Chiropractors are experts when it comes to aligning the spine and vertebral joints with the body and thus can help in treating restricted nerve function. In treating chronic Nerve Pain, I generally employ a combination of Chiropractic care and Craniosacral therapy to  relieve pain.

There are 3 types of nerves:

1. Autonomic Nerves: These control involuntary body functions, such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and digestion.
2. Motor Nerves: Movements are controlled by these nerves sending signals from your brain and spinal cord to the muscles.
3. Sensory Nerves: Information is relayed from your muscles and skin back to your spinal cord and brain via sensory nerves, such as touch.

The symptoms that often take place with nerve pain depend on the type of nerve pain your body is experiencing. Common symptoms of Nerve Pain include the following:

• Muscle weakness
• Burning sensations
• Tingling
• Fibromyalgia
• Headaches and migraines 
• Stabbing pain
• Limited range of motion
• Depression 
• Anxiety
• Hyperhidrosis (too much sweating)
• Lightheadedness
• Inability to detect chest pain
• Fasciculation (twitching)
• Paralysis (either complete or partial, in extreme cases)

If you feel you have nerve pain and can check off some of the above symptoms, it’s helpful to have insight on what may be causing the nerve pain.  Typical causes of nerve pain include:

• Injury or trauma (physical): Car Accidents, Sports injuries, slip and falls, and more.
• Diabetes: High levels of glucose in the blood can cause nerve pain symptoms such as tingling, numbness, weakness, burning feet, and more.
• Vitamin or Nutritional Imbalances: The most common include excess vitamin B6 and a lack of vitamin B12.
• HIV: Up to 1/3 of individuals with HIV often experience nerve pain.
• Blood & Vascular Problems: Reduced oxygen supply in the blood can cause nerve pain. In addition to this smoking and the narrowing of arteries from high blood pressure can produce nerve pain. 

Chiropractic care is a type of healthcare that focuses on the spine and joints of the body and how they relate to the nervous system, and collectively can resolve various health issues experienced by the patient. 

Think of chiropractors as physicians who look at a pain symptom and then track it “upstream” or “downstream.”  Thus for example if you are suffering nerve pain in your knee pain, the chiropractor will look “upstream” to your quads and hips.  The reason is there is a very good chance that the origin of the symptom (knee pain) is in your quad muscles or hip, which is leading to pain in your knee. 

While not always the case the point here is to illustrate chiropractors are extremely skilled in understanding the inner workings of the body and how everything connects.   Chiropractors firmly believe the body is a self-healing organism, and chiropractic care naturally helps it on its way to smooth and efficient functioning. 

While there are always underlying issues with nerve pain (such as a herniated disc or lumbar spine subluxations in the case of sciatica), Chiropractors are able to help alleviate the pain.

Nerves that may have been restricted or pinched can be freed through a standard chiropractic adjustment.  This reduces nerve irritability which often leads to inflammation, pain, and muscle spasms. 

There are many situations in life where our bodies get misaligned. From car accidents, to slip and fall injuries, to just poor posture at work.  If your spine’s misalignment is causing a nerve to be restricted, chiropractic care can assist you to a full recovery.

Craniosacral Therapy can also be an ideal treatment to resolve any nerve pain you may be experiencing.  The 12 cranial nerves that are a key part of our nervous system and contribute greatly to our wellbeing. They oversee the five senses of smell, sight, hearing, touch, and taste. The 12 cranial nerves help in maintaining homeostasis and regulation of our heart rate, digestion, breathing, and blood pressure. They assist in maintaining our equilibrium and balance. 

The 12 Cranial Nerves:

• Abducens nerve: eye movement outward
• Facial nerve: muscles of facial expression, taste, salivary secretions
• Glossopharyngeal nerve: mouth & throat sensation, taste & salivary secretions
• Hypoglossal nerve: tongue movement
• Oculomotor nerve: most eye movements
• Olfactory nerve: sense of smell
• Optic nerve: sight
• Spinal accessory nerve: neck movement
• Trigeminal nerve: facial sensation and chewing muscles
• Trochlear nerve: eye movement down and inward
• Vagal nerve: swallowing, vocal cords, sensation & parasympathetic innervation of body organs
• Vestibulo-cochlear nerve: hearing and balance

Any pain or health condition you may be experiencing associated with any of the 12 cranial nerves can be treated with craniosacral therapy. 

New research shows the 12 cranial nerves also play an important role in social engagement, trauma recovery, and human survival in mammalian social groups. Like any other nerve or physiological structure in the body, cranial nerves can become dysfunctional due to a number of different reasons: osseous or membranous restrictions within the cranium or cervical region; inflammation; injury, disease, or trauma; demyelination; poor intracranial pressure; or poor vascularization and blood flow.  CranioSacral Therapists are uniquely positioned to directly affect the recovery and function of cranial nerves through their structural and energetic practices.  

About Dr. Kaminsky & Craniosacral Therapy

Dr. Kaminsky earned his Chiropractic degree in the year 2000 and is licensed to practice in NY. He has since completed close to three thousand hours of continuing education seminars in various healthcare fields.

Since 2015, he is implementing primarily the hands-on techniques of Craniosacral Therapy (CST), a gentle, non-invasive, laying of the hands that brings about reversal and restoration.

The Craniosacral Mechanism is the driver of moving fluid in the body and head called cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF), which is produced by the Choroid Plexus of the brain and encapsulated within the head and spine.

The craniosacral system is the hydraulic mechanism of a human being and is a component of the Central Nervous System (CNS) and (ANS) Autonomic Nervous system.

There is a function inside of your brain that autonomically generates rhythmic impulses that function to pump CSF throughout your body via the craniosacral pathways, regulating your central and peripheral nerves, nervous system and organ systems, musculoskeletal system, etc.

This moving fluid is palpable to a trained craniosacral therapist, like the heart rate, pulse rhythm, breath, that can all be seen, heard or felt, so too can the Cranial Sacral Rhythm (CSR) be palpated and diagnosed for its health.

By placing his or her hands on your body, including your head and sacrum, the therapist can detect, feel and evaluate the SQAR (symmetry, quality, amplitude, rate) of this fluid rhythm.

The health of your body and mind are dependent on the vitality of this fluid. Compromises of your CSR’s rhythmic impulse correlates to CSF flow restrictions in the system which, when the fluid isn’t flowing optimally, your bodily rejuvenation and recovery is affected.

With anatomically correct hand placement on different parts the body during a session, through gentle manipulation and mobilization the therapist guides and facilitates a positive change in that region of the body which brings forth a correction. A myofascial release in a sense.

A craniosacral therapist stimulates and helps your rhythm refocus, allowing for improvement of musculoskeletal tightness and spasms, neurological issues, organ function, many common conditions, pain, and the mind-body re-connect.

Through a practitioners properly focused and individually attuned touch, your body is facilitated to release channels of fluid stagnation and flow restriction, which ultimately breakthrough, overcome and improve your rhythmic fluid and your potential for health improvement.

The existence of the Craniosacral mechanism was first discovered by Osteopath Dr. William Sutherland in the early 1900’s, who called it Cranial Osteopathy. And many years later, renamed to Craniosacral Therapy by Osteopath, Dr. John Upledger.

Dr. Alex Kaminsky is an advanced and certified Craniosacral Therapist, having studied advanced levels including SER, Brain and Pediatric courses. He has built a significant skill-set with many years of experience treating adults, children and babies. To learn more, visit the other pages on this website. Call to schedule your appointment with Dr. Kaminsky.