I often find common themes among patients and conditions. A body that is malfunctioning may have varied primary complaints, (the one that brought them to the office) but the secondary issues are often similar. One of the most common is menstrual issues, which include irregularity, severe cramping (well above average), Endometriosis, hormonal migraines, or other associated issues.
Very often young ladies are brought in, and are already on birth control pills because their cycles are such a problem. I see a fair amount of women who have had miscarriages or infertility issues as well. Regardless of what we call it, the fact remains it is a body not working properly. A menstrual cycle is natural, and if the body is working correctly, it should be a mild inconvenience, a few days a month. I often see it being a major life alteration for a week or even more.
Our bodies are always in a constant balancing act—maintaining proper blood pressure, hormone levels, neurotransmitters, and a million enzymes etc. This balancing act is the job of the autonomic nervous system. Autonomic simply means the things in our body that are done automatically, and we don’t even think about them. You have to think about moving your arm, but not about secreting thyroid hormones. This system has two halves, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic is known as fight or flight, and the parasympathetic is known as the rest or digest. What they amount to are our gas and brake pedals. If we need more of things, the gas kicks in, if we need less, the brakes are put on. These systems also determine how much blood is delivered to different areas, and the precise hormone balance we need to be at our best. If that balance is disturbed, we run into trouble. In the case of menstrual issues, a whole cascade of events can occur.
In the course of a woman’s monthly cycle there are a number of hormones at play. The cycle starts when the hypothalamus (in the brain) sends a signal to the pituitary gland to release follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Then estrogen levels rise, triggering the pituitary gland to release luteinizing hormone (LH). Later on, if you aren’t pregnant, estrogen and progesterone decrease, which causes your period to start, and the uterine lining to shed. There are more hormones and more details, but I think the picture should be clear. It is a delicate balance of hormones and timing, involving multiple areas of the brain, and a number of different hormones. If this balance is off just a little, things will begin to go wrong. The timing and area of trouble will largely determine what types of symptoms you deal with.
The hypothalamus regulates the autonomic nervous system (our gas and brake pedals). The hypothalamus is dependent on the brainstem for input, so it knows what decisions to make. The brainstem is the tail end of the brain, and rests partly in our skull, and then drops down into the top two bones in the neck. If the brainstem malfunctions, the hypothalamus gets bad information. As I like to say to patients “garbage in, garbage out.”
One of the most common causes of brainstem malfunction is a misalignment of one of those top bones in the upper cervical neck. Maybe it was a car accident, a slip, a fall, even a birth trauma that misaligned them, but once they get stuck out of place, the body struggles to unstick them. Once misaligned, two major things can occur. The nerves of the brainstem get irritated, and the brainstem can be robbed of proper blood flow. Either of these (and usually it is both) can cause it to not function properly.
I know this was a little technical at times, so let me draw a line so to speak. The upper neck gets misaligned, the brainstem is compromised, it begins to send bad information, and the bad information travels to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus now sends out bad information, and our autonomic nervous system gets out of balance. Poor balance of hormones disrupts the critical timing and levels necessary to have a proper menstrual cycle.
I can’t even count the number of female patients that began care struggling with their periods, and pretty quickly saw tremendous improvement. We get the pressure off the brainstem, allowing their body to function properly, and a functioning body is a healthy body, which means their menstruation cycle stops being as big an issue.
Is your menstruation cycle interrupting your life? We offer a free evaluation to determine if your upper cervical spine is in the proper shape and working correctly. Call us at Upper Cervical Health Centers of Fort Myers for your free consultation today, 239-243-8810!
Dr. Lee Angle
“I enjoy the fact that I can help others feel better or be at their best thru upper cervical care.” — Dr. Lee Angle
Dr. Lee Angle is originally from southern West Virginia. After having his life changed through Upper Cervical Care he chose to pursue it as a career. He is an alumnus of Virginia Tech, and later completed his Chiropractic education at Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, SC . He has been practicing Upper Cervical Chiropractic for over nine years. Dr. Angle previously worked as a certified personal trainer. This background allows him to educate his patients on proper movement and exercises to speed their recovery and enhance their Upper Cervical Care. In his free time, Dr. Angle likes to exercise and spend time with his loving family.
12651 McGregor Blvd Ste 102 Fort Myers, FL 33919
Phone 239.243.8810 • Fax 239.243.8804
https://uppercervicalfortmyers.com/
Email uchcfortmyers@gmail.com
