Dysautonomia or Autonomic dysregulation



Have you been too multiple doctors and tried various treatments but still not sure what's causing your dizziness, light headedness when standing, headaches, migraines, brain fog, fatigue, exhaustion, visual/focus disturbance, easily overwhelmed, and anxiety? You may suffering from dysautonomia. Our functional neurology team can help. 

We have exceptional results with many patients suffering from symptoms related to dysautonomia that may result from whiplash, post-covid, vestibular neuritis, cervicogenic dizziness, vestibular migraine, PPPD (persistent-postural perceptual dizziness), concussion, post-concussion syndrome, POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)  and other vestibular and neurological conditions. Dr. MacArthur has years of training in neurology specific to dysautonomia. 

Dysautonomia related conditions (such as POTS) are often successfully treated by our highly trained functional neurologists and occupational therapists. Our team is led by Dr. Aaron Macarthur, a functional neurologist who holds degrees in neurology and fellowships in vestibular diagnosis and rehabilitation (dizziness/vertigo) and traumatic brain injury/concussion. He recently spent two years training in dysautonomia (POTS, orthostatic intolerance). Our team quickly assesses the source of your problem and provides effective treatments that immediately start resolving your autonomic dysregulation. 

Sometimes, these can go undiagnosed and cause chronic issues centrally within the brainstem communicating pathways that carry movement signals within our brain and between our brain and body. These neuropathways act as roads in our brain, carrying information accurately and quickly allowing us to execute proper function and normal balance and sensation. Our Functional Neurologists are experts in healing your vertigo/dizziness by locating the source of symptoms and addressing the disrupted vestibular canals and their neuropathways and connections for complete resolution, long-term. 

Our Chiropractic (Functional) Neurologists evaluate brain function through sophisticated eye movement and vestibular (balance) testing that maps brain function to show the location of your dizziness/vertigo, locating weaker ares and slow signaling that causes symptoms. How is this possible? Each eye movement relates to a specific part of the brain, allowing us to detect errors that we can trace back to find the origin of your symptoms and disrupted neuropathways. MRI's, CT and other testing only show pathology, not function. They show what HAS happened, not what IS happening. Our testing shows how well (or poorly) the brain is functioning (what IS happening). In addition, we perform functional tilt table testing and treatments that not only allows us to locate and understand exactly where the source of your autonomic dysfunction is, but how to treat it. Symptoms or conditions that may be related to dysautonomia are:

  • dizziness with quick head movement
  • dizziness upon standing 
  • elevated heart rate (especially upon standing)
  • light and sound sensitivity
  • brain fog
  • memory issues
  • nausea
  • head pressure/headaches
  • migraines
  • eye tracking issues 
  • double vision
  • focus issues/vision changes
  • poor concentration
  • difficult looking at multiple objects at different depths
  • pupil size changes
  • eye pain
  • disorientation
  • visual lag 
  • imbalance/disequilibrium
  • vertigo (spinning)
  • dizziness
  • dizziness/light headed upon standing (Dysautonomia, POTS)
  • pre-syncope/fainting sensation
  • neck pain
  • pain at the base of the skull
  • disrupted sleep
  • emotional changes
  • easily overwhelmed in busy environments
  • digestive changes
  • bowel/bladder changes (often urinary urgency) associated with autonomic dysfunction
  • fatigue and exhaustion

 

Is Chiropractic (Functional) Neurology right for me? Why would a chiropractor also be a neurologist? We're not just a body and we're not just a brain, we're an integrated interaction of the two connected through our nervous system. Chiropractic neurologists are experts not only in the body, but also the brain that is necessary for many conditions and symptoms. 

We have excellent results with dizziness patients, using a combination of functional neurology, chiropractic care, and physical rehabilitation. Our team of Occupational Therapists, Chiropractic Neurologists, Medical Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Chiropractic Assistants, and friendly administative staff provide exceptional care along all levels of your problem. 

Our Functional Neurology team has extensive training in neurology, particularly in vertigo/dizziness. Our doctors have fellowships in concussion/mild traumatic brain injury and also in vestibular rehabilitation (vertigo/dizziness). Dysautonomia (eg POTS) may be connected to dizziness and is an area our doctors and staff have extensive training. 

We specialize in treating difficult and complex cases, often having failed treatments through other endeavors. Our chiropractic neurology approach locates the root cause, looking in depth at all systems and their interactions through the complexities of the nervous system. Once we have located the problem(s), we then create a specific treatment plan to address and restore function to all of the involved structures and connections, creating complete restoration for the individual as symptoms abate.

In addition to our neurological rehabilitation, we also offer Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, both deep pressure with pure oxygen and mild pressure chambers with concentrated oxygen. Research has shown that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has tremendous healing effects on the brain. We've seen many miraculous recoveries with the help of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Our patients usually receive a combination of functional neurology rehabilitation and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for the fastest, complete healing and return you to normal function (sometimes better!). 

How does our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) work?

We only have 5-6L of blood in our system, and it can't be everywhere at once, so we need a system (ANS) that can return blood back to our brain quickly and effeciently. When we stand, all blood drops down to our lower body and must be quickly pumped back up to our brain or we will feel dizziness, light headedness, head pressure, elevated heart rate and other neurological issues due to lack of oxygen/nutrients to our brain. This occurs through the lower brain stem autononomic regions and vestibular system that send signals to our heart and blood vessels telling them to either constrict or relax, depending on how much blood our brain requires to operate. If this doesn't occur quickly enough or if there is an error within our brain stem or any contributing systems to the autonomic region, such as our vestibular, trigeminal, visual, proprioceptive and other systems, symptoms will occur as blood will not be distributed appropriately. We can identify and fix this issue with sophisticated diagnostics and treatment strategies that can restore blood flow back to normal by addressing the root cause of the problem. 

Thre are many areas of the brain that provide input to the Autonomic Nervous System. The balance areas of the brain, the trigeminal nucelus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, hypothalamus, and other regions are involved in providing the feedback needed to control our blood flow to the brain. A balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system helps create the proper blood flow throughout the body and brain