Dr Kate Klemer/Divine Structure

12/21/2025

Nice picture

Cranial balance….not just your spine

Upper cervical issues continually coming back? Gotta keep going for adjustments? Maybe check out that TMJ complex

Can really see the yang / governing vessel vs yin / conception vessel from this angle.

12/21/2025

⭐️ CONCUSSION, THE NECK & DIZZINESS — THE CRITICAL LINK TOO OFTEN MISSED ⭐️

Why persistent concussion symptoms are NOT just “in the brain”… and why the neck may be the missing piece of your recovery.

Every week at The Functional Neurology Center, we meet patients who have been told to “just rest” after concussion — only to find themselves months or even years later still struggling with dizziness, light sensitivity, visual strain, imbalance, head pressure, jaw pain, or motion intolerance.

Many are told their scans are normal.
Many are told it’s anxiety.
Many are told their symptoms “don’t make sense.”

But emerging research — including a 2025 Frontiers in Neurology article on cervicogenic dizziness — is finally explaining what we see in clinic every day:

👉 Persistent post-concussion symptoms are often driven by a sensory mismatch between the neck, the vestibular system, and the visual system.
👉 And until the neck is addressed, symptoms can persist — no matter how much you rest.

⸻

🧠 The Science: Why the Neck Matters in Concussion

The upper cervical spine (C0–C3) is packed with proprioceptors — sensors that tell the brain:

• where your head is in space
• how fast it’s moving
• how your eyes should stabilize
• how your balance system should respond
• and how to coordinate posture

After concussion or whiplash, this information can become distorted.

The 2025 Frontiers in Neurology article outlines exactly what happens next:

🔹 1️⃣ The neck sends altered proprioceptive signals

🔹 2️⃣ The brainstem and vestibular nuclei receive conflicting information

🔹 3️⃣ The visual system tries to compensate

🔹 4️⃣ The cerebellum attempts to reweight sensory input

🔹 5️⃣ A sensory mismatch develops

This mismatch is what drives:

✔ dizziness
✔ motion intolerance
✔ unsteadiness
✔ “floating” or “rocking” sensations
✔ eye strain
✔ head pressure
✔ jaw or facial pain
✔ anxiety in busy environments

The article emphasizes that this mismatch can persist — even after the brain has “healed” — unless the cervical system is rehabilitated.

(Source: Frontiers in Neurology, 2025 — Cervicogenic Dizziness Perspective)

⸻

🌀 Why Imaging & Rest Often Fail

Standard MRIs and CT scans look at structure — not function.

They cannot detect:

• proprioceptive errors
• vestibular integration issues
• cervical mechanoreceptor dysfunction
• sensory mismatch
• autonomic dysregulation

So patients are told everything is “normal,” while their functional systems are deeply dysregulated.

Rest alone cannot recalibrate these systems.

They need targeted, active retraining.

⸻

🎯 The FNC Approach — Grounded in Research & Clinical Results

We specialize in evaluating and rehabilitating the exact systems involved in post-concussion dizziness:

✔ Cervical Proprioceptive Training

• joint position error
• deep neck flexor sequencing
• suboccipital function
• C0–C3 sensorimotor control

✔ Vestibular Rehabilitation

• VOR gain
• head-eye reflex training
• habituation
• motion sensitivity reduction

✔ Ocular Motor & Visual Processing

• saccades
• pursuits
• convergence
• optokinetic response

✔ Trigeminal & TMJ Pathways

• dural tension
• jaw mechanics
• facial pain modulation

✔ Cerebellar / Nodulus Integration

• gravity & velocity storage
• otolith processing
• postural control

✔ Autonomic Regulation

• HRV
• breath-driven vagal modulation
• limbic calming

✔ Sensory Re-weighting & Integration

where the REAL healing occurs.

We do not guess.
We measure.
We map systems.
We treat the whole network — not just the symptom.

This is why patients who have tried everything else often improve when these systems are finally treated together.

⸻

🙌 Why This Matters for YOU

If you still have:

• dizziness
• foggy vision
• motion intolerance
• neck pain
• head pressure
• jaw tension
• imbalance
• fatigue
• anxiety in busy environments

months or years after a concussion…

There is a physiological reason.
It is NOT “in your head.”
It is not “just anxiety.”

It is a treatable mismatch between the neck, vestibular, and visual systems.

And when treated holistically — recovery often accelerates.

⸻

💬 If You’re Still Struggling, You Have Options

At The Functional Neurology Center, we offer:

• comprehensive evaluations
• intensive programs
• multidisciplinary rehab

We serve patients locally & from across the U.S. and internationally.

If you want to learn whether you’re a candidate:

📩 Send us a message
TheFNC.com
💬 Comment “HOPE” below
📞 Request a complimentary consult 612 223 8590
📍 Minnetonka, MN

You deserve answers.

There IS hope — and there is a pathway to recovery.
— The Functional Neurology Center

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1545241/full

12/20/2025

Loving this functional neurology info!

🧠🔥 THE CEREBELLUM & PAIN: A New Frontier in Brain-Based Pain Recovery (Evidence-Informed Insight from Current Neuroscience)

Traditionally, clinicians and patients alike have understood the cerebellum as the brain’s motor coordination center — facilitating balance, movement precision, posture, and timing.

But modern neuroscience is redefining that narrative.

📌 Emerging evidence now shows that the cerebellum plays a substantive role in how pain is perceived, anticipated, modulated, and emotionally interpreted.
This places the cerebellum at the intersection of sensory, cognitive, emotional, and nociceptive processing.
(From the review PMC11044115)

⸻

🧠 HOW PAIN SIGNALS INVOLVE THE CEREBELLUM

The cerebellum receives input from multiple pain-related pathways:

🧩 Direct nociceptive inputs

Painful mechanical, thermal, and trigeminal stimuli activate specific cerebellar regions, including:
• Crus I & II
• lobules IV–VI
• lobule VIII
• posterior vermis

Trigeminal stimulation — particularly relevant for head, neck, TMJ, and migraine pain — strongly activates Crus I/II and lobules I–VI, underscoring the cerebellum’s role in craniofacial pain.

🧠 CHRONIC PAIN CHANGES THE CEREBELLUM

Imaging shows:
• altered Crus I/II connectivity
• increased vermis activation
• changes in cerebellar–brainstem–thalamic loops

These correlate with long-term pain conditions like:
• migraines
• neuropathic pain
• visceral pain
• low back pain

Meaning the cerebellum is not passively responding — it participates in pain chronification.

⸻

🧠 MECHANISMS OF CEREBELLAR PAIN PROCESSING

🔹 Purkinje cell modulation

Purkinje cells influence dentate output, affecting pain circuits through:
• thalamus
• brainstem
• periaqueductal gray

🔹 Cerebello-limbic loops

Connections with:
• amygdala
• prefrontal cortex
• limbic structures

→ explain why stress worsens pain
→ why emotions alter pain
→ why pain feels threatening

🔹 Trigeminal & cervical integration

The cerebellum integrates:
• cervical afferents
• trigeminal input
• vestibular signals

Which explains the common triad of:
• neck pain
• headaches
• dizziness

Especially post-concussion and whiplash.

⸻

💥 THE FNC APPROACH TO CEREBELLAR-RELATED PAIN

While traditional approaches try to block or mask pain…

👉 We target the neurological ROOT cause: cerebellar processing & modulation.

We evaluate for:

✔ cerebellar asymmetry and activation patterns
✔ altered cervical and trigeminal afferents
✔ vestibular integration
✔ proprioceptive mismatch
✔ autonomic dysregulation
✔ sensory filtering
✔ visual-oculomotor compensation

Then we design individualized strategies such as:

🟡 Cervical–cerebellar re-integration
• upper cervical proprioception
• myodural bridge awareness
• gentle manual therapy
• neck stabilization
• laser therapy for inflammation
• Ciatrix to improve CSF flow

🟡 Vestibular & oculomotor training
• VOR recalibration
• gaze stability
• optokinetic stimulation

🟡 Trigeminal modulation
• ARPwave neuromodulation
• cranial nerve stimulation
• jaw/TMJ alignment and proprioception

🟡 Autonomic & affective modulation
• neuromodulation
• breathwork and vagal integration
• recovery modalities like PEMF & oxygenation

🟡 Sensorimotor error correction
• gait & postural retraining
• reflexive stabilization
• cerebellar-driven dual-tasking

The goal is not to “treat the pain site.”
It is to retrain the pain network — especially the cerebellum’s integration, modulation, and output.

⸻

🌍 WHY PATIENTS TRAVEL TO MINNESOTA

Because imaging can be normal.
Orthopedic tests may be negative.

Yet pain remains.

When cerebellar processing is the problem —

❌ injections don’t change it
❌ rest doesn’t resolve it

But…

✔ targeted sensory-motor rehab
✔ cervical + trigeminal integration
✔ vestibular recalibration
✔ autonomic regulation

can.

We see this in:
• chronic migraine
• post-concussion pain
• neck pain
• fibromyalgia-like symptoms
• TMJ and facial pain
• dysautonomia with pain
• EDS-related headaches

⸻

🌟 THE TAKEAWAY

Pain is not just a tissue problem.
It is a brain-processing issue.

And the cerebellum — long ignored — plays a central role.

By understanding and addressing cerebellar pathways, we give patients the chance to:

✔ reduce pain
✔ restore movement
✔ decrease fear and sensitivity
✔ improve resilience

There is hope.

📍 The Functional Neurology Center — Minnesota
🌐 theFNC.com
📞 Complimentary phone consults

Pain is real.
Recovery is possible.
The cerebellum matters.

Resource:

https://www.jneurosci.org/content/44/17/e1538232024

The cerebellum receives afferent input from various cerebral structures involved in motor, somatosensory, cognitive, affective, and reward processing. Cortical and subcortical projections to the cerebellum are relayed via pontine nuclei as mossy fibers, or via the inferior olive as climbing fibers, as detailed in Armstrong (1974), Azizi et al. (1985), Brodal and Steen (1983), Giolli et al. (2001), Glickstein et al. (1985), Ikai et al. (1992), Kelly and Strick (2003), Kuypers and Lawrence (1967), Massion (1967), Mower et al. (1980), Olds and Milner (1954), Saint-Cyr and Courville (1981), Saint-Cyr and Courville (1982), Schmahmann (1996), Sheehan et al. (2004), Temel et al. (2005), and von Monakow et al. (1979). M1, primary motor cortex; S1, primary somatosensory cortex; V1, primary visual cortex; PFC, prefrontal cortex; VTA, ventral tegmental area; PAG, periaqueductal gray. Created with BioRender.com.

12/20/2025

Basic but rarely done relationally, we actually teach this in our trainings as it helps the relational field settle, and that improves relational safety ;)

Deep Listening

12/20/2025

Thanks for making this available!

Recordings from Craniosacral Therapy Educational Trust www.cranio.co.uk

12/20/2025

I think this cranial nerve will be a big news maker like the next”vagus” … so chew, touch your face, and breath through your nose :)

🔵 The Trigeminal System, Neck Pain & Vestibular Integration

Why We Call the Trigeminal Nerve “Vagus 2.0” at The Functional Neurology Center

The trigeminal system (cranial nerve V) is one of the most powerful sensory networks in the entire nervous system—linking the face, jaw, eyes, dura, upper cervical spine, and deep brainstem centers that regulate pain, autonomic tone, balance, and head–eye control.

When this system becomes irritated or under-regulated—after concussion, whiplash, TMJ dysfunction, upper cervical strain, or chronic inflammation—it can create a cascade of neck pain, dizziness, visual strain, imbalance, facial pressure, headaches, and autonomic dysfunction.

At theFNC, we love integrating the trigeminal system into care because it acts like a master regulator of the brainstem… which is why we call it:

🧠✨ Vagus 2.0

A fast, powerful access point for autonomic calming, sensory integration, and neuro-modulation.

⸻

🔷 WHY THE TRIGEMINAL SYSTEM MATTERS FOR NECK PAIN

The trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) and the upper cervical spine (C1–C3) share overlapping circuitry within the trigeminocervical complex.
This means:
• Irritation in the neck can activate the trigeminal system
• Irritation in the jaw/face/TMJ can activate the neck
• Both systems converge on pain processing pathways that project into brainstem vestibular nuclei

This is why patients with chronic neck pain often also have:
✔ Facial pressure
✔ TMJ tightness
✔ Light sensitivity
✔ Headaches
✔ Dizziness & unsteadiness
✔ Difficulty turning their head

The linkage is anatomical, neurological, and reciprocal.

⸻

🔷 HOW THE TRIGEMINAL SYSTEM CONNECTS TO THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM

The trigeminal nucleus sends dense projections to:
• The vestibular nuclei
• The reticular formation
• The superior colliculus (eye-head integration)
• The cerebellum (nodulus, flocculus, vermis)

These pathways directly influence:
🔹 Balance
🔹 Gaze stability
🔹 Eye movement accuracy
🔹 Postural tone
🔹 Autonomic responses (nausea, heart rate, anxiety sensation)

Research in post-concussion cases shows that trigeminal dysregulation can worsen dizziness, head pressure, neck pain, photophobia, and sensory overload.
(Reference: Renga 2021)

⸻

🔷 ARPWAVE & TRIGEMINAL NEURO-MODULATION

At the FNC, we use ARPwave direct-current neuro-modulation to stimulate the trigeminal system for:
• Decreasing cervical and TMJ muscle hyper-activity
• Calming trigeminocervical nuclei
• Improving head and neck proprioception
• Reducing autonomic overdrive
• Enhancing vestibular responsiveness
• Improving visual-vestibular integration
• Accelerating recovery after concussion or whiplash

Because ARPwave uses direct current that never dips below zero, we can target one-way ionic flow, allowing more precise neuromodulation of trigeminal afferents.

This helps patients stabilize their gaze, move their neck without symptoms, and reduce those stubborn trigeminal-driven headaches or dizziness.

⸻

🔷 WHY WE CALL IT VAGUS 2.0

Like the vagus nerve, the trigeminal system heavily influences:
✔ Autonomic tone
✔ Pain modulation
✔ Heart rate variability
✔ Brainstem integration
✔ Emotional reactivity
✔ Sensory filtering

But unlike the vagus, trigeminal stimulation is:
⚡ Immediate
⚡ High-gain
⚡ Multi-sensory
⚡ Directly connected to vestibular and cervical nuclei

It gives us a faster, more targeted access point into the autonomic and sensory-motor systems—especially in complex vestibular, concussion, and cervical cases.

⸻

🔵 At theFNC

We combine:
• Upper cervical motor control
• Trigeminal and TMJ integration
• Vestibular and oculomotor rehab
• ARPwave neuromodulation
• Postural & autonomic retraining
• Cervical proprioception
• Laser & PEMF
• Sensory-motor coordination strategies

…to create a comprehensive approach for complex neck pain, dizziness, and visual-vestibular dysfunction.

If you or someone you know is struggling with chronic neck pain, dizziness, TMJ dysfunction, or post-concussive symptoms, our team can help you regain stability and function.

⸻

Reference:
Renga, Vijay. (2021). Clinical Evaluation and Treatment of Patients with Postconcussion Syndrome. Neurology Research International. 2021.

TheFNC.com
DC DACNB
612 223 8590 to schedule

12/17/2025

Happy lncoming Solstice!