History of grand mal seizures
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I just assessed a 68 y/o fit and active man who has a history of seizures: had several grand mal seizures at a stressful time in his life. Was put on Carbamazepine and has not had a seizure since. That was 15 years ago. He was told by his neurologist that his brain scan was not normal-“like sparking wires”.
I am thinking, proceed with caution, follow the protocol/ hierarchy, perhaps assess with scanners around the cranium then keep them slightly further away below the neck during treatment? I’d love some thoughts and guidance.
He came to me because of low back and sacral area pain, L elbow pain, muscle aches and cramps. He previously had difficulty with one or the other SI joint. At the same time he has low back pain he gets abdominal pain- but more muscular like he did too many sit-ups: this varies in intensity daily. He also a has bilateral area of pain around the femoral triangles. Also had neck issues; he has “solved” the neck issues by wearing a scarf around his neck at night. (X-rays look “like the vertebrae would like to fuse”)
He has spinal stenosis, Heart palpitations (strong family history on maternal side). He has been taking aspirin for 2 years and Statin for 1 year.
A few injuries including over the handle bars of a dirt bike once landing on chest and he dove off the 10 metre platform one with hands positioned so he “porposed out” and was unable to feel his legs for a minute.
I treated him after his assessment: (no primaries in his legs). Treated upper extremities, thoracolumbar spine / left lower rib cage, and cervical spine. Also “Tam’s techniques” of just calming/assessing overall cranium/face/thorax/back/lower extremities with no big releases.Looking forward to your guidance!
Thanks in advance,
Tamara -
Following treatment: When he got up he felt a bit “off balance/ unsteadiness and different” but denies lightheadedness or dizziness. This cleared quickly with walking and moving around a bit.
Follow up call the following day: no ill effects at all. He felt all his symptoms were in the range of normal as they vary slightly day to day. -
Hi Tamara,
You laid out a lot of things here, so I am approaching it as I would in my own clinic. I may get more in depth, but clinically, these are things that occur to me as I read this.I am curious as to when he had the brain scan by the neurologist and what was the follow up, since it came back as “not normal”? What are the next steps with that? I would imagine there is some follow up indicated, given his history of seizures.
What kind of work does/did he do for a living? Have you assessed his hip flexor muscles, like the psoas? Tight hip flexors could be causing both low back pain and abdominal pain. Where in the abdomen is the pain located? You also mention pain in the femoral triangles, which gives me pause. Is this constant? The presence of abdominal pain that radiates down to the groin could also indicate the presence of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which should be ruled out. You can still treat him with Matrix, but it is helpful to know if something like that is present. It sounds like the pain in the back is concurrent with the pain in the abdomen, correct? Any history of smoking?
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Hi Clare,
Thank you for your quick reply. I believe the brain scan was done approximately 15 years ago. The follow up to that was to start the Carbamazepine, which stopped the seizures. I think with his neurologist’s advice he also quit his stressful job and retained his driver’s license. I do not recall his specific job he left or the one he worked in after, but it was a high stress, executive level roll. I will ask him about follow ups with his neurologist. He is now retired with considerable family responsibilities caring for a few close family members who have special needs and life planning arrangements to be made.
His tissue tone is generally tight but healthy muscles (not ropy nor a mix of hypotonia with hypertonic). His hip extension is approximately 10-15 degrees. The abdominal pain is not specific, but an overall tension like he did too many sit-ups. And yes, the back pain and abdominal pain are concurrent. I will ask more specifically about femoral triangle pain’s frequency and intensity etc. He has had doctors look into his abdominal and femoral triangle pain and all tests were inconclusive.
He has also had extensive shoulder injuries and has “3 pages of notes on what is wrong with the shoulders” following scans/ testing, and apparently has way more function in his shoulders than he should have. No surgeries. He works hard at maintenance of his physical abilities, with 1 hour of morning stretching/ exercises as well as 1 1/2 hours per day of walking, and more. He did not mention a history of smoking, but I could ask and let you know.
I am specifically looking for guidance as far as treatment of the cranium with the history of grand mal seizures. Should I keep the scanners at a distance, and if so how far? Guidance as far as duration of scanners near the cranium? I was thinking to scan for location , but then keep them a distance away for the head during treatment. Perhaps over the course of treatments decrease distance and increase duration as I am treating the cranium? When he had seizures there were warning symptoms before the seizure, of taste of metal in mouth etc.
He has booked 3 weekly appointments, starting next week.
Thanks for all for this!!
Tam -
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