NUCCA and Tourette Syndrome

On Monday, we talked about Trigeminal Nerualgia, it’s symptoms and how NUCCA can assist in alleviating some of the pains caused by TN.

Today we will take a look at Tourette Syndrome .

As a child I was always very active. I was in ballet , gymnastics, and I ran track.. I was great at anything artistic. Singing , drawing, and a top notch memory to boot. Being able to recall dates, meals, key words ect with no hesitation was something that came naturally to me.

With all of my gifted attributes such as the ones listed above, I also had a few that until age 6 my parents couldn’t understand.

I had no concentration at all when it came to my studies. I was always acting out and most of the time it was for no particular reason . As mentioned earlier, I was very active , however, my energy level was not that of a average 6 year old child. Staying up all hours of the night and “bouncing from one wall to the next” as my parents would say, was something that by my 6th birthday grew concern among my family.

I was brought to a specialist and some tests later was diagnosed with ADD, ADHD and was put on Ritalin.

Over the next few weeks as the Ritalin worked through my body I began to feel calm, I was able to concentrate in school, and I was no longer acting out at home. The downside: Tourette Syndrome had kicked in full force as opposed to pre medicated when I only had a mild case. Not only that but i developed a sever case of OCD ( light switches and all. 8 times was my magic number)

Over the years we learned to deal with the side effects of the Ritalin which had also stunted my growth. ( My mother being 5’8 and my father 5’11) I ended up 5’2 with my younger brother growing to 6’1.

For any child suffering with Tourette Syndrom it can be painful having to go through something that not everyone can relate to. In most cases children will grow out of TS as they reach their teenage years towards 17-19 . However in some cases they wont.

I was one of the lucky ones , having grown out of most of my ticks and learning to control my OCD. However, I do find that when I get stressed or am on particular medications that my TS will come back. Not as sever but not as unnoticeable as I would like it to be.

I have been a NUCCA patient for about month now and have noticed that when I do get stressed my ticks are know where as bad as they used to be.

If you or someone you know is dealing with TS , I can tell you from personal experience that NUCCA is worth looking into. Read below for more information

Description-
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a debilitating tic disorder characterized by frequent motor and phonic tics. Diagnostic criteria include onset before the age of 21; recurrent, involuntary, rapid, purposeless motor movements affecting multiple muscle groups; one or more vocal tics; variations in the intensity of the symptoms over weeks to months; and a duration of more than one year.

Tourette Syndrome sufferers commonly experience other behavioral and neurological complaints such as attention deficits, depression, self-injurious behaviors, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and irritability. These neurological symptoms are thought to be due to the same central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) malfunction that causes TS: alterations of dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain.

How NUCCA Upper Cervical Care Relates to Tourette Syndrome-
While researchers generally consider TS to be a genetic disorder (TS vulnerability is transmitted from one generation to the next), approximately 15% of TS patients do not show genetic susceptibility (no genetic links were found).1 In addition, individual variations in character, course, and degree of severity of TS cannot be explained by genetic hypotheses alone. Consequently, researchers have focused upon stressful events during perinatal or early life that may trigger the onset of TS.1 Traumatic head injury (during birth, falls, accidents, etc.) has been implicated as a possible trigger of TS.1 Evidence supports that trauma (in particular mild concussive injury to the head, neck or upper back) increases the risk of TS onset.2-13 Following the trauma, tics can be triggered immediately or can take months or years to develop.

The purpose of NUCCA upper cervical care is to reverse the trauma-induced upper neck injury; thereby reducing irritation to the injured nerves in the central nervous system.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at whatisnucca@gmail.com

Shayna Macklin
New Patient Coordinator/Marketing Director