The Functional Neurology Center: Concussion Brain Injury Minnetonka, MN.

02/20/2026

👀 Smooth Pursuit & Fixation

The Brain’s Precision Eye Control System

When people think about brain function, they rarely think about eye movements.

But here’s the truth:

Eye movements are brain movements.

Two of the most important — and most overlooked — systems are:

• Smooth Pursuit
• Visual Fixation

And when these systems are disrupted… symptoms follow.

⸻

🎯 What Is Smooth Pursuit?

Smooth pursuit is your brain’s ability to smoothly track a moving target.

Example:
• Watching a hockey puck move across the ice
• Following your child running across the yard
• Tracking cars while driving

This is not a reflex.

It requires:
• Frontal Eye Fields (FEF)
• Parietal cortex
• Basal ganglia
• Cerebellum (paraflocculus & vermis)
• Brainstem nuclei
• Vestibular integration

It is one of the most distributed motor systems in the brain.

If any part of this network is underperforming — tracking becomes jumpy, delayed, or inaccurate.

⸻

🧠 What Is Visual Fixation?

Fixation is your ability to hold your eyes steady on a target.

Seems simple…

But it requires constant micro-adjustment.

Even during fixation, your eyes produce:
• Microsaccades
• Ocular tremor
• Drift corrections

This is a balancing act between:
• Superior colliculus
• Basal ganglia
• Cerebellum
• Omnipause neurons
• Neural integrators

When fixation breaks down, patients may experience:
• Visual instability
• Words moving while reading
• Eye strain
• Motion sensitivity
• Headaches
• Dizziness

⸻

🔬 Why This Matters in Concussion & Chronic Dizziness

After concussion, dysautonomia, or brain injury:

Smooth pursuit may show:
• Reduced gain
• Catch-up saccades
• Delayed initiation
• Poor acceleration
• Fatigue with repetition

Fixation may show:
• Increased drift
• Square-wave jerks
• Instability under cognitive load
• Worsening in darkness
• Difficulty suppressing unwanted saccades

And here’s the key:

🧠 MRI is often normal.

But function is not.

⸻

⚙️ The Cerebellum’s Role

The vestibulocerebellum (paraflocculus & flocculus) and dorsal vermis help:
• Stabilize gaze
• Adjust tracking gain
• Adapt to changing target speeds
• Suppress unwanted eye movements
• Fine-tune acceleration

Lesions or dysfunction here don’t just affect balance.

They affect how you see the world move.

⸻

🧬 The Basal Ganglia’s Role

The caudate nucleus and globus pallidus modulate smooth pursuit through:
• Feedback loops via the thalamus
• Control of movement initiation
• Suppression of inappropriate eye movements

This is why patients with:
• Parkinsonian syndromes
• Post-viral neuroinflammation
• Basal ganglia stress

Often show impaired pursuit initiation and abnormal fixation control.

⸻

⚡ At theFNC, We Don’t Just “Look at the Eyes”

We measure:

• Pursuit latency
• Gain
• Acceleration
• Catch-up saccade frequency
• Fixation stability
• Fatigue patterns
• Vestibular interaction

Using technology like:
• High-speed eye tracking
• VNG / vHIT
• Optokinetic stimulation
• Dynamic visual loading
• Vestibular integration platforms

Because if the eyes are unstable…

The brain is unstable.

⸻

🌍 Why Patients Travel to Minnesota

Many people are told:

“Your eyes are fine.”
“Your imaging is normal.”
“It’s anxiety.”

But smooth pursuit and fixation abnormalities are objective.

They are measurable.

And when properly rehabilitated with targeted cerebellar, vestibular, and cortical integration…

Patients improve.

⸻

If you’re struggling with:

• Chronic dizziness
• Post-concussion symptoms
• Visual hypersensitivity
• Reading intolerance
• Motion sensitivity
• Head pressure
• Brain fog

Your smooth pursuit and fixation systems deserve to be evaluated properly.

📍 The Functional Neurology Center
Minnesota
🌐 theFNC.com









DC DACNB

02/20/2026

TheFNC.com

DC DACNB

02/20/2026

When Your Head Won’t Sit Straight

Understanding Head Tilts & the Ocular Tilt Reaction (OTR)

Have you ever noticed your head naturally rests slightly to one side?

Maybe:
• You feel “crooked” in photos
• One shoulder sits higher
• Your neck always feels tight on one side
• You feel subtly tilted or off-balance
• The room doesn’t spin… but it doesn’t feel stable either

Most people assume this is posture.

Sometimes it is.

But sometimes, it’s neurological.

⸻

What Is the Ocular Tilt Reaction (OTR)?

The Ocular Tilt Reaction (OTR) is a brain-driven pattern that occurs when the balance centers in your brain aren’t communicating evenly.

Your brain is constantly asking one very important question:

“Where is upright?”

To answer that, it relies on:
• The inner ears (especially the utricle — your gravity sensor)
• The brainstem
• The cerebellum
• Your eye alignment
• Neck position sensors
• Visual input

If one side of this system is firing stronger than the other, the brain may interpret the world as tilted — even when it’s not.

So it compensates.

It may:
• Tilt the head
• Slightly rotate the eyes
• Create subtle vertical eye misalignment
• Increase tension in the neck
• Create visual strain or dizziness

This is not random.
It is your nervous system trying to self-correct.

⸻

Why You Might Feel “Off” But Not Spinning

Many patients tell us:

“I’m not spinning like vertigo… I just feel off.”
“I feel tilted.”
“My neck is always tight on one side.”
“I can’t explain it, but something feels uneven.”

That “uneven” sensation often comes from a mismatch in the vestibular system — especially the gravity-sensing otolith organs.

And here’s the important part:

This can happen even when MRI scans are normal.

⸻

When We Commonly See This

We frequently see subtle OTR patterns in patients with:

• Concussion
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Chronic dizziness
• Visual vertigo
• Dysautonomia / POTS
• Long COVID
• Post-viral neuroinflammation
• Chronic neck pain that hasn’t responded to traditional care

In many of these cases, the neck is reacting to the brain — not causing the problem.

That’s why massage, stretching, injections, or adjustments may help temporarily… but don’t fully resolve it.

⸻

The Neck-Brain Connection

Your upper neck has powerful connections into:

• The brainstem
• The vestibular nuclei
• The cerebellum
• Eye movement control centers

If the brain perceives tilt, it can increase muscle tone on one side to “hold you level.”

So the neck tightness may actually be compensation.

This is why simply treating the muscle often doesn’t fix the pattern long term.

⸻

Why This Matters in Recovery

When the brain’s internal “level system” is recalibrated, we often see:

✔ The head recenters naturally
✔ Neck tension decreases
✔ Visual strain improves
✔ Balance stabilizes
✔ Light sensitivity reduces
✔ Brain fog improves
✔ Anxiety decreases (because the brain feels stable again)

Stability reduces stress on the nervous system.

When the brain feels balanced, it functions more efficiently.

⸻

The Encouraging Part

The nervous system is adaptable.

When we address:
• Vestibular asymmetry
• Otolith imbalance
• Visual-vestibular mismatch
• Cervical-brainstem integration
• Cerebellar coordination

The brain can recalibrate its sense of vertical.

And posture often changes without forcing it.

⸻

A Simple Takeaway

If you’ve been told:
“It’s just posture.”
“It’s just tight muscles.”
“It’s just anxiety.”

But you still feel off…

There may be a neurological reason.

Head position is information.

Your body is communicating something.

And in many cases, that pattern can change.

⸻

📍 At theFNC, we specialize in complex neurological cases that others struggle to explain.
🌎 Patients travel from across the country and internationally for our intensive brain-based programs.

If this sounds familiar, there may be more to your story.

Learn more at theFNC.com



DC DACNB

02/19/2026

🧠 The Cerebellum & Concussion

Why This Structure Changes Everything in Brain Injury

When most people think about concussion, they think about the cortex.

Headaches.
Brain fog.
Memory changes.

But one of the most metabolically active and vulnerable structures in brain injury is the cerebellum.

And it’s often overlooked.

⸻

🧠 The Cerebellum Is Not Just “Balance”

The cerebellum contains more neurons than the rest of the brain combined.

It is responsible for:

• Eye movement precision
• Vestibular integration
• Autonomic regulation
• Gait and posture
• Timing and coordination
• Cognitive processing speed
• Emotional modulation

Different lobules perform different roles:
• Anterior lobe (I–V) → posture, gait, axial stability
• Lobule VI / VII (Crus I & II) → cognition, working memory, executive function
• Lobule VIII → sensorimotor integration
• Lobules IX–X (Nodulus & Flocculus) → vestibular and autonomic control

When concussion disrupts cerebellar modulation, symptoms can include:

✔ Dizziness
✔ Visual motion sensitivity
✔ Exercise intolerance
✔ Orthostatic instability
✔ Brain fog
✔ Anxiety / limbic overactivation
✔ Poor coordination
✔ Light sensitivity

Sound familiar?

⸻

🔬 What the Research Shows

Recent work published in Frontiers in Neurology highlights altered cerebellar connectivity and dysfunction in neurological conditions, reinforcing something we see clinically every day:

Concussion is not just cortical injury.
It is a network injury.

The cerebellum communicates extensively with:

• Prefrontal cortex
• Parietal cortex
• Brainstem autonomic centers
• Limbic structures
• Vestibular nuclei

When that modulation is impaired, cortical areas become dysregulated.

The cerebellum acts like a precision timing and inhibitory system.

When it underperforms:
The brain becomes noisy.

⸻

⚡ Why This Matters for Concussion Rehab

Rest is not enough.

Removing symptoms is not enough.

We must restore:

🧠 Cerebellar-cortical connectivity
👁 Visual-vestibular integration
🫀 Autonomic stability
🏃 Graded motor timing
🔁 Neuroplastic modulation

At theFNC, we assess:

• Saccades and smooth pursuit precision
• Vestibulo-ocular reflex integration
• Postural stability under visual loading
• Autonomic response to positional change
• Cerebellar timing through movement challenges
• Cervical-cerebellar proprioceptive input

Then we dose stimulation strategically.

Not randomly.

Because each lobule has different functional implications.

The nodulus (lobule X) drives vestibular-autonomic integration.
Crus I & II modulate cognition.
Anterior regions stabilize posture.

Precision matters.

⸻

🧠 Concussion Is a Systems Injury

If your MRI was “normal” but you still have:

• Dizziness
• Exercise intolerance
• Brain fog
• Dysautonomia
• Visual sensitivity

There is likely cerebellar network dysfunction that standard imaging cannot detect.

That doesn’t mean nothing is wrong.

It means function must be assessed — not just structure.

⸻

The cerebellum is one of the most powerful regulators of brain performance.

When we restore its modulation, patients often experience:

✔ Improved stability
✔ Clearer thinking
✔ Better exercise tolerance
✔ Reduced visual motion sensitivity
✔ More regulated autonomic tone

This is why concussion recovery requires more than time.

It requires integration.

There is hope.
And there is a path forward.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1136367/full?fbclid=IwdGRleAQEOHVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEek0LnMYlz0a2wwtMcULb4S6EAg0ZYIHH5tRH9z6d9P9tLDv1Nt07rwUihi5o_aem__qEWgrhe577rIe1vBw4H8g

02/19/2026

🧠 Neuromodulation in Persistent Post-Concussion Syndrome

Network Instability. Metabolic Inefficiency. Targeted Modulation.

In persistent concussion cases, imaging is often normal.

But physiology is not.

What we frequently see:

• Frontal hypoactivation
• Parietal asymmetry
• Impaired neurovascular coupling
• Cerebellar disintegration
• Autonomic instability
• Thalamo-cortical dysrhythmia
• Oculomotor timing deficits
• Metabolic vulnerability

The injury is not just mechanical.

It is electrophysiologic and metabolic.

At The Functional Neurology Center, neuromodulation is applied based on measurable network dysfunction — not protocol-driven guesswork.

⸻

⚡ Pathophysiology After Concussion

Following mTBI:

• Mitochondrial dysfunction reduces ATP availability
• Ionic flux creates membrane instability
• Glutamatergic excitotoxic stress alters network timing
• Microvascular dysregulation impairs oxygen delivery
• Brainstem-autonomic circuits become labile
• Cerebellar prediction error increases

This creates a brain that is:

Under-recruited in some regions
Hyperexcitable in others
Metabolically inefficient
Autonomically unstable

⸻

🔬 Our Neuromodulation Framework

1️⃣ Transcranial Photobiomodulation

Purpose:
Restore mitochondrial efficiency and support ATP production in metabolically suppressed cortex.

Clinical Rationale:
Improves metabolic resilience prior to cognitive and vestibular loading.

⸻

2️⃣ Transcranial PEMF

Purpose:
Modulate ionic flux and reduce neuroinflammatory signaling.

Clinical Use:
Applied strategically in chemically concussed, post-viral, or high-neuroinflammatory presentations.

⸻

3️⃣ tVNS

Purpose:
Stabilize autonomic oscillation and modulate NTS–LC circuitry.

Indications:
• Exercise intolerance
• POTS-like presentations
• Anxiety-driven dizziness
• Sympathetic dominance

⸻

4️⃣ fNIRS-Guided Assessment & Feedback

We assess:

• Frontal oxygenation asymmetry
• Parietal recruitment during ocular loading
• Hemodynamic slope during vestibular challenge
• Cortical response during dual-task demand

This allows:
• Objective identification of underactive networks
• Real-time modulation targeting
• Progress tracking across intensives

⸻

5️⃣ Transcranial Direct Current (DC)

Polarity-specific modulation used to:

• Upregulate hypoactive cortex
• Downregulate hyperexcitable regions
• Shift cortical bias
• Improve interhemispheric symmetry

Always paired with task-specific activation.

⸻

🎯 Integration With Concussion Rehabilitation

Neuromodulation at theFNC is layered with:

• Vestibular-cerebellar stimulation (Nodulus-focused integration)
• Saccadic and vergence loading
• Cervical afferent rehabilitation
• Autonomic challenge protocols
• Cognitive-motor dual tasking
• Metabolic stabilization

We do not stimulate and hope.

We stimulate → load → measure → adapt.

⸻

🧠 Clinical Philosophy

Persistent post-concussion symptoms are rarely due to “damage.”

They are due to:

Network inefficiency
Metabolic fragility
Autonomic dysregulation
Timing disruption

Precision neuromodulation shifts the brain out of instability and into recoverable plasticity.

⸻

📍 The Functional Neurology Center
Minnetonka, MN
Patients travel nationally and internationally
theFNC.com

02/18/2026

Thank you 🙏 Liz!!!

DC DACNB

02/18/2026

https://thefnc.com/research/the-fncs-unique-approach-to-treating-dysautonomia/?fbclid=IwdGRleAQCyBRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeBb9kf5lVDtpxEKAgwJ6pN8J_WZ3Pd3SNZDpixdkJ96t8MeJ_r72nNRJ5FWk_aem_5Qnn00A_w3xZ-vLbW_qSqA

For Dr. Ryan Harvey, DC, DACNB, of The Functional Neurology Center, understanding and treating dysautonomia is personal. When he was growing up in Mississippi, Harvey’s athletic activities and work on his family’s farm resulted in a couple of different head injuries that required staples. By his...

02/18/2026

For Dr. Ryan Harvey, DC, DACNB, of The Functional Neurology Center, understanding and treating dysautonomia is personal.

When he was growing up in Mississippi, Harvey’s athletic activities and work on his family’s farm resulted in a couple of different head injuries that required staples. By his teen years, the toll on his autonomic nervous system (the system that controls involuntary bodily processes such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, breathing, and temperature regulation) became clear. “I started having weird symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and fainting episodes that would happen irregularly,” he recalls.

Numerous tests and consultations couldn’t pinpoint the root cause of his condition. “As the years went on, it just got to the point where I was told to learn my triggers and get myself into a safe place to mitigate further injury from falling,” Harvey says.

It wasn’t until he discovered functional neurology during his chiropractic training that Harvey found answers—and relief.

Using brain-based rehabilitation, he not only managed to stabilize his symptoms but also regained a sense of control over his life. Now, he hasn’t had a fainting episode since 2018. “Using brain-based rehab helped me find a sense of stability, and that really lit my fire to provide these tools for other people in similar situations,” Harvey says.

What is dysautonomia?

Dysautonomia refers to dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). When the ANS doesn’t function properly, it can lead to a broad range of symptoms, from dizziness and fainting to digestive problems and heart palpitations.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition that causes fast heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue when transitioning from lying down to standing up, is one of the most common manifestations of dysautonomia.

“Dysautonomia is a big umbrella term that covers a lot of different conditions rooted in the brain and autonomic function,” Harvey says. Often, it reflects an imbalance in the body’s sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the body’s “fight or flight” response, preparing the body to react to stress or danger by increasing heart rate, dilating pupils, and redirecting blood flow to muscles. In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system is associated with “rest and digest” functions, promoting relaxation by slowing the heart rate, enhancing digestion, and conserving energy.

An imbalance between these two systems can lead to symptoms like dizziness or fainting when changing positions, heart rate changes, excessive sweating or lack of sweating, gastrointestinal issues, blurred or tunnel vision, cognitive impairments such as brain fog, and even emotional challenges such as anxiety.

“Think of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems as pulleys,” Harvey explains. “If one pulley is pulling more, the other system is automatically going to be inhibited or less active. When the sympathetic system is firing a lot, the parasympathetic system seems to be inhibited. That relationship is really important when it comes to things like adequately pushing blood around your body.”

Causes and triggers

This delicate balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is governed by the brain, particularly regions like the hypothalamus, brainstem, and certain areas of the cortex. It can be disrupted by various causes and triggers.

“Dysautonomia may be triggered by infections, such as COVID-19 or mononucleosis, which can cause inflammation in brain regions involved in autonomic control,” Harvey says. “Whenever an area of the brain becomes inflamed, it can get injured in a similar way as if you hit your head. We call that a chemical concussion.”

Dysautonomia can also be linked to genetic predispositions (such as connective tissue disorders like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) or structural injuries like concussions. Chronic or traumatic stress can also play a significant role, as emotional regulation and autonomic function share overlapping areas in the brain.

Conventional treatment vs. The FNC approach

Traditional neurology focuses on giving people tools to manage dysautonomia symptoms. These might include medications to lower heart rate; lifestyle changes such as increasing salt, water, and electrolyte intake or wearing compression garments; and physical therapy exercises like sit-to-stand exercises.

“Some people do benefit from these things,” Harvey says. “It’s somewhere to start, but it’s more of a bandaid than a root-cause solution.” Many people with dysautonomia are told that they’ll grow out of it, or it will resolve on its own. “Historically, that’s not necessarily the case,” says Harvey.

In contrast, The FNC aims to identify and treat the underlying dysfunctions in the brain itself. Even for those with a genetic predisposition to conditions such as POTS, brain-based rehabilitation can be game-changing.

“We can build your neurological endurance and resilience so you can do more of what you want to do, rather than just saying, ‘Oh well, this is something you’re genetically prone to and this is just how your life is going to be.’ There’s always hope to build more resilience and endurance,” Harvey says.

The FNC’s diagnostic tools and techniques

At The FNC, diagnosing dysautonomia involves a comprehensive and detailed examination of the brain and autonomic nervous system, using a variety of specialized tools and techniques. Harvey emphasizes the importance of understanding the root cause of each patient’s unique symptoms rather than just treating the symptoms themselves. “We don’t come in with a bias,” he explains. “We assess all areas of the brain to get a full picture of what’s working well and what’s not.”

1. Full neurological examination
Every patient begins with a full neurological exam that looks at the function of various brain regions or “neighborhoods.” The focus is on identifying any areas that are not performing appropriately for the patient’s age and overall health.

This includes testing the different lobes of the brain—the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes—as well as specific networks involved in autonomic functions like heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.

2. Tilt table test
One of the most valuable tests for dysautonomia patients, the tilt table test assesses how well the brain coordinates blood flow and other autonomic functions when the body changes position.

During this test, the patient is positioned flat on a table while vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels are monitored. The table is then slowly raised to simulate standing, allowing the team to evaluate how well the brain compensates for the effects of gravity.

“This test is crucial for identifying issues in the connection between the brain and cardiovascular system,” says Harvey. “It helps us understand how effectively your brain is pushing blood to the head when you change positions, and where dysfunctions may lie.”

3. VideoNystagmography (VNG)
VNG testing evaluates how well a patient’s eyes move and track objects, which can reveal important information about brain function and balance. Since the ANS and visual system are closely interconnected, abnormalities in eye movement can be indicative of deeper issues with the brain’s autonomic control.

This test is particularly useful for diagnosing problems in the vestibular system, which is responsible for balance and spatial orientation, often disrupted in patients with dysautonomia.

4. Visual and vestibular testing
A variety of visual and vestibular tests assess how well the brain’s real estate related to balance and vision is functioning. These tests help identify areas where brain regions may be struggling to communicate or compensate for changes in body position or motion.

Given that the visual and vestibular systems are critical to autonomic regulation, any dysfunction in these areas can exacerbate dysautonomia symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, or imbalance. “We can get a good idea of brain health by evaluating how well a patient’s eyes track
and respond to movement,” says Harvey.

5. Autonomic testing
Additional tools to assess autonomic function include monitoring heart rate variability (HRV), bilateral blood pressure testing, and checking for signs of poor blood perfusion, such as cold hands or feet. These assessments help identify how well the brain’s autonomic networks are regulating basic involuntary functions like circulation, breathing, and digestion.

6. Body mapping and interoception testing
The FNC’s diagnostic process also includes testing the brain’s body mapping system, which helps the brain understand where different parts of the body are in space. Problems with body mapping can contribute to poor blood circulation and dysregulation of the autonomic system. “If you don’t have a good map of where your body is, you can’t adequately push blood to those areas,” Harvey explains.

Testing interoception—awareness of internal bodily states—helps determine how well a patient can sense and send resources to different areas of the body.

Personalized rehabilitation strategies

Once testing has identified specific dysfunctioning areas of the brain, a personalized rehabilitation program can target those areas for improved function and integration. “We find that being very specific in rehabbing particular brain regions with increasing intensity and duration can be really valuable, just like in a gym workout,” Harvey says.

Context is also important. “My goal in our office is to put you in the situation that you’re struggling with and rehab you there, so you can do things in your life that you weren’t able to do before,” Harvey says. “Context is so important when it comes to rehabilitative strategies.” That might mean combining tilt table therapy with vagus nerve stimulation to retrain the ANS to respond more optimally when the body is changing position. It could also involve using electrical stimulation on areas of the face to increase cerebral blood perfusion, combined with intermittent pneumatic compression on the legs to retrain cardio-neurological reflexes.

“We can put you in a situation where you’re not adequately pushing blood to your head, and we can stimulate areas of your brain that help increase blood flow to your head in that situation, in that context,” Harvey says. This approach is based not just on putting bandaids on symptoms, but on harnessing the brain’s neuroplasticity to address—and transform—their root cause. “The more we fire systems together, the better they wire together,” says Harvey.

Because each patient may have slightly different underlying causes or affected areas of the brain, each person’s rehabilitation plan will be unique. “We might have two dysautonomia patients in the office, and they may be doing very different rehabs, because it’s specialized specifically to what their symptoms are and to what’s happening in their brain,” Harvey says.

Among the tools The FNC uses in personalized dysautonomia rehabilitation plans are:

Tilt table therapy
Vagus nerve stimulation
Somatosensory stimulation
Trigeminal stimulation
Intermittent pneumatic compression
Visual and vestibular rehabilitation
Low-level laser therapy
Graded cardiovascular exercise programs
Core-based exercises
The FNC approach in action: Katie’s story

Katie Deloretto’s journey exemplifies The FNC’s personalized approach to treating dysautonomia. After living with debilitating symptoms from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome, and severe dysautonomia for eight years, Katie found herself incapacitated, relying on medications and therapies that provided little relief. Before seeking treatment at FNC, she was barely able to stand for more than 30 seconds without needing to sit or lean on something to prevent passing out.

At The FNC, Katie underwent a comprehensive, individualized rehabilitation program designed to address her specific neurological issues. “Two weeks ago, I was crawling on the floor,” she recalls, but after just two days of treatment, she was able to stand and talk to her husband for two minutes without collapsing—an achievement that was previously impossible.

‘This was the missing piece, giving me something that actually works and that I can have control over,” Katie says. “It gives me so much hope for the future.”

Her husband adds, “You’re actually given something that you can do to take care of yourself, not just medication or someone doing something invasive. The fact that they’re giving you the tools to heal yourself really helps you to get your life back in order.” Hear Katie’s story in her own
words here.

The range of severity and duration of dysautonomia symptoms can translate to a corresponding range of post-treatment outcomes. The pace and intensity of treatment may also depend on someone’s baseline tolerance. “You don’t want to push someone further than they can go,” Harvey says. “It’s about creating tolerance to push them enough to make a change, but not so much that you overstimulate their system and exceed their capacity.”

Many people are able to achieve significant improvements within a weeklong intensive at The FNC. Individualized at-home exercises continue building on that success. “We build this into your life, almost like a gym workout but in a brain-based way,” says Harvey. “The majority of folks we work with see improvements, ranging from 20% better function to complete resolution.”

Either way, people come away with a set of tools and resources to continue building their endurance, resilience, and overall quality of life. “The goal is to build autonomy,” Harvey says. “So you have the tools and resources to take control.”

Schedule a free phone consultation with the expert team at The FNC, click here.

https://thefnc.com/research/the-fncs-unique-approach-to-treating-dysautonomia/

02/18/2026

Spotlight!
Dr. Ryan Harvey, DC, DACNB
Board-Certified Chiropractic Neurologist
Lead Provider | The Functional Neurology Center

Dr. Ryan Harvey is a board-certified Chiropractic Neurologist and lead provider at The Functional Neurology Center (theFNC), where he specializes in complex neurological rehabilitation, concussion recovery, vestibular dysfunction, dysautonomia, and traumatic brain injury.

Raised in Ocean Springs, Mississippi — a coastal town along the Gulf of Mexico — Dr. Harvey developed an early appreciation for discipline, stewardship, and service. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).

During his time at Ole Miss, he worked at The Center for Water and Wetland Resources, a 740-acre research facility in the lower Mississippi River Basin. There, he contributed to environmental research initiatives and developed a deep respect for systems biology — a perspective that continues to influence his clinical approach to complex neurological cases.

Dr. Harvey graduated Summa Cum Laude with his Doctorate of Chiropractic from Life University in Atlanta, Georgia. While at Life University, he interned at the Neuro Life Institute — the university’s on-campus Functional Neurology clinic — where he participated in research evaluating the effects of applied clinical neuroscience care on self-reported depressive symptoms in adults with medication-resistant depression.

He has completed over 1,000 hours of post-graduate clinical neuroscience training and earned his Diplomate from the Carrick Institute of Graduate Studies, becoming a board-certified Chiropractic Neurologist (DACNB).

Today, Dr. Harvey is also a lecturer for the Carrick Institute, where he teaches clinical neuroscience and concussion-focused coursework, including Concussion Bootcamp training for doctors advancing their expertise in functional neurology.

Dr. Harvey has been highlighted in Experience Life Magazine for his work in performance, fascia integration, and functional neurological rehabilitation. His clinical work emphasizes measurable physiology, precision-based neurorehabilitation, and patient-centered care.

At theFNC, he leads advanced assessment and treatment programs for individuals suffering from:

• Post-concussion syndrome
• Chronic dizziness and vertigo
• Traumatic brain injury
• Dysautonomia and POTS
• Persistent post-viral neurological dysfunction
• Complex sensory integration disorders

Dr. Harvey combines advanced technology, detailed neurological examination, and systems-based rehabilitation to help patients restore functional integration and reclaim their lives.

Outside the clinic, he is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hiking, fishing, golfing, and traveling. In the summer of 2021, he worked in remote western Alaska as a fly-fishing guide in one of the last untouched Silver Salmon fisheries in the world — an experience that reflects both his love of nature and resilience.

Dr. Harvey married his high school sweetheart, and together they enjoy spending time outdoors with their rescue dog, Finley.

https://experiencelife.lifetime.life/article/the-fascia-fitness-connection/