Chiropractor & Functional Medicine Headquarters

Light Therapy 

 

At Space Coast Advanced Health we use specialized Light Therapy in conjunction with our functional medicine approach.

 

Light Therapy helps in the treatment of: 

•  Alzheimer's Disease

•  Dyslexia

•  ADHD

•  Autism

•  Stroke

•  Multiple Sclerosis

•  Tourette Syndrome

•  Scoliosis

 

 

 

Light Therapy + Alzheimer's Disease
 

 

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive degenerative neurological disorder that causes dementia to occur in the elderly.  This type of dementia proceeds in stages, gradually destroying memory, reason, judgment, language, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest of tasks. 

 

In the regions attacked by AD, the nerve cells degenerate, losing their connections or synapses with other neurons, and some of these neurons die.  AD begins in an important memory center in the brain (entorhinal cortex) and proceeds to the hippocampus.  The hippocampus is located inside the temporal lobe and is important in memory formation and navigation.  As the hippocampal neurons degenerate, short-term memory falters, and often the ability to perform routine tasks begins to deteriorate as well.  AD then gradually spreads to other regions, particularly the cerebral cortex, where it begins to take away language and reason.

      

Scientists discovered that levels of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine fell sharply in people with AD.  Acetylcholine is a critical neurotransmitter in the process of forming memories and is used by neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex.  While levels of acetylcholine fall somewhat in normal aging, about 90% of those with AD experienced declining levels.  Serotonin levels are also lower than normal in AD patients and may contribute to sensory disturbances, aggressive behavior, and neuron death.

  

Light Therapy can excite nerve cells, minimizing further degeneration, and potentially slow down the progression of the disease.   Light therapy can also cause the brain to produce higher levels of neurotransmitters, improving function within the temporal lobe (memory/mental state).

 

 

Light Therapy + Dyslexia
 

 

Dyslexia is a cognitive deficit in which a person's reading and/or writing ability is significantly lower than that which would be predicted by his general level of intelligence.  Researchers have found that during reading tasks, dyslexics showed reduced activity in the parietal cortex of the brain which plays an important role in integrating sensory information, manipulating objects, and visuospatial processing.

One hypothesis for the reading difficulties experienced by dyslexics is strabismus, which is difficulty in bringing both eyes into focus on the same point.   Dyslexics also have an abnormality that slows down the magno cell pathway that does fast processing for perceiving position, motion, shape, and low contrast.  In a dyslexic brain, magno cell layout is more disorganized.  The smaller than normal cells conduct impulses more slowly and low contrast processing is slower.  When visual stimuli is presented in rapid succession, only partial perception occurs. [1] 

Eyelights Therapy
Eyelights therapy stimulates the entire thalamus so that all 12 layers are functioning at their optimal level.  When 100% of the thalamus is excited, magno cell function will improve.  It has been found that 87% of reading disabled children showed an improvement in comprehension while reading with blue filters.  It is thought that a blue filter removes enough of the red in what a person sees thus allowing the magno cells to work properly. 

 

 

Light Therapy + ADHD
 

 

ADHD is characterized by inattentiveness to external direction, impulsive behavior, and restlessness.  Research strongly suggests that ADHD is caused in part by a deficiency of the Reticular Activating System in the attention center of the brain and seems to be the center of motivation.  It connects at the spinal cord and runs up to the mesencephalon.   

Dopamine imbalance, as well as abnormal levels of other brain chemicals, is thought to be a major cause of ADHD.  Symptoms may result because the brain does not produce enough dopamine, which then leads to impulsivity and lack of self control.  As dopamine levels in the brain begin to rise, one may become overexcited or hyper-stimulated.  

Eyelights Therapy

Many symptoms of ADHD are similar to those associated with binocular vision problems, such as convergence insufficiency and accommodative problems.  Eyelights therapy can help to strengthen the weaker eye muscle by stimulating the visual system.  Light therapy creates global excitation of the brain, causing an elevation in the production of hormones and neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. 

 

Studies have shown that color can also have a profound effect on behavioral and learning problems.  Certain colors can reduce hyperactivity, increase attention span, and improve speed and accuracy.   Behavioral problems within the classroom have been linked to the fact that fluorescent lighting in classrooms is lacking the blue spectrum of color. 

 

 

Light Therapy + Autism
 

 

The result of a neurological disorder that affects the brain, autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills.   Many autistic children will exhibit sensory integration dysfunction, where problems exist in integrating information coming in from each of their five senses.  Often, autistic children receive too much sensory stimulation through one or more of their senses, and in order to turn down the volume they tend to avoid people, noises, and bright lights.  

 

Research suggests that a circuit involving the thalamus and frontal lobe of the brain functions abnormally in autism.  The thalamus is a relay station for nerve impulses in the brain.  

By stimulating the non-dominant eye you can excite the entire thalamus, resulting in global excitation of the brain.  A cascade of excitation and activity occurs and eventually reaches each of our other senses, resulting in a better ability to coordinate sensory information.

 

 

Light Therapy + Stroke
 

 

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel bringing oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or is clogged by a blood clot.  Brain cells die when they no longer receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood or there is sudden bleeding into or around the brain.  The effects of stroke are often permanent because dead brain cells are not replaced.  One theory is that the overexcited dying nerve cells release neurotransmitters onto nearby nerve cells.  These nearby nerve cells become overexcited and overloaded with calcium and die.  It is in this area where scientists think they might be able to intervene to stop the process of cell death.

Eyelights therapy initiates cellular activity, causing cells to produce new proteins in order to stay healthy.  Since visual pathways are extensive throughout the brain, using light therapy to excite the cells around the area of stroke can be an effective rehabilitative tool.  Eyelights therapy can minimize further degradation of tissues around the affected area.  The excitation of cells can enhance the comeback and maturation of the damaged area to help improve mental, physical, and cognitive losses.

 

 

Light Therapy + Multiple Sclerosis

 

MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body's natural defenses act against myelin in the central nervous system as though it were foreign tissue.  Myelin, the fatty substance coating our nerves and enabling them to conduct impulses between the brain and other parts of the body, is destroyed and replaced by scars of hardened "sclerotic" patches of tissue.  These "plaques" appear in multiple places in the brain and spinal cord and interfere with the transmission of signals. 

 

The cells that form the myelin sheath (oligodendrocytes) are incapable of recreating the sheath once it has been destroyed.  However, the brain can recruit progenitor cells to re-make the myelin sheath.  This new myelin sheath is often not as large or effective as the original, and repeated attacks will have successively less effective re-myelinations.   

Light therapy can help sustain myelination by exciting the cerebellum, and in turn, exciting cells into producing proteins in order to stay healthy.  This stimulation also helps to stabilize muscles of the spine, allowing for better integrity of mid-line structures. 

 

 

Light Therapy + Tourette Syndrome
 

 

TS is a neurological disorder characterized by tics, involuntary, rapid sudden movements, or vocalizations that occur repeatedly in the same way.  Before tic onset, individuals with TS experience a "premonitory urge" similar to the feeling that precedes yawning.  Tic disorders and TS are frequently accompanied by other conditions such as ADHD and OCD. 

 

Researchers believe that tics are caused by an excess of dopamine in the brain.   The caudate nucleus, located in the basal ganglia, is regulated by dopamine and acts to curb certain motor impulses.  When the brain is acting normally, just enough dopamine binds to the caudate nucleus to ensure that motor impulses remain at the optimum level.  If too much dopamine binds, the caudate nucleus cannot control motor impulses effectively and a person becomes susceptible to tics.  

Eyelights therapy can calm down outburst activity occurring within the cortical layers of the brain.  Light therapy can be used to enhance serotonin production, allowing for a readjustment in dopamine levels.

 

 

Light Therapy + Scoliosis
 

 

Scoliosis is a disease which involves lateral curvature of the spine.  Right sided curves are most common and different theories point to genetic, neuromuscular, hormonal, and growth factors, though it appears as if the cause is multi-factorial.  Females are nine times more likely to require treatment than males, mostly because they are more likely to have larger, progressive curves.  

The brain influences spinal structures.  Medial rectus eye muscles and multifidi muscles of the spine are under the same neurological relationships and have the same constraints.  So, by stimulating the non-dominant eye, the multifidi also become stimulated and tone changes will occur.