used in any group or commercial venture without written permission fromACAPress.
Chapter 3: The Longitudinal Neurologic Systems
This chapter succinctly describes the basic structure and function of the six major longitudinal systems; viz, the sensory, motor, visceral, vascular, consciousness, and cerebrospinal fluid systems.
As we begin this chapter, it might be well for the reader to subjectively grasp the significance of the motor and sensory systems as far as possible. One exercise in this is to imagine that you had become unconscious and someone has placed you in a remote dark empty cellar, far beyond any source of environmental sound. The first thing you realize is that you are a total sensory and motor paralytic from the neck caudad. You are unable to move even a fingertip because your motor system is not functioning. Because there is no feeling, you do not know whether you are recumbent or tied in a chair. Your vision is normal, but there is no light. Your hearing is normal, but there is no sound. Your taste buds are functional, but there is nothing to eat or drink. Your olfactory organs are functional, but there are no detectable odors. There is little left except thought and memory.
After a time in this predicament, thoughts undoubtedly arise such as, “I wish I had really looked at the beauty of the world when I had a chance. I wish I had listened to the music of the masters and even the birds in my backyard when I had a chance. I gulped down so many delicious meals. I had a beautiful garden, but I rarely took time to appreciate its design and fragrance. I even failed to take time to appreciate the texture of my own clothes. I was in such a hurry to go nowhere that was more important. I missed so much.”
OVERVIEW
The human nervous system is a marvel in organizing and adapting to internal and external environmental changes:
(1) The receptors and afferent neurons of the visceral and somatic input systems are necessary to detect internal and external environmental changes.
(2) The visceral efferent neurons and the muscles of the motor output system must be stimulated if action is to be taken.
(3) The integrative system serves as intermediary stations via a complex arrangement of interneurons whose synapses control impulse strength and signal direction from the sensory system to the motor system.
We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.
This is Chapter 3 from RC’s best-selling book:
“Basic Chiropractic Procedural Manual”
These materials are provided as a service to our profession. There is no charge for individuals to copy and file these materials. However, they cannot be sold or used in any group or commercial venture without written permission fromACAPress.
Chapter 3: Orthopedic and Neurologic Procedures in Chiropractic
This chapter presents the general diagnostic methods currently used in differential diagnosis of selected orthopedic and neurologic conditions.
SELECTED NEUROLOGIC PROBLEMS Overview
The typical patient presents the challenge of differential diagnosis of a number of neurologic conditions. These range from a variety of peripheral neuritides that may be completely reversible to serious degenerations of the central nervous system.
The tendency of the geriatric patient to develop neurologic problems is often related to the aging process: loss of tissue elasticity, particularly that of the musculoskeletal system. This is manifested by greater rigidity of the spinal column with the appearance of fixation subluxations. These, together with dehydration and subsequent thinning of the intervertebral discs, predispose to radiculitis, neuritis, and vasomotor disturbances and metabolic effects on the cord and brain. The neurologic disturbances can be superimposed on already degenerating arteriosclerotic vessels and alter metabolism of the gastrointestinal and other systems, which may cause serious problems unless recognized early and prompt corrective measures are administered.
Types of Neuritides
Peripheral Neuritis
Peripheral neuritis is a general peripheral neuritis such as that which may be present in such disorders as diabetes, anemia, and vitamin deficiency. Diminution of all sensation will be noted, with proprioception affected most. A stocking distribution with an ill-defined border is commonly witnessed. Glove distribution may appear later, along with paresthesias in the distal areas of sensory distribution. The clinical picture does not conform to either dermatome or nerve patterns of distribution. The cause for this is unknown.
By John in Neurology on August 22nd, 2012 at 10:57 am
Further to the discussions of chiropractic specialties, this piece appeared recently on Nightline. You can find a video of this segment on the Nightline Website. A previous chiro org blog entry shows an interview with Dr Carrick regarding his treatment of hockey player Sydney Crosby for concussion.
Will Arlen has a traumatic brain injury and is so sensitive to light that he wears sunglasses all the time.
The 17-year-old describes his migraines as like a knife stabbing his brain. His short term memory is shot. He can barely stand up on his own or move his left arm.
The teenager from Exeter, N.H., said his symptoms developed after an illegal hit during a lacrosse game gave him a concussion so severe that it sent him into an 8-month downward spiral. His father, Larry Arlen, said his son used to be an active, outgoing, straight-A student, but they have had to pull him out of school because of his condition.
Will, however, believes Ted Carrick, a chiropractor who specializes in the brain, holds the key to a miraculous cure for his condition.
Carrick, who has 28 clinics worldwide and sees patients all over the world, practices a therapy he calls chiropractic neurology, a treatment he has been perfecting for 33 years. He rarely grants interviews, but allowed “Nightline” to be the first American television network to watch the treatment unfold at his clinic at Life University in Marietta, Ga.
He said his treatment involves re-activating pathways in the brain, what scientific circles refer to as neuro-plasticity, by simulating other parts of the body. He is considered the main architect of chiropractic neuology because he pioneered several of the methods used, in part by combining treatments that already exist, as well as developing new treatments.
For centuries, dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise. More recently we’ve seen research on further health benefits of dancing, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level, with its sense of well-being.
Then most recently we’ve heard of another benefit: Frequent dancing apparently makes us smarter. A major study added to the growing evidence that stimulating one’s mind can ward off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit. Dancing also increases cognitive acuity at all ages.
You may have heard about the New England Journal of Medicine report on the effects of recreational activities on mental acuity in aging. Here it is in a nutshell.
The 21-year study of senior citizens, 75 and older, was led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their method for objectively measuring mental acuity in aging was to monitor rates of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
By John in Neurology on September 8th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Sidney Crosby, probably the best player in the NHL, and one who is certainly marketed as the face of the NHL along with Alexander Ovechkin, has been unable to play hockey since last year due to a serious concussion. Recently he has been treated by Dr Ted Carrick, a chiropractor and founder of the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Sid has made dramatic progress since starting treatment with Dr Carrick.
Here is the press conference. Dr Carrick’s remarks start at 7:40 into the clip.
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