NEW STUDY! Parasym Plus™ for Multiple Sclerosis › Forums › PrettyIll.com Discussion › Coping › MRI showing issues of hindered Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF) Flow – Hydrocephalus, Empty sella, etc › Reply To: MRI showing issues of hindered Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF) Flow – Hydrocephalus, Empty sella, etc
Just thought I’d add a bit more knowledge to the original post, so I’ve updated one of my scans to include the Short Clivus point.
The pointed ‘tip’ of the clivus, is the front edge of that hole at the bottom of your skull (the Foramen Magnum). Normally the bone directly horizontally opposite this is what’s called the opisthion (the back edge of the hole at the bottom of your skull) and so all the brain and the skull contents are nicely enclosed above it, in a safe chamber.
Those who have a short clivus and a normal sized back of skull like me, have a problem in that, the part of the brain, which is normally protected by the clivus (the brainstem) is more exposed. The tip of the clivus is anatomically higher, making your odontoid anatomically higher and quite often the odontoid is directly horizontally opposite the opisthion (back of hole) like mine.
If the above is the case for you, whenever you look down (i.e. your head goes into flexion), if you do not have a good strong ligament connection, your odontoid can press towards your brainstem and can affect it’s functioning, worsening autonomic nervous system problems. Also this ‘pincer’ movement can put pressure on the cerebellar tonsils (possibly causing balance issues ?) but more importantly further blocking CSF flow between the head and the spine. This could build up pressure in the head making it more difficult for the heart to deliver oxygen to the brain – hence the tachycardia, lightheadedness and symptoms caused by raised demand on the heart, which could be palpitation, chest tightness and that sort of thing.
I think this is the principle behind many people who are having problems following a whiplash, or head and neck injury (like myself), as I’ve obviously had this skull anatomy all of my life but it’s only caused health issues since I had my accident (due to the ligament injuries).
Barbara
(UK)
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Head & Neck Injury (June 2002); Mild Concussion; Post Concussion Syndrome; GERD; Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS); Peripheral Vestibular Dysfunction; Mild Radiculopathy & Small Fibre Neuropathy (right leg & foot resp.); Partially Empty Sella Oct 2002 (worse by Oct 2004); Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD); 3mm Cerebellar Ectopia (Chiari 0); Cranio-cervical Instability (CCI) with Posterior Gliding (PG) & Cranial Settling (CS); Brain Compression; Retroflexed Odontoid; Stretched/Elongated Brainstem; Mild Scoliosis; Ehlers Danlos (EDS) type 111; Osteoarthritis; Arrhythmias (Bigeminy and Trigeminy); Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Mineral (Mg,Mn,Cu,Zn,Selenium) deficiencies, CoEnzymeQ10 & Vitamin (C,D,B3,B12) Deficiencies; Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) . . . . and now Growth Hormone Deficiency (due to flattened Pituitary Gland)!