Atlas shift and venous insufficiency: a case for MS

Many people who knew me when I was in my previous practice knew that I worked with many people with chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. It always surprised people that they would see a patient with such problems because most people associate chiropractic strictly with back and neck pain. Why would someone with MS see a chiropractor?

The truth is that these conditions are incurable, and while they may not lead to premature death, they have a devastating impact on a person’s quality of life. They can take away the ability to exercise, write, type, and play music. They can even take away your sense of sight or the ability to just go for a walk. Like anyone else, these patients are looking for something, anything that can help make their lives a little bit better, even if they have to look outside the standard medical box.

One of the reasons I went from a traditional chiropractic approach to one that focuses on the upper neck is because I saw the dramatic impact that the head and neck had on someone’s overall health. When I was training and learning from other doctors, I saw numerous patients enter the office with canes and wheelchairs and leave after a precise Structural Correction. He knew this was the job he wanted to learn and master.

Fast forward to 2014, I had the pleasure and honor of helping dozens of Parkinson’s, MS, and post-concussion syndrome patients. I even had the opportunity to publish 2 studies on the effects of the Atlas Shift correction in a patient with Parkinson’s and in a patient with MS.

In no way am I saying that this is a cure or treatment specifically for these conditions. Nor do I say that everyone improves; I’ve certainly dealt with a handful of people who didn’t see any change at all. But as someone who wants to learn and master effective ways to help people who believe they cannot be helped, it is imperative that we understand how and why these people came to have these devastating conditions.

The head, the neck and … the veins?

In 2008, an Italian surgeon did something that caused the world to start thinking differently about MS and the brain. Dr. Paolo Zamboni began to study a correlation between multiple sclerosis and venous blockages in the neck. His studies focused mainly on the great jugular veins. When veins become blocked, a backup of old venous blood and metabolic waste is created that can increase back pressure in the brain. In a small sample of MS patients he treated, many MS patients showed no symptoms or improved substantially.

The condition he identified is known as Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency, or CCSVI for short. While there is no shortage of skepticism and controversy surrounding the theory, the only thing that is certain is that it has garnered the world’s attention.

For chiropractors, specifically those who focus on the upper cervical spine, this theory can be a beautiful explanation of how we impact the lives of these patients. But instead of affecting the larger jugular vein, the structure of the neck can affect the smaller veins within the skull.

When the structural alignment of the head and neck is lost, it can affect the small veins within the head that are responsible for draining used blood from the nervous system. When this old blood becomes sluggish and accumulates due to chronic misalignment, then the old blood and cerebrospinal fluid can begin to damage these sensitive nerve cells.

In many ways, many of the chronic degenerative neurological diseases have characteristics similar to those of people with traumatic brain injuries, which is why both MS and mTBI need much more study.

Not all cases are the same

I have dealt with people where numb hands and feet improve, people walk better without poles, or people with terrible fatigue starting to regain energy. Often times, these people suffered some type of trauma or fell months or even years before symptoms began. Many times, these accidents or trauma occurred without the presence of pain. The truth is that Atlas Displacement Complex can happen without any signs of symptoms for years.

However, this does not mean that all cases of MS are related to this problem. There are many patients who can correct this and have no improvement in their MS symptoms. MS is a very complex disease, in which even 2 people with MS can experience it very differently.

Regardless of whether or not someone has MS, if they suspect an Atlas problem, new research projects show that correcting the Atlas can play a role in preventing chronic damage to our powerful brains.