CHIROPRACTIC NERVOUS SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS SCAN

At Bello Family Chiropractic in Clifton, NJ, we use state of the art nervous system diagnostic equipment to assess the deleterious effects of brain body disconnect. We use this cutting-edge technology to evaluate two distinct portions of the nervous system, (the autonomic nervous system and the motor portion) which combined account for more than 90% of overall nervous system function. The autonomic nervous system coordinates regulation of the blood vessels, glands and organs. The motor portion of the nervous system regulates activity of the muscles that move joints through voluntary control.

To assess the health of the autonomic nervous system we utilize the Thermography and Pulse Wave Profiler studies.

Thermography scans are conducted to read and compare temperature differences from capillary beds located on the same horizontal levels on opposite sides of the spine.  When the instrument reads “hot spots” or “cold spots” it can reliably be deduced that there is an imbalance in the portion of the nervous system (autonomic nervous system) that controls the amount of blood that enters those capillary beds. When there is dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system not only are the blood vessels affected but in many cases surrounding organs and glands aren’t getting balanced nerve flow. This we know sets the stage for body breakdown and disease.

The Pulse Wave Profiler, a way to measure heart rate variability, is a study that analyzes subtle variations of a person’s heart rate at rest. A healthy individual will demonstrate small variations as the body acclimates to an ever-changing environment.  If an individual does not show an appropriate amount of variation this is a direct result of a dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system, whose job it is to regulate this process.

Surface Electromyography (sEMG) is a study that picks up subtle electrical activity in the small muscles on opposite sides of the spine (paraspinal muscles). When the muscles send corrupt signals to the brain (due to bony misalignment and chronic muscle imbalance) the brain can only respond in a dysfunctional manner sending improper amounts of nerve flow to the wrong muscles at the wrong times (improper neuromuscular control). This vicious cycle most often continues on undetected because gross body breakdown has not occurred yet. This is a prime example of why these neurological studies are so crucial. These studies can give us an understanding when there are underlying dysfunctional processes going that can be thwarted before the body hits its tipping point and injury or disease occurs.

Above are two examples of the results from before an adjustment sEMG (on left) and an after adjustment sEMG (on right). The degree of dysfunction is represented by color, white is normal muscle tone, green is mild dysfunction, blue is moderate dysfunction, red is severe dysfunction and black is so dysfunctional it’s outside of the machines ability to get a reliable reading.  You can see that in this example the severity of the dysfunction lessened to a great degree after the adjustment.  These results are consistent with the response we see regularly at Bello Family Chiropractic.

Our Clifton, NJ chiropractors will assess all patients on their first visit, so every patient remembers the condition they were in when first beginning our practice, and we will then periodically re-examine them using these measures to track how their body is regaining function. We know through experience that if we can get their body functioning better, that a wide range of health challenges will respond positively.