Cervical vertigo is a controversial entity in the world of balance and vestibular disorders. It has generally been a diagnosis of exclusion when a patient is feeling dizzy but has no diagnosable pathology in the inner ear or brain. The reality is that problems in the cervical spine are commonly linked to feelings of imbalance […]

Eye movements have become an important diagnostic for patients with neurological disease and dysfunction. It’s one of the reasons we have invested into using extremely sophisticated eye tracking technology so that we can asses and manage patients effectively with traumatic brain injuries. This will be the first in a series of posts about eye movements […]

I’m a mega-proponent of strength training. It’s a major part of my life and it’s something I’ve always encouraged for my patients, family, and friends as a way to dramatically improve someone’s life. That being said, strength training is an integral part of the treatment and prevention of musculoskeletal pain. There’s probably no condition in […]

A recent systematic review in the prominent journal Headache showed that spinal manipulation could have an effect on headache days and pain intensity in patients with migraine headaches. While this is old news to many practicing chiropractors, this is one of the first instances that a major headache journal has acknowledged that manipulation could have […]

Read Time: [6 minutes] Outline: The cervical spine has been a known source of dizziness since the 1950’s with a classification as cervical vertigo. While the true spinning sensation of vertigo is not common with cervical spine issues, a feeling of imbalance, disorientation, light headedness, swaying, and unsteadiness have all been linked to problems in […]

It’s no longer a secret that the composition and health of your gut has an substantial impact on the health of the brain and nervous system. Research on the role the gut microbiome has exploded in the last 10 years with blockbuster studies showing that your gut bacteria composition can affect mental health conditions like […]

One of the biggest complaints in people with dizziness is that they can’t exercise because exercise makes their symptoms worse. This is a particularly difficult problem in athletes who have suffered a concussion because the dizziness upon activity is preventing them from getting back to their sport. When people have problems with dizziness on exercise, […]

Read time: 7-8 minutes Outline: Pain is weird Chronic head and face pain and suicidality Why head and face pain feels worse The neuroscience of suffering Pain is complicated. It’s even more complicated as a doctor because the expectation from years and years of conditioning is that when you have pain, then something about that […]

A lot of you are familiar with my work on the relationship between the neck and concussions. It used to be something of a fringe concept that neck injuries could be related to some of the symptoms of a concussion, but research on the topic has exploded in the last 10 years. It’s not such […]

Read Time: [5 min] Preliminary results after upper cervical chiropractic care in patients with chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency and multiple sclerosis Mandolesi S, Marecca G, Moser J, et al. Ann. Ital. Chir., 2015 86: 192-200. Abstract Full Text Summary Thanks to the hard work and funding of Upper Cervical Health Centers and Upper Cervical Evolutions, […]

Read Time: 5 minutes Outline: Problems measuring HRV in practice Refining HRV for meaningful use My HRV Pre- and Post Adjustment I love measuring my own health data, and I especially enjoy measuring things that can be affected by the health of your brain and spine. One metric I’m paying a lot more attention to […]

Read time: [7-8 min ] Outline: New research showing why people will develop more pain from taking an opiod The science of a pain pill Morphine and the immune system Giving people drug-less options Beyond pain and into function Reference Article: Why Taking morphine, oxycodone can sometimes make pain worse Pain pills and pain mills […]

One of the reasons I got into upper cervical chiropractic is because it provided a possible solution that was able to make a big difference in the lives of people with rare illnesses.  One rare illness that I really enjoy seeing are people with Meniere’s Disease. It’s an illness that affects less than 200,000 people each […]

  The squat is one of the most polarizing topics in fitness. Thanks to the rise of Crossfit, the squat has been put into the limelight as an essential movement for both men and women. Men squat because it is unparalleled in it’s ability to make the entire human frame stronger. Women have taken up […]

Outline: Spinal stenosis – when the name is sometimes worse than the problem Main causes of spinal stenosis Is chiropractic safe for patients with stenosis? There are thousands of people every year with neck pain or back pain that go to a doctor’s office, get an MRI, and end up with a diagnosis of spinal stenosis. […]

  Outline: Concussion symptoms generally go away within 7-10 days 10-20% of head injuries will last greater than 30 days and become post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome can be divided into 3 categories. Physiologic, vestibular, or cervicogenic Recovery from post-concussion syndrome depends on getting the right type of treatment Lack of awareness of vestibulo-ocular and cervicogenic […]

  Readers of this blog know that I’m a proponent of making decisions about your health based on science and research. It’s our primary defense against methods that are ineffective, unscrupulous, or worse harmful. When we are looking at clinical studies, prioritize studies based on 3 big factors. Is the study design of high quality […]

  How do I know you’re stretching too much before weight lifting? I don’t even know you, and I certainly don’t know what your pre-exercise routines are. Because by and large, EVERYONE spends a lot of time doing static stretches before and during their weight lifting routines. If you want to read some of my […]

  If you have ever been to a doctor’s office and had an x-ray performed, you have likely heard about something called spinal degeneration. Spinal degeneration is a condition in which the discs and joints of the spine begin to narrow and often form bone spurs. If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor’s office and […]

Sometimes people are astounded by what happens when they get an Atlas Correction. Most people that come to the office are those that have been to pain management specialists, orthopedists, physical therapists, accupuncturists, and more before having a consult in my office. They’ve tried various drugs, had injections, and spent a ton of time doing […]

  A lot of people see Twitter simply as a space where they can vent about a topic on TV, or as a tool to interact with your favorite celebrity. Very rarely do people see Twitter as a space for learning, and certainly not a space for intelligent conversation. What I ended up learning on […]

“Find a sports doctor or chiropractor who is an athlete and a lfiter and works with athletes and lifters. My personal rule is that I would never go to a chiropractor that deadlifts less than I do.” – Pavel Tsatsoulline. Q&A on the Tim Ferriss Show Pavel is a world class strength trainer, and has […]

  Almost 2 years ago, I posted this article: The Pain is in my back, why are you looking at my neck??? In that post, I shared a reference to research from the Journal of Neurosurgery that talked about the importance of neck alignment in relation to the lumbar spine and pelvis. In other words, […]

Today I want to tackle one of the biggest exercise myths in the world today. Deep squats wreck your knees While the growth of Crossfit and Weightlifting sports have helped to dispel this myth, there are still lots of people that come into my office who are afraid of doing squats because they think that it […]

Why Do My Joints Hurt More When It Rains? One of the most common problems I hear about with patients with chronic pain is that rainy weather seems to make things worse. Is there a real biological reason for this or is this just an old wives tale that has been passed on through time? […]

The Neck Injury Your Doctor Might Be Missing After an Auto-Accident New Imaging Methods May Identify Injuries Missed by Conventional Studies Lots of people understand that whiplash, neck pain, headaches, and pinched nerves can occur following a car crash. In fact, that’s one of the most common reasons that people begin traditional chiropractic care. Most people […]

The Atlas and Meniere’s Disease. Is there Evidence? Last week I posted an article in 2013 about how scientists have found a new way to treat Meniere’s Disease. You can read that article here: Cure for Meniere’s Disease Discovered? It’s a bit of an ambitious title, but hey, I suppose all websites need to generate […]

What Bar Do You Go to When You’re Stressed Out?   There’s nothing like a trip to the bar to help blow off some steam after a rough day. That probably comes as a bit of a surprise for regular readers of my blog, but it’s true. Everyone needs an outlet to feel better about […]

Helmets Can’t Stop Concussions but This Can – Thoughts from the Minnesota Concussion Summit This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Concussion Summit. What was unique about this seminar was that it wasn’t geared towards doctors like neurologists or neurosurgeons that are usually responsible for the medical care of concussion patients. It […]

Chronic Fatigue: Brain on Fire Part I The Neuroinflammation Hypothesis Last week I did an informal poll on social media to determine what topics my readers wanted to hear more about. Surprisingly, some of the things that came up were some of my favorite topics to explore and research. One of the topics that came […]

Why the Atlas and Why NUCCA? – A Case Study There was a case in my office last week that sparked the inspiration for today’s blog post. A few weeks ago, I began taking care of a patient with chronic daily headaches. Nothing had worked for this patient. They tried several different medications. Mindfulness therapy. […]

Why Do I Get Injured So Easily? Ehler-Danlos A Missed Cause of Chronic Pain It’s no secret that my practice caters to a lot of people that have chronic pain syndromes. Chronic pain is a complex problem because it’s usually an invisible illness. For these patients, MRIs are usually negative, standard blood panels are normal, […]

Innovative Approach for Migraine Headache Patients in West Palm Beach Migraine headache is the most common neurological disorder in the world. Despite it’s prevalence, there are millions of people across the country that suffer without relief from this debilitating condition. For most people, migraines are only something they deal with a few times a year. That’s nothing to […]

Stretch vs Strength: The Surprising Results in Sports Injury Prevention   The prevailing thought process in little leagues, pee wee football, and high school sports have generally placed a high priority on stretching to reduce injury amongst their athletes. The idea has gone mostly unchallenged by youth sports coaches in the name of “it just makes […]

Sick, fatigued, panic attacks, and heart flutters – What is Dysautonomia Unless you suffer from multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or traumatic brain injury, dysautonomia is probably a word that you’ve never heard of. The problem with that, is that the symptoms of dysautonomia are probably the most difficult to deal with in when […]