Functional Neurology

Understanding the impact of stress on our brain, and the Glial system

After the huge success the 2018 AMN Academy Mastermind retreat was, Rob quickly signed up for the next retreat, this time held in Ubud, Bali. Rob knew whatever was covered would be really helpful for functional neurology treatment sessions at Movementality, and it was also a fantastic opportunity to hang out and work with some of the best practitioners in the world. This group of practitioners are always helping people with all sorts of ailments that would otherwise be left in the ‘too-hard’ basket by most health practitioners - insomnia, scoliosis, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain etc… So what an opportunity to pick the brains of these incredible minds in hopes of better utilising the AMN system for helping our clients move better, and reduce strain on their delicate physiological systems.

So what was covered?

The main focus of the trip covered was another step up again on what was already a pretty fantastic system - brain health! It’s something that we take for granted, and assume that even where something goes wrong that there isn’t a whole lot we can do about it aside from medicate. But in this instance, we discussed not just how the keep our neurons happy, but how to make their environment as healthy as possible. Because everyone talks about the neurons, but it’s also relevant to think of the brain a little like a garden - you might see the pretty flowers (the actions of the brain), but no-one pays attention to the soil (it’s environment), and the flower doesn’t amount to much if the soil is poor! In a similar way, the neurons do all the fancy stuff organizing the incredibly complex communication and interpretation system that is our brain, but they actually only account for about 10% of our total number of brain cells. The other 90% is make up of a combination of 4 cells types, all performing a variety of vitally important roles to ensure the neurons can be at their best.

The Glial system

These four cells form the Glial system, and are called the Microglia, Asterocyes, Oligodendrocytes (both white and grey matter), and Schwann cells. Awesome names right?! They have roles that are mostly different, that range from acting as barriers to prevent the wrong chemical substrates entering cells; through to controlling immune reactions, providing energy and cleaning up waste left over from the constant communication of neurons and cells. Now the good news is that when we’re in good health, and experience periods of stress or have a significant knock to the head, our brain goes through a normal pro-inflammatory cycle in to an anti-inflammatory cycle. This will hang around for a number of hours through to days, but then life returns to normal. But that isn’t always the case if we aren’t in the best shape, or depending on how significant the stress is (emotional and/or physical). In these situations, the pro-inflammation cycle that starts but there may not be the resources present to signal that it’s time to actually switch off. And being stuck in a pro-inflammatory state will effectively result in burning through resources in the shape of energy stores and building blocks for neurons/cells without being able to clean up the mess adequately, and also prioritise certain functions in the brain that focus on survival at all costs, similar to that of the fight and flight reflex. In the long run, this is bad news for our overall heath and can be incredibly detrimental if not managed properly.

Unhealthy brain - what am I looking for?

Symptoms of what a unhealthy brain looks like: - sleep disorders, most commonly insomnia

- changes too the digestive system and cravings for unusual foods

- waves of feeling faint followed by cravings for sugar and carbohydrates, due to sudden drops in blood sugar levels

- loss of your normal emotional bandwidth mixed with bouts of extreme emotional change, such as bouts of rage or sudden depression, through to hysterical laughter and crying

- persistent anxiety

- functional loss or sensory and/or motor sensitivity

Ring any bells with anyone? Most people experience some of all of these symptoms, and have never experienced a significant knock to the head, but are likely to have experience significant emotional or psychological stress at some point. And to make matters worse, the symptoms may persist at a low level that is manageable for a long time, and then another incident tips you over the edge and it all comes crashing back down. This highlights the importance of dealing with underlying emotional trauma where possible, to ensure that it doesn’t keep triggering physical symptoms every time you find yourself in similar situations.

So what can be done?

But in regards to the physical symptoms, that’s where our work through the AMN Academy comes in. Using the treatment process we already have, aimed at finding points of elevated electrical charge in our physiology and calibrating them back to a normal level. Layering in a bucket load more information from retreats like these, we can start of navigate some of the issues that may be present in our physiology, and start to provide some resources your body is requesting in order to help the brain heal and then maintain this new found level of physiological normal, known as homeostasis. And once the brain starts to heal, a lot of those symptoms start to fade away - so you can expect to have more energy, more motivated to eat healthier foods, get better quality sleep, and be a generally happier person!

If you do experience these symptoms, other helpful things you can do include regular meditation to slow the burning of energetic resources in the brain, regular grounding to help drain out excess free radicals in your body, get regular exposure to the morning and evening sun to help balance your circadian rhythm, and play with small amounts of High Intensity Interval Training to modulate the immune system in our body.

Want to know more, or know someone who would get heaps out of a session or three? Rob offers an introductory package of three sessions for the price of two. Contact the studio for booking options.