AK Newsletter Vol 1, No 6

Some people with trauma due to whiplash dynamics from an auto accident respond very well to chiropractic care, while others continue to have problems and eventually seek help from doctor after doctor.

I have had the opportunity to examine many patients with ongoing problems even after two or three years of chiropractic treatment. After prolonged treatment the insurance company requests an independent examination and designates a doctor who never finds objective reasons for the continuing complaints. The insurance company then denies further treatment. The patient, still having problems and knowing s/he at least gets temporary relief, seeks an attorney for advice; he in tern refers the patient to me for examination and treatment.

This type of case poses an additional problem for the attorney, especially if the insurance is of the no- fault type and the patient’s insurance is responsible for his or her care. In these protracted cases there has probably been considerable lost time from work, and the attorney wants to collect from the person who caused the accident. When the patient’s own insurance company is denying there is a problem, the patient is classified as a malingerer. When treatment is changed and the patient responds, the allegation is laid to rest.

Those who fail to respond usually have disturbance in the cranial-sacral primary respiratory mechanism as a cause of many of their symptoms. It is unfortunate that there are not more doctors who are aware of this mechanism who can examine and treat it effectively.

Often the patients who fit in this category have problems with vision, equilibrium, digestion, general neurologic confusion (switching), neck pain, headaches, facial pain, low back pain, and a myriad of other problems. They often complain, "My teeth don't fit together right any more." These problems have one common denominator: they all relate in one way or another to cranial nerves. This alone should give an observant doctor the clues necessary to examine the cranial-sacral primary respiratory mechanism. Teeth not fitting together properly is an indication of cranial bone distortion and/or imbalance of the muscles of mastication.

An accident victim may see a dentist because of an uncomfortable bite. Upon examination malocclusion is indeed observed, and the dentist proceeds with selective grinding to make the teeth again fit together properly. This equilibration is fine for the bite complaint, but what does it do about the distorted cranium and cranial nerve entrapment? Unfortunately, this locks in the cranial faults because now the individual's bite matches the distorted skull. Hopefully the accident victim will find a doctor knowledgeable about the cranial primary respiratory mechanism, one with the ability to evaluate the organization within the total stomatognathic system. When cranial corrections are made, there will now be malocclusion because the teeth have been equilibrated to an abnormal skull; correcting it causes malocclusion that tends to push the skull back to the distorted state when chewing, swallowing, and clenching the teeth.

When evaluating a patient with neck pain, headaches, and other symptoms as a result of a whiplash-type trauma, be certain to consider the organization of the stomatognathic system. The term "stomatognathic" used in this context follows the definition of Nathan Allen Shore, [1] which includes basically all the structures from the shoulder girdle up. Although many patients who have expeienced the trauma of whiplash dynamics are considered to be malingerers looking for a legal settlement, in most cases this is not true; rather the basic underlying cause of the problem has not been found.

The doctor who examines his patients with orthopedic and neurologic tests, as well as applied kinesiology, has an optimal ability to find the basic underlying cause and correct it. The correction may require consultation and work with a doctor in another area of specialization, such as chiropractic or dentistry.

REFERENCE 1. Nathan Allen Shore, Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction and Occlusal Equilibration, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1976).

Nearly everyone who has done an in-depth study of natural health recognizes that the body in general is a self-correcting, self-maintaining mechanism designed to maintain or regain health. It is usually when trauma, nutritional deficiency, stress, or something else occurs to the body that it can no longer carry out this function.

An excellent example of the body correcting itself is seen in the cranial-sacral primary respiratory mechanism. Normally, every time an individual chews, swallows, yawns, or takes a deep breath, the cranium receives a treatment. Almost everyone develops cranial faults at some time throughout the day. A fault may result from leaning the face on a propped-up hand while reading at a desk, from facial and cranial pressures during sleep, wearing certain types of headgear (such as a welder's helmet), or from bumps and jars. Not only do cranial faults that disturb normal nerve function develop, but there is mechanical misalignment of the skull. Silverman [1] recognized this in evaluating his own occlusion. He did this by two methods that enabled him to evaluate it at any time. First, when the teeth contact in an ideal centric occlusion, there is an audible, sharp, staccato-like sound. This can be measured objectively by a phonocardiogram [2] with the microphone placed on the cheek. One can feel that sharp contact when there is no malocclusion. Second, when the teeth are forcefully brought together and then very lightly tapped repeatedly, there should be a direct route to full intercuspation. When there is malocclusion, there is a very light premature contact and then the mandible slides into full intercuspation, which can be felt by a sensitive individual.

Silverman observed that upon awakening, he sometimes had a deflective prematurity which would last from several minutes to over an hour. The deviation from normal was usually corrected after eating breakfast. Further observation revealed no malocclusion when he awakened from sleeping on his back, but there was malocclusion when waking from sleeping on his stomach with his face mashed into a pillow.

Silverman continued this investigation and found several factors that could immediately return his occlusion to normal, including taking a deep breath, swallowing, chewing, and other activities of normal physiology. After recognizing the effects of sleeping positions on his occlusion, Silverman investigated other factors that might cause temporary changes in occlusion. These included forces on the face, such as that already mentioned of propping the face on hand while reading, head placed in the older type "V" dental headrest, wide excursive movements with the mandible (either laterally or wide open such as is often done in dental procedures), and forcefully blowing the nose.

These are just some examples of how cranial faults might develop throughout the day, and how the normal physiology of chewing, swallowing, yawning, and deep inspiration can correct them. For these corrections to take place, it is necessary for normal occlusion and normal muscle action to be present prior to the temporarily created cranial fault. The corrections are obtained during swallowing, chewing, and yawning by the muscles of mastication pulling on their insertion at the levers of the cranium, which include the zygomatic and pterygoid processes. In addition, there are wide contacts of muscles, such as the temporalis, which produce a bilateral, even movement to the skull during swallowing.

It is fortunate that the body has these self- correcting mechanisms that are in keeping with the overall design of the body to be self-correcting and self-maintaining. Unfortunately, problems sometimes develop in which these normally corrective mechanisms produce and maintain cranial faults. If there is a prematurity artificially produced by improper equilibration of dental prostheses, the muscular forces into the skull are imbalanced and create the cranial fault rather than correcting it. The muscles of mastication can also become hypertonic on one side, causing an imbalanced pull into the cranium.

Fortunately, applied kinesiology techniques can determine when there is an imbalance of muscles or an occlusion creating cranial faults. This evaluation capability is one of the factors that has helped develop a close relationship between many chiropractors and dentists. The objective is to find the reason why the body is not a self-correcting, self-maintaining mechanism so the patient can return to health.

REFERENCES
1. Meyer M. Silverman, "Effect of Skull Distortion on Occlusal Equilibration," Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry (April 1973).
2. R. E. Stallard and H. E. Ravins, "The Use of Sound in Adjusting Dental Occlusion," Quintessence International, No. 6 (June 1976).

How often have you heard a patient say, "I'm just getting old," and you look at the individual who's only 40 years of age, and laugh. It's amazing that someone can say that, yet listen to people and you hear negative comments all day long. What do you hear? "I'm not thinking clearly today." "Boy, I'm tired!" "I'll probably catch a cold." "I can't afford that," etc., etc., etc.

Unfortunately, more often than not these factors manifest because thoughts are things. We become what our thought patterns are. You can largely mold your life by creating a thought pattern of what you want to be, do, and achieve. If you want to be without work and income, think constantly about how nice it's going to be Saturday and Sunday when you don't have to work. If you want to be mentally lethargic, constantly think, "I can't think clearly today. I'm tired." If you want to be miserable about the weather, think about how bad it is.

Norman Vincent Peale changed the lives of thousands of individuals with his book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Many people have created huge financial returns as a result of reading Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. Self-help books consistently center around two thoughts: a positive attitude, and the development of a plan or goals to follow. Think, say, and act what you want to become. To be happy, act happy; to be creative, concentrate on your successes; to be energetic, act energetic. Your thought process is what you will become, because thoughts are things!

Applied kinesiology provides many examination and treatment techniques not otherwise avialable to patients suffering from the symptoms caused by whiplash injuries.

Read the new Whiplash! brochure in Acrobat format.

The Cranial Respiratory Function and Temporomandibular Joint (Jaw Joint) brochres cover several aspects of the stomatognathic system.

Click on the brochure name to read it in Acrobat format.

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