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Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Weakness: Whiplash, Neck Pain and Brain Function

ARTICLE SUMMARY BY ARIZONA CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGY CENTER

New Research Hot Off the Press Oct 1, 2015 Featured in SPINE

Smooth pursuit Eye Movement Deficits in Patients with Whiplash and Neck Pain are Modulated by Target Predictability.

What the heck does this mean? Well I will tell you.
What this article says is that there are eye tracking (smooth pursuit) abnormalities or eye movement weakness found in patients with Whiplash, neck pain and increased torsion in their neck. This torsion is called YAW.

Our Thought Process on This

A YAW deviation is when your head or neck is rotated (turned) left or right, with your shoulders remaining in the same static position (i.e. looking over your shoulder).

In this article, it reported that individuals with WAD (Whiplash Associated Disorders) showed abnormalities with both static central positioning of their head and with yaw deviations to the left and to the right at different angles. They came to the conclusion that the position (proprioception) of the neck WAS NOT the only thing that was creating breakdown in the smooth pursuit eye movements.

Simply put, if there are eye tracking problems present, this paper suggests that it could be due to neck pain, YAW deviation (head rotations) or other components.

To look further into this, let’s start with how the eyes see. Light travels through the cornea and lens and contacts light receptors on the back of the eye at a point called the Retina. The retina is interested in whatever you WANT to look at, your visual target so to speak. The rest of the brain, brainstem, cerebellum and vestibular system control the eye’s movements.

In order to have smooth pursuits, you must have adequate gaze stability, vestibular function, pontomedullary function, parietal lobe and frontal lobe function as well as appropriate visual acuity. Glasses take care of the visual acuity while the brain takes care of all the rest of the eye tracking functions. So if the brain is not functioning appropriately, you’re likely to have poor eye movements, and therefore decreased function of brain-body communication.

Now, doesn’t it make sense to have your brain and eye tracking systems evaluated if you have neck pain, if you’ve been in a car accident or hit your head instead of just getting your neck cracked to taking pain killers?

Yes, that’s what we thought too.

For the full PubMed link to the published article > http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26418634

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Janine Crifasi, DC, CCST

Dr. Janine Crifasi, our newest team member at AZ Chiropractic Neurology, is originally from New York – which explains the accent. She attended Life Chiropractic College West and was the Centennial class’s Most Outstanding Graduate. She practiced in the Bay Area until moving closer to family to raise her son who is attending college.

Dr. Janine is committed to learning and educating people to change their awareness about their bodies’ potential and empowering them with unique methods of retraining their brains to maximize their quality of life through neuroplasticity. Her passion to help others puts her patients at ease and makes her a highly sought-after community speaker. Prior to coming to Chandler, she owned a center specializing in kids with learning disabilities and served as the northeast clinical director of a functional neurology practice, overseeing several functional neurology clinics. 

She has completed her post-doctoral clinical neuroscience studies in Functional Neurology through the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies and has successfully completed the clinical exam and is now board eligible for the written portion. She is a Board Certified Doctor of Chiropractic for over 26 years. She has received additional extensive training in Spinal Trauma, and the Activator Method, and has a certification in Postural Neurology. 

In an effort to better serve her patients, Dr. Crifasi completed postdoctoral specialty training in blood chemistry, thyroid chemistry, brain chemistry, neuro-immune, and neuro-endocrine functional medicine. This knowledge of the brain-gut axis, and the mechanisms that impact our health, allow her to provide patients with easily implemented modifications enhancing improved lifestyle and nutraceutical recommendations as needed.