Fix Your Brain to End Your Pain: What is Brain-Based Therapy (BBT)?

Dr. Ned McArthur, Orem Utah Chiropractor

Brain Based Therapy (BBT) is an amazingly powerful, all natural healing technique used to restore people to their optimum state of health. Scroll through the following for more details, or click on one of the links to quickly skip to the text you would like to read.

• How does the brain work?
• What goes wrong?
• What's the deal with the mesencephalon?
• What about the cerebellum?
• How do you fix the brain?
• What health problems can you help with?
• Who discovered Brain Based Therapy (BBT)?

How does the brain work?

Your brain controls and coordinates all function of the body (Grey’s Anatomy). When functioning normally, the cerebellum, which is the back bottom part of your cranium, sends messages or “fires” to the brain (right and left hemisphere) which in turn “fires” to the brain stem (mesencephalon, pons, and medulla). This is called the “Brain Loop”.

Your health, well-being, physical vitality, mental clarity, and emotional stability are all directly correlated with proper brain function….the “Brain Loop”. When functioning correctly, the cerebellum receives adequate input, sending normal input to the brain’s frontal lobes, which sends sufficient input to the lower brainstem, keeping the mesencephalon from over-firing.

What goes wrong? Back to Top

Stress…physical, chemical, and emotional stress will adversely effect this “brain loop”. Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it is the constant, pervasive, never-ending stress of our culture that is so detrimental.

If one side of the cerebellum is not receiving enough nerve input, it cannot send sufficient nerve input to the frontal lobe, which can’t send enough input to the lower brainstem to keep the mesencephalon from over-firing.

What’s the deal with the mesencephalon? Back to Top

The mesencephalon (a.k.a. upper brain stem, a.k.a. midbrain, a.k.a. cerebral peduncle) normally is inhibited by the brain. In other words, when the “brain loop” is intact, the mesencephalon is turned off (or on low). However, once stress interrupts the “brain loop”, the mesencephalon is left unchecked. Basically, the brain gets stuck in a sympathetic (fight or flight) response.

A mesencephalon that is not firing properly causes symptoms such as fibromyalgia, ADD, sciatica, etc.

What about the cerebellum? Back to Top

Another key part to the “brain loop” is the cerebellum. This is the back, bottom part of your brain that controls your balance and coordination, spinal postural muscles, and terminates eye movements. When one side of your cerebellum is not firing properly it can lead to a host of common ailments.

A mis-firing cerebellum will cause one side of the postural muscles to be in constant spasm. This one-sided muscle spasm will cause imbalances in the spinal bones. Additionally, individual vertebrae will lock up and be restricted in their normal movement. Consequently, chronic back and neck pain, spinal degeneration, arthritis, disc herniations, and sciatica may develop. Once pathologies are ruled out, chronic dizziness and balance disorders are usually the result of cerebellar dysfunction.

How do you fix the brain? Back to Top

A thorough BBT neurological examination will reveal which aspect of your brain is not firing properly. Since once side of the body is controlled by the opposite side of the brain (example: right brain controls the left side of the body), most treatments are given on one side of the body to stimulate the opposite hemisphere of the brain.

A safe, gentle, hands-on, dynamic integration process is used to re-boot, reconnect and restore proper brain function. Traditional chiropractic instruments and/or adjustments are also used, but they are used in a very precise manner…to stimulate function in the effected part of the brain. In addition, visual, auditory, and olfactory stimulation, heat, eye movements, eye exercises, and other modalities may be used to increase brain firing.

What health problems can you help with? Back to Top

Please understand that BBT is not a specific treatment for any disease, illness or disorder. We do not try to cure anything. Our expertise lies in naturally and holistically re-wiring your brain and then getting out of the way so your body can heal.

However, once the “brain loop” is restored and any brain imbalances are minimized…amazing things can happen. The following is a list of health conditions people have shown significant improvement with:

Who discovered Brain Based Therapy (BBT)? Back to Top

Brain Based Therapy is a clinical, functional neurological protocol developed by Dr. Fred Carrick, the country’s leading chiropractic neurologist and chiropractic’s only neurological fellow. The Carrick Institute offers classes internationally and helps patients around the world with severe neurological disorders.