Family Health Chiropractic, PC

02/01/2026

Here’s your sign… to see your 😄

02/01/2026

01/30/2026

Check this out! You don’t need to be a brain scientist or a doctor… to zoom out… and see that hormones, your brain, your spine… control (seriously) everything!
🚩We suggest getting those nerves the best opportunity to do their job!
💕Get checked! Your spine is the conduit of communication going to and from… everything!
Crummy info to the brain, because of interference, such as you’re out of alignment, means crummy output/control/function of your body.
💔 This can turn into an ugly, dysfunctional game of telephone, with slow and improper messages… yielding a bunch of symptoms that do not seem to make any sense!
🍎 712-930-5333 to schedule with Dr Carlin… and let’s see how we can turn the tides in your health!
💥 Let’s thrive!

🧠👂 Hormones Don’t Act Alone: The Vestibular–Endocrine Connection

What the science shows — and why it matters clinically at theFNC

Most people think of the vestibular system as balance and dizziness.
The research tells a very different — and much bigger — story.

A 2022 paper in Brain Sciences (MDPI) highlights something we see every week at The Functional Neurology Center:
👉 The vestibular system is tightly connected to hormonal regulation, autonomic control, sleep, stress, metabolism, and emotional state.

This means vestibular dysfunction is not just a balance problem — it can be a neuroendocrine problem.

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🔗 How the Vestibular System Talks to Hormones

The vestibular organs (utricle, saccule, semicircular canals) send information to the vestibular nuclei, which act as a central hub. From there, signals project to:

🧠 Hypothalamus

The command center for:
• Stress response (HPA axis)
• Circadian rhythm
• Temperature regulation
• Hunger and satiety
• Sleep–wake cycles

🧬 Pituitary Gland

The downstream controller of:
• Cortisol
• Thyroid hormones
• S*x hormones
• Growth hormone
• Prolactin

Translation:
If vestibular input is distorted, hormonal signaling can be distorted too.

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⚠️ What Happens When the Vestibular System Is Dysfunctional

According to the MDPI paper — and consistent with what we see clinically — altered vestibular signaling can influence:

🔥 Stress & Anxiety
• Increased sympathetic tone
• Elevated or dysregulated cortisol
• Heightened anxiety and threat perception

😴 Sleep & Circadian Rhythm
• Poor sleep initiation and maintenance
• Disrupted melatonin rhythms
• Day–night fatigue reversal

🍽 Metabolism & Appetite
• Changes in food intake
• Weight fluctuations
• Altered glucose regulation

🫀 Autonomic & Cardiovascular Control
• Blood pressure instability
• Orthostatic intolerance
• POTS-like symptoms

👁 Vision & Eye Movements
• Abnormal vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR)
• Visual motion sensitivity
• Eye strain, headaches, cognitive fatigue

⸻

🧠 Why This Is a Big Deal in Complex Cases

This vestibular–hormonal link helps explain why patients with:
• Concussion / PCS
• Long COVID
• POTS & dysautonomia
• hEDS & cervical instability
• Chronic fatigue & migraine

often present with both dizziness AND hormonal-type symptoms like:
• Sleep disruption
• Anxiety spikes
• Temperature intolerance
• Energy crashes
• Menstrual or stress-cycle irregularities

These are not “separate problems.”
They are network problems.

⸻

🧩 The Functional Neurology Perspective

At theFNC, we don’t isolate systems — we integrate them.

Our vestibular evaluations and rehabilitation consider:
• Vestibulo-hypothalamic signaling
• Vestibulo-autonomic reflexes
• Cervical–vestibular–ocular integration
• Visual motion processing
• Postural and autonomic load

Because improving vestibular accuracy can:
✔ Calm the stress response
✔ Improve sleep quality
✔ Normalize autonomic tone
✔ Reduce hormonal volatility
✔ Improve cognition, mood, and energy

⸻

🧠 Bottom Line

If a patient has:
• Dizziness plus anxiety
• Balance issues plus sleep problems
• Visual motion sensitivity plus fatigue
• Neck issues plus hormonal dysregulation

👉 The vestibular system must be part of the conversation.

Balance is not just mechanical.
It’s hormonal.
It’s autonomic.
It’s emotional.
It’s neurological.

And when we treat it that way — outcomes change.

TheFNC.com
DC DACNB

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/5/592

01/29/2026

So many benefits from chiropractic care! Call to schedule yourself an appointment so you can experience the benefits yourself. (712)338-2225

01/29/2026

01/29/2026

💥 🧠 👁️ ⚡️

🧠 WHY NECK INJURIES DISRUPT VISION, BALANCE & BRAIN FUNCTION
(And why symptoms often persist even when imaging looks “normal”)

One of the most misunderstood contributors to dizziness, brain fog, headaches, visual strain, imbalance, and post-concussion symptoms is cervical somatosensory dysfunction.

This graphic explains why.

At The Functional Neurology Center (theFNC), we don’t look at symptoms in isolation. We look at how sensory systems integrate—and what happens when one of the most powerful sensory inputs in the body goes offline.

⸻

🧩 THE STARTING POINT: TRAUMA, STRESS & INFLAMMATION

Many patients we see have a history of:
• Whiplash
• Concussion
• Repetitive micro-trauma
• Chronic stress
• Ongoing pain and inflammation

These stressors don’t just affect tissues—they alter how the nervous system processes information.

One of the first systems to change?
👉 Cervical mechanoreceptors.

⸻

🦴 THE NECK: A MAJOR SENSORY ORGAN (NOT JUST A STRUCTURE)

The upper cervical spine contains an extremely high density of:
• Muscle spindles
• Joint mechanoreceptors
• Proprioceptive afferents

These receptors constantly inform the brain about head position, motion, and spatial orientation.

After injury or chronic stress, these receptors can become:
• Hyper-sensitive
• Inaccurate
• Noisy

This is shown in the graphic as Altered Cervical Mechanoreceptors.

When this happens, the brain is no longer receiving a clean signal from the neck.

⸻

🧠 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: DISTORTED CERVICAL SOMATOSENSORY INPUT

The brain relies on accurate neck input to correctly integrate:
• Vision
• Balance (vestibular system)
• Posture
• Eye movements

When cervical input is distorted, the brain is forced to re-weight sensory systems, often over-relying on vision or suppressing vestibular input altogether.

This is why patients develop:
• Visual motion sensitivity
• Difficulty focusing or tracking
• Dizziness or imbalance
• Head pressure
• Cognitive fatigue

⸻

👁️🌀 VISUAL & VESTIBULAR SYSTEM DISRUPTION

The graphic shows direct connections from cervical input to:

🔹 Visual System
• Altered reflexes
• Gaze instability
• Eye strain
• Difficulty reading or scrolling

🔹 Vestibular System
• Altered VOR (vestibulo-ocular reflex)
• Balance dysfunction
• Motion intolerance
• Disorientation

These systems are not “broken.”
They are responding to faulty sensory data.

⸻

⚙️ SENSORIMOTOR CONTROL BREAKDOWN

When inaccurate sensory input reaches higher brain centers, the result is:
• Poor sensory integration
• Impaired motor tuning
• Loss of movement precision
• Increased cognitive load

Patients often say:

“I feel disconnected.”
“My body doesn’t trust itself.”
“I’m always bracing.”

That’s not psychological.
That’s sensorimotor mismatch.

⸻

🧠 CNS REORGANIZATION: WHY SYMPTOMS PERSIST

Over time, the brain adapts to distorted input through:
• Altered cortical maps
• Maladaptive movement strategies
• Persistent protective patterns

This explains why:
• MRIs look normal
• Strength tests are fine
• Yet symptoms continue

The issue isn’t damage—it’s dysregulated sensory processing.

⸻

🔁 THE FEEDBACK LOOP (THE PART MOST PLACES MISS)

The graphic highlights a critical loop:
• Poor sensorimotor control → increased stress
• Stress → sympathetic nervous system activation
• SNS activation → increased muscle tone & spindle gain
• Increased spindle gain → worse cervical input

Without targeted neurological care, this loop feeds itself.

⸻

🧠 HOW WE ADDRESS THIS AT theFNC

We don’t chase symptoms.
We correct the sensory signal.

Our approach integrates:
• Cervical proprioceptive retraining
• Visual-vestibular rehabilitation
• Brainstem reflex recalibration
• Neuromodulation (LLLT, ARPwave, tVNS)
• Multisensory integration strategies

This is why many of our patients improve after years of stalled care elsewhere.

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📌 If you’ve been told:
• “Your imaging is normal”
• “It’s just anxiety”
• “You need to rest more”

But your symptoms persist—this model explains why.

🧠 The problem isn’t weakness.
🧠 The problem isn’t motivation.
🧠 The problem is signal quality.

And signal quality can be retrained.

⸻

👉 Learn more at theFNC.com
👉 Share this post if neck injuries, dizziness, or post-concussion symptoms have impacted you or someone you care about

01/28/2026

Did you know need chiropractic, too? (photo shared with permission) Do you ever stop and think about all the pushing/pulling/developmental changes BEFORE they're ? How about the "natural/common" pushing/pulling/stress of birth itself? Kiddos go from an that's dark, warm, loud, comforting, and nearly always moving, and they don't have to work to eat, etc. After , it's bright, cold, and a bunch of need figured out fast, like breathing and eating! Everything changes!
*Then kids eventually move themselves around, but not without , lots, laying around lots, learning to move arms, legs, pivot, sit up, ... eventually ...
*Little in our early years, left untreated, become BIG problems later in ! Lots of will say "I've always been this way", or "that's just me"...
*GET CHECKED!
*YOU NEED !
*More about kids: https://icpa4kids.com/parent-portal/
*More about our office & our pediatric-specialized Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Stacy Carlin, DC, CACCP: https://familyhealthchiropractic.net/
*Call today to get a check-up, using the latest technology, combined with a chiropractic technique that's gentle, safe & effective in helping YOU! 712-930-5333

01/23/2026

Happy Friday! We are in the office today until 3pm! 712-930-533 to get your pre-weekend adjustments!
*We have ONE opening for a new patient today 1:15 today!

01/23/2026

If there’s a problem with your goldfish or your houseplant, it’s obvious to think about food, water, environment…. But somehow lots of human health issues we immediately say it’s genetic…. Nope!
Enter epigenetics… enter chiropractic….

❌ Some providers give excuses.
🔎 Others dig deeper to find answers.

👇🏼 Which one are you choosing?!

PX DOCS | Pediatric Chiropractor | Autism | Vagus Nerve | ADHD | SPD | Anxiety | Chronic Illness | Seizures | Perfect Storm | Kids Health | Birth Trauma