CONCUSSION AND CHIROPRACTIC

Dr. Kevin Jackson

Brain and brainstem health are relatively new considerations in collision-based sports. Of course, the movie Concussion made people aware of brain health, but the movie simply scratches the surface of the issue. Concussions are at this moment still very misunderstood, misidentifi ed, mistreated and not as well prevented as they need to be. There have been helmet upgrades, rule changes and medical management improvements, but the longterm consequences of playing collision based sports are very much an ongoing concern. The bigger issue is head/neck acceleration from subconcussive impacts and the neurological complications in later life. When we think of concussion, we think of the brain bouncing off the inside of the skull after a player receives impact forces around 95gs. What we don’t think of is the neck torquing and twisting as the head accelerates upon impact, and the shearing forces produced at the level of occiput, C1, C2, brainstem and associated blood vessels. This area is known as the cranio-cervical junction (CCJ) and it takes approximately 4.5g of force to cause potential neurological dysfunction. The CCJ has been the domain of chiropractic since 1895 and chiropractors are the only health providers that analyze, locate and correct spinal-neuro dysfunction at this extremely susceptible section of anatomy. The CCJ protects the brain stem (medulla oblongata), which is the neurological center of the body, and it carries signals from the brain to the rest of the body for essential life functions like breathing, circulation, swallowing and digestion. The CCJ is a potential choke point for craniospinal hydrodynamics and hemodynamics and may play a causative or contributory role in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, MS and ALS, as well as many other neurological conditions including hydrocephalus, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, migraines, seizures, silent-strokes, affective disorders, schizophrenia and psychosis. This is the most vulnerable area of the human body when playing collisionbased sports, yet there is no current equipment protecting this area and there is no organized and professional approach to managing this area with uniform procedures and dialogue between different healthcare providers. Both Dr. Ron Oberstein and I recognize this defi cit and are working on research and development of practical procedures and equipment for the management of the CCJ in collisionbased sports. Research has shown that exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHIs) from collision-based sports, including RHIs resulting in symptomatic concussions, and the more common subconcussive trauma, is associated with worse later-life cognitive and neuropsychiatric function. In a sample of 266 deceased former amateur and professional football players, the study found that the risk of developing CTE increased by 30 percent per year played, meaning that for each 2.6 additional years of football played, the odds of developing CTE doubled. As chiropractors we know and understand the delicate anatomy and physiology of the CCJ and the potential spinal-neurological implications of repetitive trauma to the CCJ from playing football and other collision-based sports. Over the last few years, I’ve developed equipment called the XOSKELETON, to protect the CCJ by attenuating head acceleration (angular acceleration) using a rubber tubing system that duplicates the sternocleidomastoid muscle (major stability muscle for the CCJ). The XOSKELETON has undergone extensive testing in the laboratory and on the playing fi eld. A Proof-of-Concept paper was researched and written by me and Dr. Kristen Willeumier, a neuroscientist from UCLA and former head of Amen Clinics in Los Angeles. To view this research in its entirety please scan the QR Code below. Currently, Life West researcher Monica Smith, DC, PhD, is analyzing data from our 2021 fi eld trials conducted in York, Pennsylvania, with the Northeastern Bobcats Football Club. The results of the fi eld test were an attenuation of g force/ angular acceleration by 11%. This coming football season, Life West will sponsor and guide the testing of 100 little league football players. We will assess their brain function using the WAVi brain scans pre and post season, as well as compare 50 of the players using the XOSKELETON and 50 not. In the postseason, kids that had proof of functional brain changes will undergo specifi c upper cervical care and then receive a follow up brain scan and results will be published. The mission at Life West is to create a national system for chiropractors to manage the CCJ for collision-based athletes from the sidelines of every community.

To access notes on the author and the research referenced in this article, scan the QR code