Functional neurology differs from medical neurology in that it examines and treats the nervous system regardless of hard neurological signs and symptoms being present or not. For example, an individual may present to a neurologist for a migraine headache. He/she will be given a physical examination to determine if there is any pathological findings that warrant some kind of medical intervention. What the individual will not be evaluated for is subtle differences in his/her nervous system that may shed important clues to the underlying cause of their complaint. Does this mean functional neurology is superior to conventional neurology? Not at all. They both have their place in the world of neurology. In fact, it is wrong to even set a precedent of one being better than the other. Functional neurologist work on evaluating the nervous system for faults or error in processing that can lead to dysfunction. So does a medical neurologist. Both will utilize diagnostic procedures as needed to gain a better clinical picture into the nervous system. The difference comes in the treatment. Medical neurologist will utilize medication, recommend surgery or other less invasive interventions (shots-->medication), physical therapy, occupational therapy,... A functional neurologist is going to implement strategies that are not pharmacologically based, don't always involve surgery (though in some cases surgery or medical intervention simply is the best option), work directly with you on your therapeutic intervention, make recommendations on maximizing your therapeutic outcomes if you are working with a physical, speech, or occupational therapist. Most importantly a functional neurologist is going to really look at what your ultimate potential is, explore other avenues of physical interventions that can take you from a point of platue to the next level of improvement.
As the Internet allows you access to the information from around the world, your nervous system acts as the "information superhighway" to your body. The nervous system acts as the fundamental control system for all of your muscles, organs, and senses. It allows your brain to understand where your body is in time and space and respond with appropriate balance and motion. The nervous system provides communication between your organs and your brain, keeps your heart and lungs, digestive, detox, reproductive and endocrine systems working in balance, and tells you when to relax and when to fight or try to escape.
Though the nervous system is composed of many pieces and is responsible for an unbelievable amount of information, it is basically broken down into two groups; sensory/motor and parasympathetic/sympathetic.
The sensory system recognizes where we are in time and space and the motor system responds to where we are in time and space.
The parasympathetic nervous system controls our digestive, immune, hormonal, sexual, cognitive, and sleep functions. The sympathetic nervous system tells us how to respond to a challenge or threat.
When something goes wrong with the nervous system basically one of four actions is going to occur. Either something is going to turn off when it should be on or turn on when it should be off, and it can do too much (facilitation) or not enough (inhibition). Everything else is pretty much a combination of these four possible challenges. Of course this can become much more complicated then what was described above. However, from a beginning standpoint it is the keystone to understanding dysfunctions associated with the nervous system.
Therefore, dysfunction of the nervous system can present with a wide range of signs and symptoms. When the sensory/motor system is effected you may experience:
Imbalances between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems can also result in dysfunctions associated with:
mood
sleep
sexual
digestive
immune
cardiovascular
Functional Neurology is a more effective way of working with your body’s systems to bring them to their optimal level of performance. First the source of neurological issues is determined through careful examination procedures. Then, by using non-drug therapies applied with precision to specific areas of the body, we are able to speed up or slow down activity in the areas of the nervous system necessary to re-establish the balance and function. How is this accomplished? Functional Neurology starts with the premise that the brain is a multimodal system. In other words, it receives information from a variety of sources (the five senses: Touch, Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell). Almost always several of these systems act in concert in order for the brain to appropriately understand and respond to it's environment. Therefore, Functional Neurology utilizes a multimodal approach to treating dysfunctions of the nervous system. Why? The more input that can be provided to the nervous system the greater the likelihood that the nervous system will be able to strengthen and adapt appropriately. This is the whole concept of neuroplasticity. An example of treatment from a multimodal approach may consist of modalities such as brain music specifically tailored to help the right brain or left brain, vibration, adjustments, quick stretchs. timing and sequencing work, electrical stim/low level laser/ultrasound, and heat/ice,... The specific tailoring of your treatment plan is based on a case by case presentation of both subjective (patient interview) and objective (physical exam findings. Of course in cases such as cerebral palsy, gentetic disorders, and other conditions where severe damage has been applied to the nervous system, the level of functional improvement can be hindered. However, as research is starting to show, the central nervous system does have the potential for plastic changes, and that given areas of the brain often have projections from many systems. Therefore, the possibility for functional improvement always exists as long as there is some level of activity occurring in the brain.
Functional Neurology is based on the way your nervous system was designed to perform. By working with inputs such as light, sound, smell, and touch which normally and naturally come from your sensory nervous system, instead of drugs and surgery which impair it, we offer you possibilities for healing which traditional neurology simply can not match. These inputs listed above are utilized in concert with each other to apply a multimodel approach of interfacing with the nervous system to evoke a change. Why multimodel? Utilizing a multimodal approach allows you to place input into the system from any of the five senses one at a time or over a period of time placing a challenge on the nervous system. Basically it allows you to attack the problem on multiple fronts, thereby , giving the person being treated the best opportunity to obtain their maximal neurological function.
Examples of some of the problems often better served by Functional Neurology than drugs include:
Autism
Asperger’s
Attention Deficits
Obsessive-Compulsive
Tourette’s Syndromes
Dyslexia
Post-Stroke
Traumatic Brain Injury
Balance Disorders including Vertigo, Motion Sickness, and Dizziness
Resting and Intention Tremors, Parkinsons and Parkinsonian Syndromes
One of the unique multimodal therapies offered by Dr. Miller is Temporal Sequencing. This exciting technology is a form of metronome training that utilizes sound, vision, and individually derrived movement patterns to address dysfunctions of the nervous system. See Temporal Sequencing for further information or contact Dr. Miller to see if this technique or any of the other therapy approachs he offers may be able to help you. Call 607-729-0591 or click on the contact us link to ask a question.
