Brain Based Therapy (BBT)

Brain Based Therapy

Using Cutting-Edge Brain Science To Treat

The Most Difficult Neurological Conditions

 (Be sure to also read the WHAT IS BBT? section for a greater understanding.)

Brain Based Therapy is one of the newest, state of the art diagnostic and treatment techniques. It brings together research findings from the fields of psychology, neuropsychiatry, neurology, neurophysiology, and nutrition — and uses this knowledge to bring hope to the sick, unhappy, and hurting of all ages.

    The brain and nervous system are often overlooked in traditional health care, despite the major role they play in coordinating every function in our body.  Without a healthy brain you cannot have a healthy body.  Brain Based Therapy encompasses both assessment and treatment.  We always start with a comprehensive brain and nervous system exam. We want to look at all the areas of a patients brain that are not functioning optimally, being very specific to a functional brain region, and do rehabilitation procedures to strengthen those areas through a series of non-invasive modalities.

    Some of the highly effective brain activations we use in Johnson Brain Based Rehabilitation are:

    Unilateral Joint Stimulation: The right brain controls the left side of the body, and the left brain controls the right side.  If there is a decrease of firing or impulses in one side of the brain, I ONLY WANT TO STIMULATE THE JOINTS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE.  Makes sense, doesn’t it? Don’t worry….I WILL ONLY USE VERY LIGHT INSTRUMENT ACTIVATION SO YOU WILL NOT GET WORSE!  Have you ever had a massage, a chiropractic manipulation, or physical therapy and felt worse afterward?  It is because the treatment was TOO MUCH for your nervous system.  It over-stimulated you and you crashed, something called Exceedin Metabolic Capacity (EMC).

    Auditory Stimulation: listening to sound in one ear will stimulate the opposite side of the brain and increase impulses.  Different sounds (frequencies, tones, pitches) affect the right and left sides of the brain differently.  We use professionally, specially composed music that specifically activates ones side of the brain.  We use right brain music if your right side is weak, or left brain music if your left side is weak.

    Olfactory Stimulation: Your sense of smell is special.  Your sight, sound, taste, and touch all travel through a sensory area of your brain called the thalamus.  SMELL GOES DIRECTLY TO THE BRAIN – there’s no middle man.  Smells are powerful brain stimulations. I’m sure you’ve experienced this…..the smell of homemade cookies baking in the oven brings fond memories of your childhood flooding back….makes your mouth water.  Or on the other hand, just a whiff of spoiled milk makes your stomach turn.  Smells you like stimulate the left side of the brain.  Smells you don’t like stimulate the right side of the brain.

    Calorics: A small amount of warm water in the ear will stimulate the semi­circular canals in your inner ear.  They send massive signals through the vestibular nerve in a chain reaction to several important brain areas:  the cerebellum….the cortex….then down to the lower brainstem (pontomedullary region).  Caloric stimulation is also fantastic for treating dizziness.

     We might do some vestibular therapies using head tilts and rotations and body motions to fire off the inner ear, and then thus the cerebellum and then the cortex.

We can also do different sorts of balancing exercise.  We may have you stand on one leg and throw a ball up in the air or have you on the floor doing specific core exercises to activate your cerebellum. We also use vibration because vibration is a powerful stimulator to the joints, muscles and the cerebellum.

    Tactile stimulation is great because it stimulates the parietal lobe.  When you feel something, an object or texture, your parietal lobe really starts to fire.  So we use what we call a “grab bag” full of all sorts of objects, and shapes—and we do different exercises with them that activate the parietal lobe.

    Targeting is great for the parietal lobe and the cerebellum because the parietal lobe is what helps you know WHERE things are.  Being able to accurately target something depends on knowing WHERE it is.  So if you have a parietal lobe problem, we would use targeting exercises for your hands, feet, fingers, or toes.

    Now, these are just a few of the treatments that we may use to help your brain increase its firing and become balanced. The key to the success of Brain Based Therapy is to be extremely specific in diagnosing the weak brain areas and applying activations or stimulations to those specific weakened areas.

    Other treatments we use involve eye movements, gross motor activities, light therapy, cognitive activities, puzzles, etc.  The list goes on and specific to each individual’s needs.

    The main thing you have to understand is that we stimulate the brain by using the receptors on the outside of the body that are wired and connected to the various areas of your brain.  So if we find weakened areas in your right parietal lobe then we are going to use receptors that are wired to the parietal lobe.  It is complex.  Everything we do is non-invasive, non-drug, and promotes proper function in the brain.  The brain has an amazing ability to adapt, change, and rewire if we give the proper fuel and activation.  We can make the weak area strong again.

    But it is not just as simple as just stimulating weakened areas.  It's important to understand no two people are the same, no two problems are the same or no two patients heal the same.  We have to consider how much stimulation each patient's brain can handle.  We also have to consider things like blood sugar delivery, oxygen delivery, neurotransmitter deficiencies, stress physiology, etc.  For some people we have to make a series of nutritional changes before we can provide any stimulation.  Some patients respond fast while others we have to work really slowly. 

    We have incredible success with fibromyalgia, dizziness and other chronic neurologic conditions, using our advanced Brain Based Therapy.  If you suffer with a chronic neurologic condition, call our office at 727-785-6771 to schedule a case review and full neurological examination.