Nerves
Nerve facilitation is a fancy word which just means how easily the nerves are firing. If nerve facilitation is high, the nerves fire quicker and easier. If nerve facilitation is low, it takes a lot more to make the nerves trigger. An example of a person whose nerve facilitation is too high is someone who is extremely sensitive to smells or light or sound or really any sensation. When a person’s nerve facilitation is too low the sensory input is dull.
Sometimes I refer to this as nerve electricity when I talk to patients. It often communicates better. How easily these nerves fire is an important part of the bodies Fight or Flight reflex. When danger is perceived the body turns its nerve facilitation up so that the nerves are more primed for quick reaction to stimulus in the environment. High sensitivity to smells and sounds and perception along with nerves on edge to trigger quick muscular reaction are pro-survival under these circumstances. When this is occurring non stop or under the wrong situations or if the body is over-reacting to the environment it is problematic.
The adrenal glands are directly connected to this as they secrete adrenaline which produces the flight or fight responses. Tired adrenal glands can produce both a response of nerve facilitation that is too low or one that is too high. Too low causes a drained tiredness, while too high leaves the person feeling restless with a nervous energy yet the person has zero actual energy and feels exhausted.
The internal brain directly regulates how easily these nerves fire so anything that interferes with this can result in an abnormal level of nerve facilitation. The thyroid, blood sugar, minerals and hormones all play a part in providing nutrition into the brain so any of these may throw off internal brain regulation. Nerve injuries and physical injuries from the past, unknown infections and possibly old vaccinations may be responsible for problems of long duration.
Sometimes the nerve electricity is too low in the body, not because its level is set too low by the internal brain but simply because the body is lacking the necessary energy to maintain the nerve facilitation at it’s normal levels. An under active thyroid can be responsible for this. Blood sugar problems, a weak or tired heart or lack of sleep may all be culprits. The body may become so low in nerve energy, so under facilitated, that digestion is affected and food doesn’t progress properly down the digestive tract. This of course causes bloating along with the feeling of tiredness. There isn’t enough energy to digest the food properly.
The heart and feedback from the heart seems to be of prime importance in the proper regulation of this nerve facilitation. Consequently, problems with the heart and its nerve channels to the internal brain may result in abnormal nerve facilitation. Heartbeat irregularities such as flutter, rapid heart beat and certain types of anxiety may be a part of this picture. Since the thyroid and adrenals also regulate the heart in addition to the nerves, the thyroid and adrenals usually move in to prevent this from occurring. Nevertheless, when a person has a problem with thyroid and adrenals and nerves to the heart this can become out of control to various degrees.
Proper nerve facilitation appears to be important for many things besides proper regulation of the flight or fight response. A proper rate of nerve firing is very important to maintain proper muscle tone, especially for the involuntary muscles of the body. These muscles, as opposed to the voluntary muscles, do not respond to our will but are automatic. Because of this we can not physically exercise them to keep them strong and toned. What keeps them properly toned is proper nerve flow at a proper level of nerve facilitation. Involuntary muscles include postural muscles of the spine, smooth muscles of the intestinal tract, arterial muscles, interior abdominal muscles, rectal muscles, and others. You can see that incorrect nerve facilitation can lead to spinal problems and displacement, digestive disorders and weak abdominal muscles. When the internal abdominal muscles are too weak you lose your natural “girdle”. Also organs can displace easily because the muscles holding them in place become weaker.
A nervous system in general that is set too high or too low may have difficulty healing. Weak areas in the nervous system express easier when this occurs. When the nerve energy is too low the nerves themselves simply may not work well.This can affect eye sight. In particular, with this type of eyesight problem the persons eyesight becomes worse at the end of the day when they become more tired and run down or it’s worse on days when they have been low on sleep or food.
Sometimes the nerves will turn up when they kick out toxins. Hives are often related to this. This is why hives are a common drug reaction and side effect. Nerve facilitation can also have an impact on the immune system. Many auto-immune diseases have a nerve facilitation component. It is an over-action, or over-reaction to the situation. This may be a more localized type of over facilitation. In my opinion, most auto immune conditions have two components; 1) an abnormal over-reaction in the tissue affected and 2) something the body is reacting to, in most cases an unknown infection that current medicine simply has no test for. The problem with classic medical treatment is that they treat the first component, overreaction including the accompanying inflammation, yet fail to handle the second component. Steroids for instance instantly take away inflammation so many of the symptoms disappear, however they also knock out the immune system so that the underlying “unknown” infection never gets handled and only worsens. When the steroids are stopped the condition comes right back, often worse than before.
People whose nerve facilitation is incorrect may have supplement and herbs and yes, even drugs affect them differently than those whose nerves are operating correctly. People with low nerve energy may have trouble with digestion of the herbs or supplements. People with high nerve energy may be super-sensitive to the herbs, supplements or drugs. Some may only be able to tolerate minute amounts without a reaction. This can pose a problem when they have difficulty handling the very nutrient that is necessary to fix the nerve facilitation imbalance.
There are several conditions that have received their own “names” that are simply examples of a nervous system that is over facilitated. Restless Leg Syndrome is one. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, certain insomnias, many anxiety conditions and even some skin conditions all often relate back to this. If you find out what’s causing the nervous system to react too quickly or slowly a host of conditions may be handled.
Whether the problem is from nervous system poisoning such as from vaccinations, injuries from the past, internal brain imbalance, immune system challenges, nerve message distortion or some other basic cause; once it is located and corrected the nervous system can begin functioning as it should and a much more normal life can resume. If you see yourself or someone you know in any of the above paragraphs and wish a drug free solution contact us at (260) 459-6160 (Ft. Wayne) or (773) 929-3964 (Chicago) for an appointment.
Nerve Damage
Damage to a nerve will affect the function of whatever the nerve goes to just as a spinal misalignment can. It can be very recent as in a bruised nerve from lifting incorrectly, a fall, or even falling asleep in a chair or unnatural position. These usually respond relatively quickly to the correct nutrition. It can be from an old injury to the nerve in which case it may take quite a while to heal. Some can never be healed all of the way. I find, however, that if the exact right nutrition is given to the person in enough quantity, most cases of nerve injury will in fact heal, at least to a level of competent function. Research has shown that nerves can even sprout new endings that can reroute around injury. This is called neuroplasticity. If the damage affects the nerves to the voluntary muscles, exercise may be necessary for maximum healing.
Most damage is from past trauma or injury, however, sometimes it is associated with a past infection in the nervous system or occasionally, part of the brain can be affected by long term low blood sugar in the cells. Certain chemicals can also cause trauma to the nervous tissue. Furthermore, chemical or physical trauma to the nerves may be followed by an infection in the nerves which then exacerbates the original condition.
Nerve damage is often the reason why a specific area is weak. The area controlled by the damaged nerve will not be as strong and will be more prone to whatever stress factors are present. For instance, why did the person get an infection in the left kidney but not the right? The left kidney had weak nerve flow because of past nerve damage and was not as strong. It is often one of the reasons a specific area is more prone to problems.
During muscle testing, past nerve damage may take several visits before it shows up. It is a matter of “peeling the layers off of the onion”. If an area is weak from nerve damage, anything that affects the nerves will allow the condition to flare up or worsen. This includes lack of minerals, blood sugar problems, hormonal problems and overall body energy problems. Because of this, sometimes a person can become frustrated with his associated symptoms going up and down until the nerve to the area becomes healed. Even when the nerve is healed as much as nutrition allows, if something drastically affects the nerves, it may pick this area as the weak link in the nervous system and be the first area where nerve problems are present.
Most commonly, nerve damage is found in the spinal cord and spinal nerve area but it is not limited to this area. It may also be found in a nerve plexus or nerve ganglia areas such as the solar plexus. The brain and internal brain area is another area where this is sometimes apparent. This, of course, can interfere with the regulation of many things, including sleep and heart regulation. Depression may accompany this as well.
The commonly held medical attitude seems to be that nerves do not heal well at all. With the exact right nutrition, I find that it is uncommon that the nerves won’t heal, at least to a point where competent function can be restored, barring a total scarring of the nerve, of course. It does, however, take time. Every nerve cell that you will ever have you are born with. It is not like your skin or your liver where you just grow new cells. So patience may be required.
Once again, many more times than not, the body’s amazing ability to heal itself comes through and chronic problems associated with tissue weakening and nerve damage resolve. If you suspect a chronic problem may be associated with past nerve injury to an area, call (260) 459-6160 (Ft. Wayne) or (773) 929-3964 (Chicago) for a CEMT appointment.
David A Murdock,D.C.
