Hi I’m Dr. Michael Veselak of Camarillo Functional Health and I. would like to share with you this incredible new information we have learned within the past few years that has revolutionized the treatment and results with regards to chronic pain, chronic fatigue and some of the complex chronic cases we see in this office. Complex cases like dysautonomia, POTS, Neuropathy or autoimmunity. Many of you have tried several types of treatment but you knew that you were missing something. Either you did not improve, or the symptoms returned a few months following treatment.
To begin, all complex cases have more than one underlying issue. We talk about finding the root cause, well it is a blend between the metabolic system, which means a problem with detoxification, adrenals, hormones, blood sugar, elimination and or digestion. The problem could be with the immune system either the innate, adaptive or both. There needs to be balance between the, TH1 and TH2. If balance is not maintained it can lead to the individual to be more prone to infections or autoimmunity.
The nervous system is the third piece we carefully analyze. The brain really controls everything. The brain is the piece of the puzzle that is often missing and left untreated the problem never goes away. We have found for the above-mentioned complex cases the most important part.
Now the new information that we have learned that leads to Neuroinflammation and numerous conditions like anxiety, dysautonomia, autoimmunity and chronic pain is the tremendous impact the vestibular system, visual system and the somatosensory system has as it interacts with gravity and your environment. These gravitational laws are not just about crystals; however, they are an important part.
The calibration of these 3 systems, the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory allows the brain to tell the body where it is in relation to its environment so you can perform tasks comfortably. If these systems do not work together the brain can get confused and this can lead to symptoms :
- Balance Issues
- Vertigo
- Lightheaded
- Chronic pain
- Poor posture
- Dysautonomia
The vestibular system is in the inner ear, comprised of semicircular canals and otholiths. These help us navigate movement front and back, side to side, rotation and up and down. They help maintain equilibrium, spatial orientation, sensation of movement and they stabilize the head during the movement. There are projections that go from the vestibular system to the brain, the spine and the autonomic system and the eyes. They help control eye movement, clear vision and posture. The vestibular system provides inputs to many neurons in the brain stem that control autonomic function. It can impact blood pressure, respiration, motion sickness, anxiety, sleep disturbances and temperature regulation.
In our office we perform several tests to evaluate the Vestibular System. Eye movement, chair rotation, marching in place, standing on balance pad with eyes open and closed. We will also evaluate the musculature and head position. Is there constant tightness in the trapezius or hamstrings for example. What does the head position look like – is It forward? IS there a head tilt or rotation?
The visual system is another important component for many reasons. The visual system taps into every part of the brain. When there is an eye movement disorder it will manifest itself within the muscular system. The eyes are also closely integrated with all the other senses, Touch, smell, sound, and taste. When we evaluate the visual system, we perform eye movements with goggles to magnify the eyes to find subtle discrepancies like nystagmus or saccades, rapid eye movement.
The somatosensory system is the third part of this intricate network that must be calibrated and work efficiently to avoid many of the symptoms we discussed. The somatosensory system is a sensory map or representation in the brain for our entire body. It is in the parietal lobe. It is responsible for stiffness, pain, joint instability, frequent injuries always occurring on one side. Proprioception is a critical component of this system which occurs throughout the body but a lot in the feet.
Testing includes finger to nose, point localization, graphestesia
To improve Symptoms Must Calibrate the Big 3- Vestibular, Visual and Proprioception.
If the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory are out of balance this places the body in a fight or flight situation. The brain thinks it might fall. The posture and muscle tone will try and counter act this so we will often see the forward neck posture. These chronic postural instabilities is what leads patients to the chiropractor, physical therapist or acupuncturist as they will chronically feel pain in their upper part of the neck, trapezius or even the lower back. In this fight or flight scenario the adrenal glands release more norepinephrine and epinephrine, creating more anxiety and often insomnia. Often, I hear the patient describe themselves as feeling wired and tired. This will also result in blood sugar irregularity with hypoglycemic type reactions.
There are so many downstream effects of these 3 systems being out of balance. Another major one is the mitochondria and the ability of the body to produce ATP. When affected this can cause chronic fatigue as well as lowering the threshold it takes nerves to fire leading to chronic pain and perhaps tinnitus. It is the main reason your body becomes more sensitive to simple stimulation along with the histamine response of the mast cells.
I want to emphasize once again at the core of this entire web of dysfunction is the balance and calibration of our eyes, ears and feet and its relationship with gravity.
I used to think this scenario can only happen with concussion or trauma, physical or emotional. However, there is increasing more evidence that is can be viral, bacterial, vascular, or even an infection.
We have also learned that it is important to treat systems not symptoms.
It takes a whole-body approach and addressing fundamental issues such as anemia, blood sugar irregularity, supporting the immune system, mitochondria, mast cells and calibration of the vestibular, visual, and somatosensory system.
In my 40 years of practice this technique and calibration is literally the most impactful technique I have witnessed in clinical practice.
With complex cases like dysautonomia we have found that it is our top priority to calibrate and treat the vestibular visual and somatosensory systems.
Even with POTS which is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. This disorder cause problems with circulation or blood flow causing the heart to beat too fast. It can lead to fainting or shortness of breath.In our office we focus on assessing all the imbalances and discovering the root cause. We analyze the visual system, vestibular system, and proprioception to objectively measure dysfunction. The treatment will then focus on restoring this function with proper exercises that we have again measured to determine this is the proper exercise for you.
Like all chronic conditions dietary and lifestyle changes are important along with detoxification, gut health and hydration.
Restoration of the muscle tone in the cervical spine and core are very important. We also utilize several techniques including green and violet laser, Trans Vagal Nerve Stimulation and infrared to improve vagal tone and minimize brain inflammation.
Finally, we provide brain-based exercises, hyperbaric oxygen therapy or neurofeedback to modulate the brain stem to control autonomics.
With our complicated cases we like to see the patient intensively for a week to gather the information and proper treatment protocols so this can they be performed at home. I will then see you and reassess every month to note positive change and to prescribe additional exercises along with diet and lifestyle changes.
Get ready to do some work because to make change you need to be an integral part of this therapy. To create change in the brain, neuroplasticity is takes between 3-12 months.
In closing, do not lose hope, I know most of you have been to several doctors and spent too much money looking for answers. We have helped a lot of people just like you and it has only been within the past few years that I can confidently make this statement. I also want to let you know if I do not believe that I can help you I will let you know and direct you to what type of treatment will be best suited for you.