THERAPIES
Chiropractic Adjustments
The doctors at Southwest Brain Performance Centers are chiropractic physicians and still hold to the art and philosophy of Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy (CMT). Couple reductive procedures (using the cartesian system of joint movement) are primarily used because they get the best physiological results. CMT results in a joint mechanoreceptor stimulation to affect the spinal and supra-spinal areas of the central and autonomic nervous systems. Some patients may be too neurometabolically unstable (fragile) to tolerate high velocity CMT, so a low-force technique will be suggested. Each patient is completely assessed prior to any CMT procedure being suggested or performed.
Balance Rehabilitation
Dr. Pendleton uses individualized balance training to address balance or gait impairments originating from disorders of the sensory, motor or central nervous system. Much of the equipment he uses in testing balance control can be used in therapy as well, in conjunction with exercises that are aimed to improve specific functional areas. In addition to balance boards and balance balls, we also use equipment that is designed to improve movement strength and flexibility. We also strive to include a variety of types of activities in our balance training programs, with other approaches such as resistance and strength training.
Somatosensory Stimulation
Repetitive Peripheral Somatosensory Stimulation (RPSS) is one of the innovative therapies Dr. Pendleton uses to improve nervous system function. A type of sensory stimulation therapy, RPSS seeks to help patients recover somatosensory system function lost as a result of stroke, injury, concussion or cognitive aging. The body's somatosensory system relies on touch to experience sensation; sensations of pain, pressure and vibration are all somatosensory experiences. This therapy relies on low-level electrical stimulation to recover sensory loss and, ultimately, to stimulate the senses sufficiently to cause changes in the brain.
Soft Tissue Treatments
Dr. Pendleton utilizes many techniques to treat the muscles, tendons, fascia, and ligaments that help hold a skeleton together. These soft tissues can be the cause of pain, numbness, weakness, instability, and can lead to recurring subluxations. Subluxations are when a joint is either misaligned or is restricted from its normal range of motion. Dr. Pendleton believes that if those soft tissues involved with your injury are treated and restored to a healthier state, the subluxations of your joints (spinal and extraspinal) will hold longer and give you fewer problems in the future.
When one suffers an injury or repetitive stress, the body responds by creating inflammation. A natural response of this inflammation is the creation of scar tissue. Scar tissue is made by the body to help brace the area of injury. However, if too much scar tissue is present, it will prevent normal range of motion and cause muscle imbalances.
In addition to trigger point therapy, specific stretching and strengthening, Dr. Pendleton uses a homeopathic trigger point and joint injections to treat acute and chronic soft tissue conditions and injuries. These injection techniques are used last in his treatment repertoire. This technique offers many advantages and benefits.
- Decreased overall treatment time
- Faster recovery and rehabilitation
- More complete recovery of function and strength
- Resolution of chronic conditions thought to be permanent
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT):
Southwest Brain Performance Centers utilize two different cold lasers (635 nm) from Erchonia Corporation. Cold lasers do not produce any thermal energy (heat) so they are not used to destroy any tissues. LLLT uses photonic stimuli to excite the body’s cells and infuse them with energy, with the three primary reactions being reduction of inflammation, cell regeneration, and increased blood flow. Erchonia is the only laser company that has 14 FDA-approved clearances for laser therapy. Most importantly, there are no proven adverse side effects to LLLT.
Primitive Reflex Remediation
Primitive reflexes are automatic, involuntary movements necessary to a baby's survival in the first few weeks of life. These reflexes are quickly inhibited as higher centers of the brain develop and voluntary responses dominate. Primitive reflexes persisting beyond six to 12 months of life are considered abnormal. Children sometimes have a number of persistent primitive reflexes present with neuro-developmental disorders.
Below are common signs and symptoms associated with a persistent primitive reflexes. The list is not complete, but is intended to offer some insight regarding the importance of primitive reflex testing and correction.
Moro Reflex
The Moro Reflex is the earliest form of "fight or flight" (reaction to stress) that is fully present at birth and is usually inhibited between two to four months. When it persists, children may be over reactive, hypersensitive, stimulus bound, and have difficulty with ball games.
Spinal Galant Reflex
The Spinal Galant is actively present at birth and inhibited by three to nine months. If fully retained or only retained on one side, it may affect posture, gait and other forms of locomotion and is responsible for bedwetting, fidgeting, poor concentration and short-term memory, and hip rotation to one side when walking.
Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex
Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) is fully present at birth and develops eye-hand coordination, trains one side of the body at a time, and extends ability to focus from 17 cm to arm’s length. It is inhibited at about six months of life so that focus on distant objects can develop. If it persists, it can affect handwriting, eye tracking, cause difficulty crossing the midline, and ambilaterality or cross-laterality.
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex
The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) is fully present at birth, is inhibited by four months, and is closely linked to the Moro Reflex as both are vestibular in origin and activated by movement of the head. When retained, it can lead to spatial problems, poor posture and muscle tone, motion sickness, visual perceptual difficulties, poor sequencing skills and a poor sense of time.
The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) Backwards emerges at birth, is inhibited gradually from six weeks to three years, and is involved in the simultaneous development of postural reflexes, symmetrical tonic neck reflex and the Landau reflex. If retained, it can result in poor balance and coordination, organizational skills and stiff jerky movements.
Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex
The Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (Flexion & Extension) emerges at about six to nine months, and is inhibited about nine to 11 months. If retained, it affects posture, hand-eye coordination and swimming skills. Also, it results in the tendency to slump when sitting at a desk, an ape-like walk, difficulties with binocular vision, "clumsy child" syndrome, slowness at copying tasks and messy eating habits
Neurofeedback Options
At Southwest Brain Performance Centers, we have several forms of brain training equipment. Three are described below: BrainCore, using qEEG, the LENS system and the NeuroInfiniti system.
qEEG Brain Mapping and Neurofeedback
A Quantitative Electroencephalogram (qEEG) evaluation measures and records electrical activity or brainwaves. These sensors do not put any electrical current into the brain, they simply record signals coming from the brain. The procedure lasts 30 to 60 minutes and is followed by an hour-long session with the doctor to discuss results and make recommendations. If it is determined that the patient is a good candidate for neurofeedback, the training can begin immediately.
During neurofeedback sessions, individuals are connected to a computer that records their brainwave activity. This feedback appears in the form of a game, movie, or sound, which signals when the brainwaves are becoming more ordered. For example, a patient might watch a puzzle being filled in piece by piece. When the patient’s brainwaves are moving in an orderly direction, the puzzle pieces are added and the patient hears a tone. When the brainwave patterns move away from an orderly configuration, the puzzle is not filled in and no tone is produced. The patient controls the completion of the puzzle, and by doing so, the brain learns how to regulate itself.
Neurofeedback doesn’t teach tricks or techniques. Rather, the brain is rewarded when one pays attention to it, and it moves in the desired direction. As the brain learns new patterns of electrical activity, it has the ability to rewire and rebuild itself. It has been shown that effects of neurofeedback have lasted for 30 years or more. These changes in brain function can be permanent.
What Can You Change?
- Strengthen attention, focus, learning, memory, creativity and intuition
- Gain greater control of behavior, emotions, and racing thoughts
- Brighten and stabilize mood and deal with past traumatic experience
- Improve sleep, appetite and other physical functions
- Overcome chronic pain and fatigue conditions
- Rehabilitate head injuries, seizure activity, migraines and irritable bowel
- Improve your ability to stay in the zone and perform at your peak
LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System)
The Low Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS) differs from other interactive neurofeedback techniques in the passive involvement of the participant and the extremely low electromagnetic signal. The goal of LENS neurofeedback is to disentrain the brain, so that flexibility and elasticity are more pronounced. By feeding back the very same brain waves that various areas of the brain are emitting and adding the slightest amount of change, called an offset, the brain self-adjusts, self-regulates, harmonizes, and minimizes its dysfunction.
It has been used successfully with patients having the following conditions:
- ADD, ADHD, learning disorders
- Anxiety, OCD, Tourette’s
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Autism
- TBI, concussions, brain fog
- Depression
- Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, migraine
- Insomnia
- Peak performance
NeuroInfiniti Stress Response Analysis
The NeuroInfiniti system has been used by doctors worldwide to reduce the effects of imbalance in the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
The purpose of NeuroInfiniti is to measure the nervous system’s ability to handle stress, then train the brain to become better at dealing with it. The outcome is a more powerful immune system, clearer thinking, improved circulation, and peak mental and athletic performance.
As current medical research is now claiming that 90 percent of all illnesses are the result of the body’s lack of ability to cope with stress, it only makes sense that training the brain to be more flexible in stressful situations provides a permanent solution. Using NeuroInfiniti, we train the brain to clearly communicate with the rest of the body, relieving tension in the muscles, enhancing circulation, strengthening the heart, regulating breathing and calming the brain.