Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. This disease disrupts the flow of information within the brain and the information between the brain and body. Multiple sclerosis has affected people mostly between the ages of 20 and 50 with women being diagnosed two to three times more than men.
What is the Most Common Multiple Sclerosis Symptom?
When multiple sclerosis first begins, the person may experience the following early signs:
Vision problems – Inflammation from multiple sclerosis affects the optic nerve and causes double vision, blurred vision, or a loss of vision.
Weakness or fatigue – In the early onset of multiple sclerosis, about 80 percent of people have had unexplained fatigue or weakness. (National Multiple Sclerosis Society) When the nerves in the spinal column begin to deteriorate, it can lead to chronic fatigue.
Bladder issues – Having trouble with being able to hold in urine, strong urges to urinate or having frequent urination also affects up to 80 percent of multiple sclerosis sufferers.
Cognitive difficulties – This includes problems with memory, staying organized, inability to focus, and difficulties with language.
Pains and spasms – According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, half of people suffering from multiple sclerosis experienced chronic pain. Having muscle stiffness or muscle spasms are also common.
Tingling and numbness – Multiple sclerosis affects the nerves within the brain and the spinal cord. Since this area is also how the body and brain communicate with one another, mixed signals can be sent throughout the body or, sometimes, no signals are sent at all – resulting in numbness. These sensations of tingling or numbness can be felt in the face, arms, fingers, and legs.
Trouble with balance or dizziness – Those who have multiple sclerosis have reported feeling dizzy or lightheaded. Some have also reported vertigo, which means the environment feels as if it is spinning or you feel you are moving when you aren’t (often referred to as having a “false sense of balance”).
The most common early sign of multiple sclerosis is problems with vision and experiencing sensations of tingling and numbness. Having a vision problem associated with multiple sclerosis may not be noticeable right away and could be a slow process while tingling and numbness sensations happen quicker and are the most common warning signs of multiple sclerosis.
Why Does Multiple Sclerosis Affect my Health?
Since multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system, the body can end up suffering greatly from the disruption of the flow of information. This means the body will be unable to heal or repair itself properly. Because of this, the body will not be able to fight illness to the best of its ability and mixed signals can lead to the body damaging itself.
The central nervous system controls sight, smell, taste, feeling, hearing, voluntary and involuntary functions, and gives you the ability to think and respond. Having the central nervous system harmed can lead to a lot going wrong. This is why those who have multiple sclerosis experience many different symptoms including with sight, feeling, and mental function.
Difference Between Multiple Sclerosis and Pinch Nerve
Multiple sclerosis can cause numbness or weakness, which is also a symptom of pinched nerves. The difference between multiple sclerosis and a pinched nerve, however, is a pinched nerve occurs from pressure placed upon the nerve by surrounding tissues. These tissues that cause pressure on the nerve can be bones, cartilage, muscles, or tendons.
In multiple sclerosis, the protective coating of the nerves that surround the central nervous system becomes damaged by the body’s own immune system. It’s a disease that attacks your body and affects the nerve signals being sent back and forth between the brain to spinal cord.
A person with multiple sclerosis could have the symptoms of multiple sclerosis for years before seeking a treatment for it as they are usually unaware, they have multiple sclerosis and believe its early symptoms could be a pinched nerve or muscle strain. If you notice symptoms besides numbness and tingling from the list above, it could be a sign of multiple sclerosis.
However, a pinched nerve can harm on the body as well and should also be treated to prevent it from causing problems.
Can Multiple Sclerosis be Treated by a Neck Adjustment?
Our neck consists of two very important bones, called the atlas and the axis. These two bones are located in what’s called our upper cervical spine which is located in the neck area beneath the base of the skull.
The reason why these bones are so important is because they house our brain stem: our brain to body’s communication powerhouse. If pressure is placed onto the brain stem, it can affect our bodily functions and cause a lot of problems throughout our bodies – including disrupting our nervous system and disrupting signals the brain and body send back and forth.
If these signals are disrupted or are not being sent at all, the body will not react or heal itself properly and sometimes ends up harming itself out of confusion. A lot of conditions can stir up from having a compressed brain stem. A neck adjustment can help alleviate the pressure placed on the brain stem and enable it to return to its normal functions.
Best Chiropractic Technique for Multiple Sclerosis
The best chiropractic technique for multiple sclerosis would have to be one that focuses on the upper cervical (neck) area. Upper cervical chiropractic adjustments target the top two bones of your spine, where the brain stem lies. Unlike general chiropractic, upper cervical uses gentle and very precise movements to correct the misalignments that cause pressure on your brain stem.
As a result, the rest of the spine ends up shifting to follow the upper cervical alignment. This allows the spine to correct other misalignments it may have pressing against other nerves.
Since multiple sclerosis attacks parts of your body that are important to its everyday function, the cause of multiple sclerosis could be hiding within a compressed brain stem that is disrupting your body’s messages.
Once pressure is taken off the brain stem, the body quickly begins sending correct signals to repair and heal itself. Many patients have reported astounding positive results from upper cervical adjustments in as little as one visit and see many other issues within their body clear up.
Can Chiropractic Offer Multiple Sclerosis Treatment?
Upper cervical chiropractic would be the most recommended type of chiropractic for treating multiple sclerosis as it focuses directly on the brain stem and looks to return brain to body communication back to normal.
A compressed brain stem can lead to multiple sclerosis because of communication error, so it is important to correct the misalignment that disrupts the functions of the brain stem to allow the body to respond the way it needs to.
Chiropractic Multiple Sclerosis Practitioner Near Me
If you have multiple sclerosis or believe you are experiencing symptoms of multiple sclerosis, we can help. Upper cervical adjustments are completely safe and gentle enough for any age.
Because of the body being able to respond properly to signals after upper cervical adjustments, many underlying causes of illnesses or conditions are corrected. When it comes to medication or surgery, these are made to target the symptoms instead of the cause which is why many patients have reported no improvement on their condition after medication and surgery.
With upper cervical adjustments, you give your body the chance to take care of itself natural and target what’s harming you. With an exam, we can see if you have a misalignment, indicate the severity of it, and see how it is affecting your body.