12/02/2025
Neuraxial Biomechanics, CSF Flow, and Connective-Tissue Health:
What New Research Reveals — and How We Address It at The Functional Neurology Center (FNC)
A new 2024 review in Frontiers in Neurology highlights a major shift in how clinicians should understand hypermobility, neck instability, CSF flow, and neurological symptoms. The paper challenges traditional “siloed” views of the nervous system and argues that the entire brain–spinal cord axis (the neuraxis) is a continuous mechanical and fluid-dynamic system.
For our team at The Functional Neurology Center (FNC) — where we see patients with chronic dizziness, dysautonomia, concussion symptoms, EDS/hypermobility, headaches, neck instability, and complex neurological presentations — this research strongly supports the integrative approach we use every day.
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🧠 The Neuraxis: A Continuous System That Influences Brain & Body Function
The authors emphasize that the brain, spinal cord, meninges, dura, connective tissue, venous system, and CSF system form a single mechanical unit.
This means:
• Changes in spinal motion can alter brainstem tension
• Abnormal connective tissue can restrict or distort CSF flow
• Poor cervical stability can impair neural regulation, autonomics, and vestibular control
• Posture, breathing, and even cardiac pulsations influence fluid pressure and drainage
This unified model helps explain why many patients experience symptoms that cross medical categories — such as dizziness + cognitive fog + neck pain + headaches + balance problems + fatigue.
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**🦴 The Myodural Bridge:
Where Neck Muscles Directly Influence the Dura and CSF Flow**
At the upper cervical spine, small stabilizing muscles connect directly to the dura mater through what is known as the myodural bridge.
This structure plays a role in:
• Maintaining normal dural tension
• Assisting the pumping of CSF through the cranio-cervical junction
• Supporting healthy mechanics at the skull–neck interface
• Helping coordinate vestibular, proprioceptive, and oculomotor systems
When connective-tissue integrity is altered — particularly in hypermobility or EDS — this system becomes more vulnerable.
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💡 Why Hypermobility and EDS Patients Struggle More
The review highlights that individuals with hypermobility often have:
• More compliant or fragile connective tissue
• Reduced ligamentous stability
• Altered dural mechanics
• Impaired venous and CSF regulation
• Higher risk for craniocervical instability, tethered cord, or Chiari-like presentations
• Greater susceptibility to “mysterious” neurological symptoms
This aligns exactly with what we see clinically: symptoms are often multisystem, fluctuate with posture or activity, and frequently worsen after minor injuries.
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🚨 Why Traditional Care Often Misses These Problems
The paper notes that traditional neurology, orthopedics, and rehab systems typically evaluate each region or symptom separately. As a result:
• The neck is assessed separately from the brain
• Connective tissue is not evaluated with neurological symptoms
• CSF dynamics are rarely considered unless there is a major abnormality
• Subtle cervical instability goes undetected
• Patients are dismissed or misdiagnosed as “functional,” “psychogenic,” or “untreatable”
This leads to years of frustration and unnecessary suffering for patients with complex neuro-vestibular, autonomic, and CSF-related symptoms.
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How We Address These Issues at The Functional Neurology Center
The research supports the multidimensional model we use at FNC — a model that evaluates mechanics, fluid dynamics, sensory integration, and neurological function together.
1️⃣ Advanced Cervical Spine & Connective-Tissue Assessment
We look closely at:
• Ligamentous tension and stability
• Suboccipital muscle tone and function
• Dural tension patterns
• Postural loading and gravitational intolerance
• Myodural bridge involvement
• Range of motion and motion-coupling asymmetries
This is essential for hypermobile, post-concussion, whiplash, and chronic dizziness patients.
neckcare.com
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2️⃣ CSF Flow, Autonomic Regulation & Fluid-Dynamic Optimization
Through movement-based therapies, postural retraining, respiratory work, and advanced technologies, we target:
• Enhancing CSF dynamics
• Improving glymphatic function
• Reducing venous congestion
• Supporting autonomic rebalancing
• Optimizing cranio-cervical pumping mechanisms
When CSF flow improves, patients frequently report decreased pressure, clearer thinking, improved dizziness, and better energy.
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3️⃣ Neuro-Vestibular & Visual-Motor Integration
Poor cervico-vestibular input contributes to:
• Dizziness
• Motion sensitivity
• Visual instability
• Balance problems
• Poor spatial orientation
We use customized vestibular integration, eye-movement training, optokinetics, postural loading, and the NodulusFX Neuro system to realign sensory systems.
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4️⃣ Neuromuscular Reeducation & Proprioceptive Activation
For patients with EDS/hypermobility or chronic neck dysfunction, we implement:
• Proprioceptive loading strategies
• Stabilization drills
• Neuromodulation (e.g., ARPwave)
• Cervical reflex integration
• Balance and gait retraining
These restore control where passive tissues no longer provide adequate stability.
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5️⃣ A Multidisciplinary, Neuraxial-Aware Care Model
We integrate across systems rather than treating symptoms in isolation.
This includes communication with:
• Neurosurgery
• Neuro-ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Physical therapy
• Rheumatology
• Pain specialists
• Dysautonomia experts
Complex cases require coordinated care — and this research reinforces that necessity.
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🌐 Why This Matters for Patients
This new research validates the experience of thousands of patients who have been told:
• “Your scans look normal.”
• “Your symptoms don’t make sense.”
• “It’s anxiety.”
• “Just do physical therapy.”
The truth is:
If the neuraxis is unstable, strained, or not regulating fluid properly, symptoms will occur — even when imaging is normal.
At FNC, we specialize in finding and rehabilitating the underlying neurological systems that drive these complex presentations.
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💬 Final Takeaway
The 2024 neuraxial biomechanics review reinforces a core message we share with every patient:
**Your symptoms are real.
There is a structural, neurological, and fluid-dynamic basis for what you’re experiencing.
And with the right approach — there is hope.**
The Functional Neurology Center is committed to providing the most advanced, integrated, neuraxial-aware care to help patients regain stability, clarity, and quality of life.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2024.1479545/full
TheFNC.com
DC DACNB
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