Synchronicity Surprises in September
MR Neurography
What is MR Neurography?
Join my Phoenix neuroradiologist Lea Alhilali, MD
for your education in this advanced imaging.
And meet the creator of MR Neurography
at The Neurography Institute, Aaron Filler, MD, neuroradiologist and neurosurgeon – also my doctor.
The Glossopharyngeal Nerve
Investigating MR Neurography at the end of August turned up many surprises. One of my piano parents is the ‘the recommended’ spine surgeon at Barrows. This neurosurgeon and I have had recent conversations about her seven-year old daughter who is my student. She is checking into a neurologist referral for the MR Neurography. I’ve discovered that the physician and radiologist will most likely talk; this leaves out my PCP who did write a script. However, he is not well-versed in this arena. My Santa Cruz osteopath is quite familiar with this area of the brain, having written about birth trauma skull base injury and compression to the glossopharyngeal nerve – babies can’t nurse (suck).
Preparing to leave for Santa Cruz on August 27 had me printing out information and reports. And, I came upon a 2011 MR Neurography report from Santa Monica, California! My ENT at the time was head of the Skull Base Team at Barrows. The Barrows Skull Base team was unable to confirm the conclusions of this neurosurgeon/ neuroradiologist. I never returned or had the injection.
In researching more about Barrows and MR Neurography, I learned that the neurosurgeon/ neuroradiologist in Santa Monica was one of the creator’s of MR Neurography in 1992! His MR Neurography protocol is proprietary and only done in his Neurography Institute facilities.
I will be returning to Santa Monica at the end of September for a comparison scan at The Neurography Institute. I’ve read that an injection of the glossopharyngeal nerve lasts for 45-minutes?! That’s not happening for me. I have a lidocaine spray that I can spray that can take the edge off the pain for 45-minutes most of the time.
Furthermore, I did a ‘clinical trial’ with my earbuds and music one night in Santa Cruz. The music, NOT the pressure of the earbuds, helps the pain. That is my preference for dealing awakening pain in the middle of the night…and/or the laser.
The power of hertz frequency vibration?
And once again a Waiting Game begins –
the September 29 Waiting Game for the MR Neurography scan.
only to be followed by waiting 65 days for the MR Neurography Report to appear!
Regenerative Medicine
click on the red type for more info
PRP (platelet-rich plasma) , BPC Peptides, Exosomes, EMSculpt®,
EMTT (extracorporeal magnetotrasduction therapy) and ESWT (extracorporeal shock wave therapy), NightLase®, OraLase™ and ScalarWave lasers
…and the list keeps growing!
Only a few weeks ago I was telling someone that I thought traditional and alternative medicine
would evolve and transform into Regenerative Medicine.
And here is information that has landed in my lap within the last two weeks!
All of this information is a result of my experiences with PRP, NightLase® and EMSculpt®
which prompted research and investigation with more questions than answers.
The changes that are unfolding in my back – after 50 years – are truly amazing.
And the back impacts this ‘UNKNOWN’ in my throat
…triggered on June 4, 1996 at 10:30 am by an orthodontic procedure.
– a glossopharyngeal nerve entrapment ?
– a pterygomandibular raphe tear/nodule/spasm ?
– an artifact embedded in the tissue?
– a eustachian tube/torus tubarius dysfunction because tensor veli palitini has lost his hamular process hook?
– a tubarial salivary gland dysfunction ?
– a fistulae in the posterior maxillary sinus ?
– ‘weeping’ bone as palatal deterioration continues creating tracts in the tissue ?
…or all combined?
Is my back the answer to release?
I can most certainly feel the connection between top and bottom!
My first EMSculpt® treatment, prescribed by my Santa Cruz Osteopath, was recommended to strengthen my abdominal muscles, which would help the back that was trying to adjust to the cervical change from PRP. In addition, the lower thoracic spine (around T5 and below) and the lumbar spine were treated. I was amazed at how this left my back feeling – the first time in quite a while that the upset on my upper back disappeared. This lasted for three days. I will be following through with three or four treatments in Phoenix before the MR Neurography at the end of September.
Wonder what effects/change EMSculpt® will have on my throat as my back changes…i.e. my skull base and mandible?
EMSculpt® is a non-invasive procedure that builds muscle and reduces fat using high-intensity focused electromagnetic (HIFEM) energy and, in the case of EMSculpt NEO®, radiofrequency (RF) technology.
It serves as a therapeutic tool for patients with muscle weakness, limited mobility, post-injury or post-surgical recovery, supporting rehabilitation by strengthening deep muscle layers and improving quality of life.
The contractions are so powerful that they are equivalent to doing 20,000 sit-ups or squats in just a 30-minute session. Repetitive contractions cause the muscle to break down and rebuild, resulting in a noticeable increase in muscle mass. At the same time the HIFEM energy also causes the fat cells to heat up and die.
Four – six treatments were recommended, five days or one week apart.
On Wednesday in late August, I was sitting on a bench overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Pleasure Point.
My search for a Phoenix practitioner began in quite the setting and I talked with several Phoenix offices while watching the surfers under a bright blue sky rolling with white, puffy clouds.
On Thursday, I was in my Osteopath’s office relating my Phoenix discoveries.
Her mouth dropped open, she jumped up and ran into the next room, saying over her shoulder,
“Oh my goodness, I think that’s the name given me by the BTL EMScuplt rep as a creator of the protocols!
I was in my Malibu clinic only two weeks ago wanting to come and study with this man!
Coincidentally, it was the very same doctor who had been recommended to her.
I have had my initial appointment with this physician trained not only in neurology but also physical medicine.
In practice for over 40 years, he now focuses on regenerative medicine.
I will have six treatments before my second round of PRP is administered to my cervical spine.
This should help my muscles readapt to the change has taken place in my cervical spine before more change is initiated.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
Visceral Vibrations and Percussion Poundings
The BTL device is now FDA-cleared for:
- Prevention or retardation of disuse atrophy
- Muscle re-education
- Maintaining or increasing range of motion
- Immediate post-surgical prevention of calf muscles to prevent venous thrombosis
- Relaxation of muscle spasms
- Increasing local blood circulation
This means that outside of aesthetics, EMSculpt NEO is now a preferred treatment for:
- Post-surgery and rehabilitation patients
- Individuals seeking increased mobility & flexibility
- Active elderly combating age-related deterioration
- Recreational athletes aiming to prevent injuries
- Professional athletes experiencing joint and muscle overload
Two treatments with huge repercussions.
And I begin to wonder as I am wandering onto this new Path….
EMSculpt® Treatment #1
Treatment with this physician is only on the abdomen and the buttocks – no back involved at all. The treatment is measured by percentage: 85% on the abs; 65% down to 45% on my buttocks. (In Santa Cruz, I was at 30% and 40%).
I am most thankful that, after my first EMSculpt® treatment, my PT met me at my house within the hour of the treatment being finished. I was shocked that I had full range of motion…that gave me confidence that this was good for my body. And I even felt relaxed in spite of my trepidation at this first visit. I rarely have full range of motion when first examined by either my PT or my osteopath; they both use range-of-motion testing as preliminary evaluation in a treatment.
The following day Anxiety overwhelmed me. I have experienced Anxiety after treatment with body work before – usually wakes up with me and lasts for two or three hours in the morning. However, this was an all-day affair and most intense. The following day greeted me again with this overwhelming Anxiety. I was glad I was seeing my JinShin practitioner in the afternoon; and was much relieved when her treatment took away ALL of the anxiety – deep rest. The next day, however, Anxiety overpowered me again. This made no sense to me; my alternating symptoms of fluid/splinter-like throat pain were there as well. But the Anxiety was most distressing and very un-nerving.
On the fourth day, I walked into my osteopath’s office asking for a homeopathic remedy for Anxiety. As he was testing me for range-of-motion, his comment hit me like a ton of bricks: “You’re wired.” His treatment was one I will never forget. He stated that my entire spine was being pulled way forward – longitudinal ligament release. When I left his office, the anxiety was 100% resolved; and it didn’t come back. Amazing – just bodywork – from one extreme to another. He has no experience with this device. He treats what he feels. End of story.
I am walking in the Unknown yet again. And I began to wonder if the EMSculpt treatment had done this to my back? Again – thank heavens for the immediate feedback I had from my PT right after the treatment.
By the third day after the osteopathic treatment, my body began yelling loudly in the evening – at least it was after I had finished teaching piano! My symptoms exploded and drove me into my zero gravity chair. I was stunned at the severity and was ready to cancel my second EMSculpt the next day based on this kind of physical intensity. I’ve had enough cranial treatment to be very aware as the body adjusts to change, it can scream very loudly as it settles into a new way of functioning. However! I started my breathing and JinShin Main Central Vertical flow to calm my body down as best I could. And, within 30-minutes, I’m getting up from the chair, went to shut my computer down and saw a bank reconciliation statement on the desk. I then sat down, reconciled a bank account, spent 30 minutes with my Avacen machine routine and played Mahjong on my iPad, settling down into bed at 11:30 feeling fine!
Whoa…what just happened? Extremes yet again. Will I go or not go in the morning to the EMSculpt treatment? No answer to that one until I get out of the bed in the morning.
EMSculpt® Treatment #2
I ended up going to Treatment #2 in the throes of the extremes of the previous evening. At least I knew what to expect…I thought. The vibrations and poundings were similar; however, the frequency on my abdomen was decreased to 70% per my request. What was most interesting was the sensation on the buttocks. I could feel the vibration up into my throat on the left buttocks. And on the right side, I could NOT feel the percussive pounding at all! The technician confirmed they were of equal volume. And, this throws me into the ‘not normal’ response category.
I was very relaxed once again after the treatment and drove down the street for a meeting with my financial advisor for an hour. Arriving home, I taught piano until 6:45 that evening. Later that evening, as I slowly reclined in my zero gravity chair, an artifact appeared in my mouth! Capturing this second ‘treasure’ on my fingertip, it landed in a jar of formalin. It will be biopsied by my ENT.
Did those vibrations that I felt ascend into my throat during the EMSculpt® treatment provoke this? Very coincidental.
I was surprised when I had full range-of-motion at my PT appointment twenty-four hours later. During this treatment, my awareness of the right side of my head reacting was pronounced; and more startling was the numbness that went across my right cheekbone in conjunction during this treatment. I remember asking him and exclaiming, “What are you doing? This is the way my face felt after the intubation injury!” Even more surprising happenings occurred at my osteopathic appointment four days later when I still had full range-of-motion before treatment. Major change is obviously unfolding.
I cancelled my next EMSculpt® treatment for my upcoming Thursday before my osteopathic appointment and discovered my body was handling all of this better than my mind! This appointment is four days before I fly alone to Burbank and navigate Southern California with my MR Neurography appointment in Santa Monica. There have been hours where I could not possibly deal with this kind of a trip during the past week. Who knows what the next treatment will bring?
I’m rethinking this upcoming Thursday appointment cancellation now that I learned my body exhibited full range-of-motion today, four days after the EMSculpt® treatment. I’ve emailed my California osteopath who has experience with EMSculpt® as well as osteopathic release. My local neurologist in charge of this treatment is unable to see me this week, and I would be surprised if he is knowledgeable about trauma release. Who knows?
How to make a decision? Is this the beginning of the end?
“You’re wired.”
And my osteopath’s words immediately triggered the memory of how
I felt after returning home from a sinus surgery in 1972. I was wired!
In addition, the right side of my face was numb across my cheekbone –
this lasted 4 months!
It wasn’t until the 90’s, that the intubation injury and anesthetic awareness confirmations appeared in my life.
My oral surgeon confirmed the injury in the throat/palate during surgery.
The awareness experience was confirmed
by an anesthesiologist doctor/professor
at UC Davis, creator of the ‘face mask’ to monitor the depth of anesthesia.
The Sounds of Silence describes
my anesthetic awareness experience and intubation injury
in more detail.
Today in 2025, I wonder if the visceral vibrations and percussive pounding for thirty minutes on my abdomen released trauma stored deep within my gut from
this terrifying experience?
My memory of not being able to breathe when waking up from anesthesia was the most frightening moment of my life.
This would definitely create a visceral,
‘gut’ reaction.
Is this past autonomic nervous system altering experience the source
of my recent anxiety?
Can EMSculpt treatment precipitate visceral trauma release?
The Glossopharyngeal Nerve – Cranial Nerve # 9
The glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) is the ninth cranial nerve, responsible for sensory, motor and parasympathetic functions in the head and neck.
In 2011, a neurosurgeon/neuroradiologist identified a glossopharyngeal nerve entrapment at the level of the palatal roof with MR Neurography. This diagnosis was not confirmed by the Skull Base team at Barrows Neurological Institute. There was no follow-up per this diagnosis.
Another MR Neurography study will be performed on September 29, 2025 by the same neurosurgeon- neuroradiologist, 15 years later, per recommendation
of my local neuroradiologist.
Dr. Aaron G. Filler is recognized as a leading figure and inventor in the field of MR neurography, which he developed alongside Franklyn Howe starting in 1991-1992. Dr. Filler’s innovative pulse sequences successfully isolated peripheral nerves in MRI scans, creating a new imaging technique that could distinguish nerves from other tissues.
My doctor is none other than Aaron Filler.
And my life spirals upward.
My Santa Cruz osteopath has described the effects of EMSculpt® on the cervical spine which then affects the skull base – and this nerve. The PRP change in my cervical spine has left my lower back wondering what to do! EMSculpt® will help stabilize and strengthen the back…and the changes, in my case, are proving to be difficult. It is easy to see how this nerve could be affected by the cervical spine as well as by changes to the spine.
I believe my Life Lesson in all of this Unknown that keeps providing coincidences and
unfolding into circles is learning how to become neutral and nonreactive.
This is difficult.
I thought I had improved until I found the 2011 MR Neurography report in late August
and discovered the information about the doctor I had seen – the creator of MR Neurography!
And then another coincidence with the neurologist/physical rehabilitation physician
who appeared not only in my life but also in my osteopath’s life.
What Path am I on?