Very often in the realm of Upper Cervical Care, we as doctors discuss the role that the brainstem plays in relaying the electrical signals from the brain to a various organ, muscle, or tissue in the body.  It's the foundation of what we do and why what we do is effective in restoring normal function in and structural balance to the body.  Yet, I think we often get so caught up in talking about what happens when the brainstem is unable to relay those signals properly from the brain to the body that we often skip the role that the brainstem plays in one part of the brain properly transmitting messages to other parts of the brain. 

The brainstem is a router...it directs electrical traffic no different than the one used for internet connections.  What happens when the router stops working?  The internet connection is lost.  As dependent as our society has become on the internet (banking, email, news, etc.), we must ensure that the router is attended to if not working the ways it's supposed to.  Without it, the online network fails. 

Interestingly, a key component in a lot of common mental conditions is a similar interference in connection.  We just aren't taught to look at our bodies the same way that we do an electronic device.  The brain is just as dependent upon the brainstem to route traffic from one part to another as the heart or lungs or digestive system or immune system are dependent upon the brainstem to ensure that they receive 100% transmission of the electrical signals from the brain.  Those interconnections between parts of the brain are what allow for things like emotion, attention, and learning/comprehension.  Equating the brainstem to the internet router, any disruption to the brainstem's function leads to signs/symptoms like ADHD, anxiety, dyslexia, and depression the same way that a router on the fritz causes you internet connection problems.

It's important that we realize that symptoms are usually just a sign that the body is not working at 100%, no different than the faulty internet connection could be a sign that the router isn't working at 100%.  We often look at things like attention deficits or anxiety as conditions that don't have an identifiable cause.  Everything has a cause and we're best served to look at the simplest possible culprit before we go complicating things by adding chemical concoctions in pill form which, themselves, usually disrupt connections like a computer virus.

The simplest explanation is that our brain's lose their ability to adequately process because the very thing that allows for that processing has been interfered with.  Each and every other theory is secondary to ensuring that the connections are properly made.  People with too high an IQ for their own good can formulate all the genetic, environmental, and social theories that they want, but they're all moot if the connection isn't properly established and would be like buying a new router BEFORE checking to make sure that all the cables and cords are plugged in. 

Much can be learned from simply looking within our bodies in a logical manner.  After all..."There is nothing new under the sun.  All things conceived in the mind of educated man existed previous to him in created natural objects.  Man imitates which existed before him." - BJ Palmer

Thinking good things for you, as always,

Dr. Chad