Chiari Connection International

01/17/2026

ditch the liquid

01/15/2026

Why hEDS makes your periods so heavy (The "Leaky Pipe" Logic)
Why doctors miss the link between hypermobility and heavy periods—and how mast cell "heparin" acts like a natural blood thinner during your cycle. Full article in comments

01/14/2026

🧠 THE CERVICAL SPINE: The Overlooked Key in Concussion, Dizziness, Headaches & Post-Trauma Recovery

Why the Neck Matters FAR More Than Most People Realize — and How We Address It at The Functional Neurology Center

When people think of concussion or head injuries, they think brain.
But one of the most important—and most commonly missed—pieces of the entire puzzle is the upper cervical spine (C0–C3).

A major review in the Journal of Athletic Training highlighted something foundational:

👉 Concussion and cervical injuries share almost IDENTICAL symptoms
👉 You cannot separate the neck from the brain when evaluating dizziness, headaches, balance issues, or visual problems
👉 Cervical dysfunction can CAUSE or EXACERBATE concussion-like symptoms

This explains why so many individuals struggle for months or years with:

✔ Persistent dizziness
✔ Head pressure or headaches
✔ Blurry vision
✔ Neck pain & stiffness
✔ Cognitive fog
✔ Poor balance
✔ Motion sensitivity
✔ Fatigue
✔ Difficulty reading, scrolling, or turning the head
✔ “I don’t feel like myself”

Many of these are not only brain-based — they’re the result of disrupted cervical afferents feeding faulty information into the brainstem, cerebellum, and vestibular system.

And THAT is where specialized neurological rehab makes all the difference.

⸻

🧩 HOW THE NECK TALKS TO THE BRAIN

The upper cervical spine contains a dense network of muscle spindles, joint receptors, and mechanoreceptors that continuously send sensory information to:
• The brainstem
• The cerebellum
• The vestibular nuclei
• The thalamus
• The somatosensory cortex

This information is ESSENTIAL for:

🔹 Eye movements (saccades, pursuits, VOR)
🔹 Posture & balance
🔹 Gaze stabilization
🔹 Head-body coordination
🔹 Spatial awareness
🔹 Neck and facial pain modulation (through trigeminal interactions)

When these cervical signals become abnormal—after whiplash, concussion, falls, sports injuries, or prolonged strain—the brain receives conflicting sensory information.

This mismatch between visual, vestibular, and cervical inputs can produce:

⚠️ Dizziness
⚠️ Visual motion sensitivity
⚠️ Brain fog
⚠️ Anxiety-like symptoms
⚠️ Neck-based headaches (cervicogenic)
⚠️ Postural instability
⚠️ Difficulty with reading or screens

This is NOT “in your head.”
It’s a neurophysiological problem with real, measurable pathways.

⸻

🔬 WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS

The Cervical Injury Assessments for Concussion Evaluation review clearly notes:

🧩 Concussion symptoms alone are not enough to distinguish brain injury from cervical injury.
🧩 Patients with PCS (post-concussion syndrome) and neck pain improved significantly when cervical rehab was added.
🧩 Combined vestibular + cervical treatment increased return-to-play success by nearly 4x.
🧩 Cervical dysfunction contributes directly to dizziness, headaches, visual instability, and cognitive complaints.

And importantly:
Neck dysfunction can LOOK exactly like a concussion—even without direct head impact.

⸻

💥 HOW WE ADDRESS THE CERVICAL-BRAIN CONNECTION AT THE FNC

We specialize in evaluating and treating the brain–neck–vestibular–ocular system as ONE integrated network.

Your program may include:

✔ Advanced Cervical Spine Neurological Assessment
• Cervical joint-position error testing
• Smooth pursuit neck torsion testing
• Cervical flexion-rotation testing
• Ocular-motor evaluation with head vs. body movement isolation
• Muscle spindle mapping & proprioceptive testing

These tests help determine whether symptoms are coming from the neck, the brain, or BOTH.

⸻

✔ Precision Manual Therapy & Low-Force Cervical Techniques

We use safe, gentle, and highly specific methods to restore:
• Cervical afferent accuracy
• Joint motion
• Muscle spindle firing patterns
• Upper cervical stability

(Sometimes 1–2 degrees of movement can change everything.)

⸻

✔ Visual–Vestibular–Cervical Integration Training

To resolve sensory mismatch, we reintegrate:
• Eye movements + neck movements
• Gaze stabilization
• VOR and cervico-ocular reflex (COR) coordination
• Balance & proprioceptive drills
• Spatial orientation training

This is where symptoms like dizziness, blurred vision, and motion sensitivity start improving FAST.

⸻

✔ Neuromodulation & Brain-Based Rehabilitation

Depending on your case, we may add:
• LLLT/photobiomodulation over cervical & brainstem regions
• Neuromuscular re-education
• ARPwave current modulation
• Cervical proprioceptive laser tracking
• Autonomic nervous system retraining
• Cognitive integration drills

The goal is to normalize the information going FROM the neck TO the brain, and restore the brain’s interpretation of that signal.

⸻

🌟 WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS APPROACH?

We routinely help patients with:
• Whiplash
• Sports concussion
• Car accidents
• Chronic headaches
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Dizziness with no clear cause
• Neck pain + eye strain
• “I feel off balance”
• Long-COVID dizziness with cervical involvement
• Screens and reading triggering symptoms

If you’ve been told “your scans are normal” but you still feel awful — this is EXACTLY the type of dysfunction traditional imaging cannot detect.

⸻

💙 THERE IS HOPE

Your cervical spine is not “just your neck.”
It is one of the most powerful sensory organs influencing your:

🧠 Balance
🧠 Vision
🧠 Cognition
🧠 Pain
🧠 Autonomic function
🧠 Movement
🧠 Overall sense of safety and stability

At The Functional Neurology Center, we combine advanced diagnostics with individualized treatment to help patients finally understand WHY they feel the way they do—and what can be done to change it.

⸻

📞 Ready to take the next step?

If you’re experiencing persistent dizziness, headaches, neck pain, or post-concussion symptoms, our team is here to help.

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

Cervical Injury Assessments for Concussion Evaluation: A Review
November 2016Journal of Athletic Training 51(12)
DOI:10.4085/1062-6050-51.12.15

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27835042/

01/13/2026

Join us on Thursday, January 15th at 7PM ET for a free webinar on the relationship between mast cells and autonomic nerves presented by Dr. Amro Stino, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Autonomic Lab Director at the University of Michigan. Dr. Stino will discuss his recent study on screening for autonomic dysfunction in people with mast cell disorders, and his approach to screening dysautonomia patients for mast cell disorders. Attendees will be able to ask questions at the end of the webinar.

Can't join us live? Everyone who registers for this webinar will be emailed a recording of the webinar a few weeks after it has concluded.

Register at bit.ly/MastCellWebinar

01/12/2026

01/10/2026

This is so many of us! Gentle Hugs!

Living with EDS means carrying exhaustion quietly, even when the world keeps moving.
What does exhaustion feel like for you today?
How do you rest when your body won’t cooperate?

01/07/2026

We spotted this sculpture at the entrance of Central Park on Monday with no plaque, no signage, and no immediate context — just a human form with an insect where the face should be. It stopped us in our tracks.

After doing some research, we learned this is a public art installation meant to provoke thought about humanity, nature, and our relationship with forces that often go unseen. The artist leaves it intentionally open to interpretation, inviting each viewer to reflect on what they bring to it.

What struck us is how many in the Lyme community immediately see something familiar here.

Even noticing that it isn’t a tick — ticks have eight legs and this figure has six — we still couldn’t help but think about Lyme disease and tick-borne illness. About how something small and often invisible can overtake identity, health, and how the world sees you.

That’s the power of art.
It doesn’t have to explain itself to tell the truth.
It creates space for reflection, connection, and shared experience.

For those living with Lyme and chronic illness, this sculpture feels like a mirror — not because it was made for Lyme, but because lived experience shapes what we see.

When you first saw this image, what did it make you think or feel? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments 💚

01/05/2026

Your MCAS Stabilisation Protocol: H1, H2, and HRV
Most patients chase triggers. Experts fix the bucket. Here is the 3-step stabilisation plan. Full breakdown in comments

01/03/2026

Gotta Love the fearless doctors that aid our community!

Dr. Bluestein specializes in treating hypermobility and chronic pain particularly in artistic athletes.

01/01/2026

Regulating our emotions is key to becoming the healthiest version of ourselves.

When we learn to manage our emotions and stress, we’re less likely to reach for junk food or develop harmful habits that lead to chronic illness.

Chronic stress disrupts our hormones, increases cravings for sugar and processed foods, and triggers emotional eating. Over time, this can cause weight gain, insulin resistance, and inflammation - leading to many chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even depression.

By learning how to regulate our emotions and manage stress, we create the space to make conscious, nourishing food choices that support our long-term health and prevent illness.

Emotional regulation is key to building a world where we make healthier choices, respect our bodies, and thrive in harmony with one another.

Powerful quote from .holistic.psychologist

01/01/2026

It may have taken some time to understand and work with MCAS- Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.

I believe science is finally getting it:

Histamine intolerance is considered a subset of MCAS where too much histamine is released from mast cells, too much histamine is taken in by consuming histamine-containing foods.