Educating doctors of chiropractic and the public has been an integral part of my life’s work. Most importantly, sharing the life-changing impact of traditional chiropractic treatments combined with functional neurology has been my mission.
I consider myself a patient as well as a healer. I remember lying in my hospital bed after I suffered a stroke in May 2017. I could not move the right side of my body, and I thought all my hopes and dreams had gone away, including my hopes of ever practicing as a functional neurologist and DC again or being able to work with my patients. Prior to that, I suffered three concussions from various sports injuries and motor vehicle accidents. My brain went through a lot.
I am grateful to my colleagues in chiropractic functional neurology, and the knowledge I gained from extensive experience with my patients. Through it all, I have learned a lot about brain recovery from overcoming my stroke and now I am committed to helping my patients achieve optimal health without medications and/or surgeries. Now I have a vision to help other DCs learn about the future innovations in technology, and the research and breakthroughs happening today, which that will enable chiropractic functional neurologists to lead the field in brain regeneration.
Hope is where healing begins
At my clinic, I work to heal hurt brains at my clinic, where all the treatment plans incorporate chiropractic adjustments, functional neurology and the most cutting-edge modalities available. Those modalities include the latest technology to accelerate patient outcomes, such as oxygen therapy, multi-axis rotating chair therapy, neurofeedback, interactive noninvasive imaging studies, vibration therapy and photobiomodulation (low-level light therapy).
The most important aspect of any brain-specific program is to have an impact that changes the patient’s life in four critical areas: 1. work relationships, 2. recreation, 3. household chores and 4. sleep. The goal is to make life more dynamic and vibrant for the individual.,
Many patients come to my clinic after they have exhausted all other methods. My website is full of video testimonials from patients who regained their health thanks to the latest technologies the center uses for brain improvement. Brain-specific rehabilitation is a combination of functional medicine and functional neurology. All the pieces have to be put in place for maximum improvement and outcome. In addition, there is a different and very specific order for each patient. There isEach usually has a collection of symptoms, and they all need to be traced back to the systems in the body and treated holistically and synergistically.
Some patients experienced asymptomatic concussions. Perhaps the injury occurred 20 years ago, and they thought they were OK, but lately have noticed signs of dementia, brain fog and emotional challenges. These symptoms, we know, are related to the degeneration of the brain over time as a result of past trauma. The good news is we can help people at any point. We treat many patients who have struggled for years since their brain injury.
Know normal
I started studying functional neurology in 1989 with Ted Carrick, DC, PhD, MS-HPEd. Carrick has been my friend, my mentor and my doctor after my stroke. In the 1990s, at the beginning of my career, I used to go to seminars with Carrick before I got board-certified in neurology. After a weekend of learning, I would go back to my practice and I would start to look at eye movements, balance, finger-pointed-at-the-nose things for looking at metric movements and dysmetria for the cerebellum. I looked carefully at my patients because Carrick’s big lesson was to “know normal.”
When you know normal, you’ll automatically see abnormal
The brain is the master control system of the body, so as chiropractors we use spinal manipulation as a way of improving function throughout the body. Our rightful place is to continue to have our examination skills at a level in which we can look at the function of the brain and the brain’s interaction with the body. And looking at most of the contemporary diseases today, such as movement disorders, dystonia, visual issues, visual dysfunction, vertigo, dizziness and balance issues, chiropractors can improve their skills and understanding of the issues by observing patients and absorbing abnormal findings. Traditional chiropractic methods combined with brain-based adjustments can improve patient outcomes.
Brain-based adjustments
You may wonder if DCs can use their technique to change brain function. The answer is yes! It’s called brain-based adjustments. There are ways of adjusting the spine that have a brain effect. If you want to, you can take your practice to the point where you start evaluating brain function through examination techniques and diagnostic technologies. By evaluating in this way, you can rate function and create a baseline for the patient. Then you can use different technologies and exercise systems to actually improve the pathways in the brain through connectivity and also take neurons from stem cells and create new neurons in the cortical areas.
Final thoughts
Once I understood the brain was the master control system of the body, a light went off in my brain, and I knew I wanted to be a DC. I was an engineer, so people I told would ask me, “Why do you want to be a chiropractor? Why not be a medical doctor?” But I said, “No, I want to change the master control system of the body.” And that’s what I did. I left my engineering career and went off to New York Chiropractic. When I look back, I realize, my love of chiropractic prompted my love of changing brains. Now every single patient that who comes to my office gets adjusted.
JOSEPH SCHNEIDER, DC, is a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist. He graduated from New York Chiropractic College in 1987. Schneider is in clinical practice at Hope Pain Relief in Chadds Ford, Penn.
