What is Functional Neurology?
Functional neurology is a brain-based therapy approach to physical, neurological, behavioral, and developmental challenges. It works in improving a wide range of diagnoses - from ADD/ADHD, autism, OCD, Tourette’s or other tic disorders, dyslexia, personality disorders, oppositional defiance disorders, traumatic brain injuries, anxiety, depression, birth traumas, cerebral palsy, and more. Is functional neurology new? No. Is functional neurology legitimate? Yes, very. Is functional neurology evidence- based? Heck yeah it is. Let’s talk about it.
Functional neurology focuses on specific neurological pathways related to conditions like Tourette’s or OCD by developing targeted therapies to effectively rewire these neural circuits within the brain and body. The field is constantly evolving, as it integrates the most recent scientific findings and advancements in neurological development and rehabilitation. Every therapeutic approach is customized to each particular dysfunction the doctor finds within the patient’s exam. Functional neurology goes far beyond traditional therapies and methods - it addresses the sources of the underlying dysfunctions rather than just looking at the symptoms. It constantly strives to dive directly into each patient’s condition and find the “why” hiding deep inside, behind the symptoms you see manifesting on the outside.
How Does Functional Neurology Work?
So first things first - the foundation of the functional neurology approach relies on a very thorough neurological exam. To put it simply, the exam focuses on testing a vast range of neurological functions that are controlled by certain regions of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and all of the nerves that run in and out of those main systems. If the function being tested proves difficult for the child or adult to perform accurately and efficiently, that dysfunction indicates an inefficiency or under-activity in the associated neurological center that controls that function. For example, if your child doesn’t get dizzy while spinning, that could indicate an issue with their vestibular system. If he or she has trouble tolerating certain sensations or textures, that could indicate an issue with their parietal lobes. Everything within our system is connected.
Think of your brain and body connection as the computer that runs your life. Your body is like the computer - it’s the vessel that we can look at, touch, and feel. Its performance reflects what’s happening on the inside. Your neurology is like the operating system in the computer - it can perform at different levels, speed up or slow down, get bugs, and handle tasks better or worse depending on how much stress it’s under. The more stress, the worse it performs, and the more issues you start to have with the computer. But what happens when the computer starts to slow down, and the spinny rainbow wheel pops up? Do you blame the silver chunk of metal on the outside that’s housing the operating system? Or do you blame the wiring on the inside responsible for operating that silver chunk of metal? And if you want to get rid of the spinny rainbow wheel, do you stare at it and poke it until it goes away, or do you work to find out what’s causing it to spin, and address that first?
So what happens when the symptom pops up? Do you blame the body? Or do you blame the neurology, who’s responsible for telling the body what to do?
Truthfully, neurology controls everything. It runs the entire show that is your body. Every single function in your body can be reverse engineered and be connected back to your brain. From the intensity of your immune response to a virus, to the state of your mood when you wake up in the morning, your nervous system controls it all. For every symptom, there is a source, or a network of sources, creating the issue. Functional neurology addresses the symptoms by locating and addressing the source. Re-wire the source, and the symptoms improve. This is why the longer neurological conditions go unaddressed, whether it’s with medication, surgery, or noninvasive methods like therapies and rehabilitation, the worse they become.
What does Functional Neurology Treatment Include?
Thanks to the wide range of research surrounding identifying brain dysfunctions and restoring appropriate neurological pathways, functional neurology is able to use an equally wide range of tools for treatment and therapy. Functional neurologists use anything from:
Photobiomodulation, or low-level laser light therapy
Vestibular rehabilitation
Vision therapy
Primitive reflex integration
Chiropractic
Occupational therapy
Vibration therapy
Physical therapy
Oxygen therapy
Sensory stimulation
Electric nerve stimulation
Postural reflex correction
Sensory processing integration
Acoustic stimuli
Coordination therapy
What is a Functional Neurologist?
Most functional neurologists are chiropractors by origin that have spent several years of additional training and education in deepening their knowledge and understanding of neurology. Lately, functional neurology is drawing an increasing amount of interest from backgrounds like optometry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and medical doctors. Fortunately, as functional neurology expands, so does the research. The research that functional neurology draws upon is from a thorough mix of academic institutions and clinical practitioners around the world, from Dr Martin Teicher at Harvard Medical School to Dr. Robert Melillo at the University of Haifa in Israel. By nature, it’s multi-disciplinary in strong and applicable ways.
There are doctors who have devoted their entire lives to this field and being able to connect the dots for patients in ways that other doctors aren’t able. They’re some of the most dedicated and compassionate individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, because they love helping patients address the root of the problem, rather than the fruit of the problem.
If you’re looking for a functional neurologist near you, search “functional neurology near me” or “functional neurologist near me” to find a provider closest to you. If you’re interested in specifically finding someone that has trained under Dr. Robert Melillo, one of the brightest minds in the world of functional neurology, search “Melillo method practitioner near me.” (Yes, I’m biased - I’m on that list. But he really is a genius.)
To reach out to our functional neurology practice in Northwest Indiana, click here.
