Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a debilitating condition which for many patients is life changing. FND is described as a problem where the brain is not properly sending and receiving signals to and from the rest of the body. There is often no structural damage to the brain itself however it is not properly able to communicate with the body resulting in a range of complex symptoms.
Common symptoms include:
- Limb weakness
- Seizures
- Tremors
- Dystonia (muscle spasm)
- Gait disorders (difficulty walking)
- Facial spasm
- Tics
- Jerking or twitching
- Drop attacks
- Sensory issues
- Cognitive issues (brain fog)
- Visual issues
- Dissociative symptoms
Patients usually present with a combination of the above symptoms, cases rarely present exactly the same depending on what areas of the nervous system are affected. Commonly patients will also present with a high level of fatigue due to the overactivity of the muscles associated with muscle spasming, tremors or seizures.
The exact cause of FND is not yet well understood in medical research. Often doctors will refer patients for scans of the brain but this doesn’t always give the answers or a solution to the problem. Medications are sometimes prescribed to try and control the symptoms but this often won’t get to the root cause of correcting the issue.
As Upper Cervical Chiropractors we look at the connection between what is happening structurally in the spine and how it is affecting the central nervous system. We often find that if there is a structural issue at the upper neck this can affect the communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
There are several key factors to assessing if there is upper neck involvement in FND. First is doing an in depth structural assessment of the neck. One part of this is putting the neck in different positions to stress the joints and observe how the person responds. If we see symptoms like tremors, spasms, or dystonia increase there is a clear indication that there may be a structural issue in the upper neck. To confirm this we utilise 3D imaging to assess the positions of the joints and look for occlusion of the space where the spinal cord exits the skull.
Second a full neurological screening to investigate which nervous system structures are involved. These functional tests are non-invasive and allow us to assess if each set of nerves are receiving proper signals from the brain. We also utilise paraspinal thermography to assess dysfunction in the nerves as they exit the spine.
This complete structural and neurological assessment allows us to determine if the person’s FND could be helped by Chiropractic care. Very often patients may have had a trauma to the neck, mild or severe, that has gone unchecked and has resulted in nervous system dysfunction. In some cases there may be other factors which trigger the symptoms often related to a chemical stressor. If you or someone you know is struggling with this condition get in contact with us to see if we can help.
References:
https://www.fndaction.org.uk/what-is-functional-neurological-disorder/
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/functional-neurologic-disorder
