Real-time imaging of brain function before and after a chiropractic adjustment

This shows brain activity in the right temporal lobe before (to the left) and after (on the right) a chiropractic adjustment using Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT®) which I practice in my office. The blue color indicates below normal brainwave activity as compared to a normative database and the red indicates above normal brainwave activity as compared to a normative database. Notice the absence of red color before the adjustment and the bursts of red color after the adjustment. Brain imaging is using BrainAvatar, Brainmaster Technologies, Inc. 

​There's a first time for everything. And the neuroimaging above was a first!

The question "does chiropractic change the brain" has been the subject of 5 years of my research. Until my work, nobody had looked at live brain function and chiropractic.  This video above shows the FIRST real-time imaging of what a brain looks like before and after a chiropractic adjustment. I had the exciting experiences of presenting this to others at Life University in 2014 and the Association of Chiropractic Collages Research Agenda Conference in 2015 as well as the Sherman college International Research and Phillosophy Symposium in  2015. 

How does this apply to patients? Let's say a person comes to me seeking help for headaches. We can look at the brain and see if there are areas that are abnormal. We can then see if those areas of the brain match the headache symptoms. We can then try interventions, for example chiropractic, and see if the brain is responding. If the brain is, then that's validation that what we are doing is helping (in addition to a person's report of symptoms, of course). If not, we can change what we are doing with a particular treatment or try something else entirely.  Neurofeedback can be used for headaches. Metabolic testing and changes in diet and/or lifestyle may be what is needed to help a person. Or maybe the person is unhappy in their life and needs help in making a change. My job is to help people figure that out so that they can get better. 

I am excited to bring to my patients ground breaking technology and pioneering interventions. This is another part of what allows me to provide care to my patients unlike any other. 

This imaging was part of the firs three-armed randomized control study of chiropractic and brain function, which is coming soon to a major peer-reviewed journal near you.