Chiropractic Neurology: A multi-modal approach

June 5, 2020

When we look at the human body, we are not looking at only one system, but of multiple systems that work in cooperation to create normal function.  In turn, one of the most common mistakes in healthcare is to compartmentalize conditions, looking at them segmentally, instead of analyzing all the potential causes.  Chiropractic Neurology utilizes sophistic diagnostic procedures to analyze all of the systems that may be involved.  This allows us to create treatment plans to effect all of the systems involved.  

Hilton's Law specifically states that the nerves supplying a joint also supply both the muscles that move the joint and the skin covering the articular surface of that joint. This is extremely important as it implies that if we truly intend to treat pain, than we must treat all of the systems involved, which means that we must combine treatment of joint, muscle and nerve, not just one.  This is the multi-modal form of treatment that allows us to make long-term, relatively quick changes in your condition by fixing every possible scenario involved.  

A term in Neurology that is often used is known as plasticity, or a change within the nervous system or brain.  How does this occur?  By utilizing repitition and increasing the amount of activation within a pattern or signaling system within the nervous system, we can elicity a greater change.  Sound familiar?  Chiropractic Neurology aims to achieve just that as we increase the amount of activation to the system by treating multiple systems involved, essentially retraining the abnormal patterns and creating a massive activation within the system.  

An analogy I like to use for patients is one of music. An orchestra does not create a symphony by utilizing one instrument or note, but by combining multiple instruments and notes to create an emotional response. Our body functions in a similar manner, we often cannot create the necessary changes, or response, by providing only Chiropractic care, Physical Therapy, Functional Neurology, or Nutrition, but combining them into a multi-modal axis of treatment and creating long-term changes in plasticity that will achieve the wellness, or change you seek.