Atrium Osteopathy

16/01/2026

FYI. Double check to see if the North East link works affect you.

10/01/2026

Now available at Atrium Osteopathy

06/01/2026

FYI

29/12/2025

In 2008, Katie Hinde stood in a California primate research facility, surrounded by hundreds of breast milk samples, and noticed something that didn't make sense.
The data showed a pattern that shouldn't exist.
Mothers raising sons were producing milk richer in fat and protein—denser calories, concentrated energy. Mothers raising daughters were producing larger volumes with different nutrient balances. The composition was shifting based on the s*x of the baby.
Hinde checked her methodology. Reviewed the numbers. Ran the analysis again.
The pattern didn't budge.
When she presented her findings to colleagues, the responses were dismissive. Measurement error. Statistical noise. Coincidence. Because if milk composition changes based on whether the baby is male or female, that would mean something biology wasn't ready to accept: milk is not just nutrition. Milk is information.
For decades, medical science had treated breast milk as simple fuel. Calories in, growth out. A biological formula that delivers nutrients from mother to child. Nothing more.
But Katie Hinde trusted her data. And the data was pointing toward something revolutionary.
She kept going.
Across more than 250 mothers and over 700 sampling events, the story grew more complex. She discovered that first-time mothers produced milk with fewer calories but significantly higher levels of cortisol—the stress hormone. The babies who drank high-cortisol milk grew faster. They were also more alert, more vigilant. More anxious.
Milk wasn't just building bodies. It was shaping temperament. Programming behavior. Communicating environmental conditions from mother to infant through chemistry.
Then she found something that changed everything.
When a baby nurses, microscopic amounts of saliva flow backward into the breast tissue. That saliva carries biological signals—chemical messages about the infant's immune system, about pathogens the baby has encountered, about whether the baby is getting sick.
The mother's body reads those signals.
And within hours, the milk changes.
White blood cells increase dramatically—from around two thousand cells per milliliter to over five thousand during acute illness. Macrophage counts quadruple. Targeted antibodies appear, custom-designed to fight whatever pathogen the baby's saliva revealed. When the baby recovers, the milk composition returns to baseline.
This wasn't coincidence. This wasn't passive nutrition delivery.
This was conversation.
A biological dialogue refined over more than 200 million years—longer than dinosaurs walked the Earth. Mother and infant exchanging chemical information in real-time, the mother's body responding to the baby's needs before the baby even shows symptoms.
And science had missed it. Completely.
When Hinde surveyed existing research, she found something that made her furious. There were twice as many published studies on erectile dysfunction as on breast milk composition. The substance that had nourished every human being who ever lived had been systematically understudied because women's biology—especially the biology of motherhood—was considered less worthy of investigation.
She decided to change that.
In 2011, she launched a blog with a deliberately provocative name: "Mammals Suck...Milk!" The title was designed to make people do a double-take, to draw attention to a field that had been ignored. Within a year, it had over a million views. Parents, doctors, researchers—people who had questions science had never bothered to answer.
The discoveries kept coming.
Milk changes by time of day—morning milk contains more cortisol to help babies wake; evening milk contains more melatonin precursors to help them sleep. Foremilk at the beginning of a feeding is more hydrating; hindmilk at the end is fattier and more calorie-dense. Human milk contains over 200 oligosaccharides—complex sugars babies cannot digest—because they're not food for the baby. They're food for beneficial bacteria in the baby's gut. Milk simultaneously feeds the infant and cultivates the infant's microbiome.
Every mother's milk is biologically unique—customized not just to the species, not just to the individual baby, but to the specific moment in that baby's development.
In 2017, Katie Hinde brought this work to a TED stage. Her talk has been viewed over 1.5 million times. In 2020, her research reached a global audience through the Netflix documentary series "Babies," where millions of parents learned for the first time that the milk they'd been producing was exponentially more sophisticated than anyone had told them.
Today, at Arizona State University's Comparative Lactation Lab, Dr. Hinde continues expanding how medicine understands infant development, neonatal care, and formula design. Preterm infants in NICUs receive different care because of this research. Formula companies are redesigning products to better approximate milk's complexity.
But here's what really matters.
Katie Hinde didn't just discover new facts about milk. She revealed that half the human experience—the biology of mothers and infants—had been systematically understudied because it was considered less important.
She proved that nourishment is intelligence. That the first relationship every human has—mother feeding child—is not passive delivery of nutrients but an active conversation. A transfer of information. An education in immunity and behavior and how to survive in the world.
And she did it by refusing to accept that the pattern she was seeing was "just noise."
Sometimes the biggest revolutions don't come from new technology or massive funding. They come from someone paying attention to what everyone else ignored. From someone trusting what the data shows even when it contradicts what textbooks say.
Katie Hinde thought she was studying milk.
What she uncovered was a conversation 200 million years in the making—hidden in plain sight because no one thought to listen.
Now we're listening.
And what we're hearing is revolutionary.


~Old Photo Club

24/12/2025

🧠 THE MYODURAL BRIDGE:

A Deep Dive into One of the Most Important — and Most Ignored — Neuro-Biomechanical Systems in Modern Healthcare

…and how our movement-based, cervical-brain integration model + Ciatrix technology supports CSF flow, dural mechanics, autonomic balance, and neurorehabilitation at The Functional Neurology Center (FNC)

The myodural bridge (MDB) is no longer an obscure anatomical curiosity.
Over the last decade, research in anatomy, biomechanics, neurology, and cerebrospinal fluid physiology has revealed that the MDB is a critical mechanical and sensory connector linking:
• The suboccipital muscles
• The dura mater of the spinal cord and posterior cranial fossa
• The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system
• The brainstem and upper cervical spinal cord
• Autonomic and proprioceptive circuits
• Visual–vestibular–cervical integration pathways

What this means is profound:

👉 Every neck movement influences the dura.
👉 Every dural tension change influences CSF flow.
👉 Every CSF pulsation influences brain function.
👉 Every suboccipital contraction influences the entire system.

This is why patients with “mysterious” symptoms — head pressure, dizziness, brain fog, visual intolerance, autonomic instability, tinnitus, nausea, neck pain, cognitive slowing — often improve dramatically when the MDB and upper cervical system are restored.

At The Functional Neurology Center, we evaluate, measure, and treat this system directly.

⸻

🧩 WHAT EXACTLY IS THE MYODURAL BRIDGE?

The MDB is a dense collagenous and elastic connective tissue bridge that runs between:
• Re**us capitis posterior minor (RCPmi)
• Re**us capitis posterior major (RCPma)
• Obliquus capitis inferior (OCI)
…and the
• dura mater covering the spinal cord at the C0–C2 region.

It passes through the posterior atlanto-occipital membrane and posterior atlanto-axial membrane and attaches directly into the dura.

Mechanically, it links:

🔹 Muscle → Dura
🔹 Dura → Spinal cord
🔹 Spinal cord → CSF circulation

Functionally, it influences:

🔹 CSF movement
🔹 Spinal cord motion during flexion/extension
🔹 Brainstem dural tension
🔹 Proprioceptive input to vestibular & cerebellar nuclei
🔹 Nociceptive input to trigeminal nucleus caudalis
🔹 Autonomic modulation through central connections

The MDB acts as a functional biomechanical tension modulator and neurological signaling structure.

⸻

🌊 MYODURAL BRIDGE → CSF FLOW

A Deeper Look Into Why This Matters

Cerebrospinal fluid is NOT static.
It pulses, oscillates, circulates, and drains — driven by:
• Cardiac pulsation
• Respiration
• Cranial rhythmic impulses
• Postural changes
• Suboccipital muscle movement via the MDB

The MDB appears to:

🔹 Maintain patency of CSF pathways
🔹 Prevent dural infolding during head movement
🔹 Assist peristaltic CSF movement through the cervical canal
🔹 Help orchestrate CSF flow between rostral and caudal compartments (Tan et al.)
🔹 Influence mechanical pressure gradients within the craniospinal system

Research suggests that rhythmic somatic movement (walking, music-based movement, upper limb rhythmicity, sports movements, dance, even head nodding) improves CSF circulation partly through MDB-mediated dural stretching.

When the MDB becomes dysfunctional — through trauma, whiplash, forward head posture, suboccipital guarding, concussion, long COVID inflammation, chronic stress, or autonomic dysregulation — the consequences can be widespread:

⚠️ CSF stagnation or altered pulsatility
⚠️ Posterior cranial fossa pressure sensitivity
⚠️ Cognitive fog and fatigue
⚠️ Occipital or suboccipital headaches
⚠️ Neck stiffness and pain
⚠️ Dizziness and visual motion hypersensitivity
⚠️ Altered proprioceptive input → cerebellum and vestibular nuclei
⚠️ Autonomic shifts (sympathetic dominance)

We see this every day in complex patients.

⸻

🔗 THE MDB, THE TRIGEMINAL SYSTEM, & AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

The dura mater is innervated by:
• Trigeminal afferents (C1–C3 converging at trigeminocervical nucleus)
• Sympathetic fibers
• Small-diameter nociceptive fibers

Meaning:
• Suboccipital muscle contraction → MDB tension → dural tension → trigeminal nucleus activation
• This can refer pain or pressure into the head, eye, temple, jaw
• Dural mechanotransduction influences autonomic output
• Brainstem nuclei (NTS, DMX, RVLM) respond to altered dural tension and CSF pulsation changes

This is why MDB dysfunction can mimic:
• Migraine
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Tension headaches
• Facial pain
• Autonomic flares (POTS-like symptoms)
• Foggy head
• “Feeling disconnected”
• Motion-triggered dizziness

It is a neuro-mechanical + neurochemical + CSF-driven + autonomic phenomenon.

This is also why traditional orthopedic or structural neck care fails so many of these patients:
They are treating the muscles but not the dura, CSF system, or brainstem networks.

⸻

🏥 THE FNC APPROACH

A Comprehensive, Neuro-Integrated MDB Rehabilitation Model

We approach the myodural bridge using four major pillars:

⸻

🟦 1. Upper Cervical & Dural Tension Mapping

We perform advanced assessments, including:
• Suboccipital muscle palpation & tone mapping
• Accessory motion of C0–C1–C2
• Cervical joint position error (JPE)
• Smooth pursuit neck torsion test (SPNT)
• Flexion-rotation test
• Cervico-ocular reflex (COR) assessment
• VOR vs COR mismatch evaluation
• Dural tension testing via specific head movements
• CSF pressure-sensitive pattern recognition

This allows us to differentiate:
• Cervical-driven dizziness
• Dura-driven headache
• CSF-driven pressure symptoms
• Brainstem sensitization
• Visual-vestibular-cervical mismatch

⸻

🟦 2. Movement-Based Therapies Targeting MDB and CSF Mechanics

We apply rhythmic movement protocols that influence the MDB and CSF flow including:
• Coordinated head–neck rhythmic activation
• Cervical proprioceptive laser training
• Deep cervical flexor/extensor neuromotor retraining
• Suboccipital muscle inhibition and re-patterning
• Spinal rocking & oscillatory movement
• Rhythmic gait-pattern entrainment with cognitive or vestibular tasks
• Breathwork influencing thoraco-cervical pressure gradients
• Head/shoulder rhythmic sequencing (inspired by Tan et al.’s music-movement research)

These movements create mechanical oscillations that propagate through the MDB to enhance:
• CSF peristaltic flow
• Dural tension normalization
• Brainstem modulation
• Proprioceptive accuracy
• Autonomic balance

Movement is the medicine for this system.

⸻

🟦 3. Ciatrix Technology for Cranial & CSF Flow Support

Ciatrix technology adds a controlled rhythmic cranial CSF-supportive input that aligns beautifully with MDB and dural system physiology.

The Ciatrix platform helps:
• Reduce cranial-dural restrictions
• Enhance rhythmic CSF pulsation
• Influence craniospinal hydrodynamics
• Decrease pressure-driven symptoms
• Improve cranial mobility and fluid oscillation
• Support neuro-healing in brainstem and cerebellar networks

This technology complements our hands-on and movement-based work by adding a gentle, consistent, rhythmic mechanical input that the CSF system responds to extremely well.

⸻

🟦 4. Neuromodulation + Visual–Vestibular Integration

Because the MDB influences proprioceptive, vestibular, cerebellar, and trigeminal systems, we integrate:
• Photobiomodulation over brainstem/cervical regions
• ARPwave neuromodulation for suboccipital re-patterning
• Advanced oculomotor rehab
• Vestibular stimulation (static and dynamic)
• Autonomic nervous system retraining
• Cognitive-motor dual tasking

This creates full-brain integration, not just local muscle changes.

⸻

⭐ WHO BENEFITS FROM MDB-FOCUSED CARE?

We see dramatic improvements in:
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Long COVID neurological symptoms
• Chronic headaches
• Occipital neuralgia
• POTS & dysautonomia
• Brain fog
• “Head pressure” patients
• Chronic dizziness
• TMJ + upper cervical complex cases
• Whiplash or old injuries
• Visual motion sensitivity
• Neck pain with cognitive symptoms

If your symptoms haven’t made sense —
the myodural bridge might finally explain them.

⸻

💙 THERE IS HOPE

The MDB proves that the neck, dura, spinal cord, CSF, and brain are inseparable.
At The FNC, we specialize in treating these systems as an integrated whole.

When you restore movement, you restore CSF.
When you restore CSF, you restore brain function.
When you restore brain function —
patients get their life back.

⸻

📞 For more information or to schedule:

📧 info@theFNC.com
🌐 theFNC.com
📍 Minnetonka, MN

Advanced neurological rehabilitation for complex, chronic, and post-traumatic patients.
There IS hope.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346678915_Somatic_Rhythmic_Motion_Effective_on_Peristaltic_Circulation_of_Cerebrospinal_Fluid_Hypothesis_for_Music-_and_Sport-Based_Interventions

24/12/2025

🎄✨ Prema Cacao • Christmas Message ✨🎄

This Christmas, we return to the heart 🤍
To presence over pressure.
To connection over consumption.
To truth over tradition.

Cacao reminds us that the greatest gift we can offer is an open heart —
one that listens deeply, loves softly, and lives in alignment with what feels true.

Whether shared in ceremony, around the table, or in a quiet moment with yourself,
may cacao guide you home to love.

Affirmation ✨
“I open my heart to love, truth, and connection.
I celebrate life from a place of presence and gratitude.”

From our hearts to yours,
Wishing you a deeply nourishing Christmas 🤎
With love,
Prema Cacao

24/12/2025

Seasonal Greeting from Atrium

As the year draws to a close, we wish you a gentle and nourishing holiday period, one that honours rest, reflection, and the rhythms that sustain you.

This time of year can hold many layers. For some it is joyful and connective; for others it can be tender, complex, or quietly demanding. We especially want to acknowledge those who spend much of their lives holding space for others; caregivers, parents, health practitioners, educators, partners, and friends. Your steadiness, listening, and presence matter deeply, even when they are unseen.

At Atrium, we are guided by a philosophy that trusts the body’s innate wisdom and capacity for balance when it is met with safety, support, and time. We believe health is not something to be forced, but something that emerges when structure, rhythm, and relationship are respected within the body, and within our lives.

May this season offer you moments to return to your own centre, to soften effort, and to reconnect with what feels true and sustaining for you. Whether your days are full or quiet, we hope you find space to breathe, to be held, and to feel supported.

Thank you for trusting Atrium with your care this year. It is a privilege to walk alongside you. We look forward to continuing to support your health, resilience, and vitality in the year ahead.
With warmth and gratitude,

The Atrium Team ♥️

02/12/2025

💔🙌🏼♥️

When the heart‘s intuitive intelligence becomes more accessible, we connect with deeper guidance and clarity…

02/12/2025

I got Raymond Perrin to chat with Sami Karam and it was a wonderful meeting of two minds

https://open.spotify.com/episode/41RWTUcUc8sNsDQ2jlZx1n?si=0OyQFG82SBiNsAQHnjGqkg

Success in Practice · Episode