Let’s be honest—your brain has a pretty tough job. It runs the show, handling everything from your moods, thoughts, and actions to how much pain you feel or how fast your heart beats. It’s basically the overworked manager of your entire body (and unlike most managers, it never takes a day off). People come to my office with a laundry list of symptoms—sometimes ten or more!—and a lot of times, their brainstem is the common thread tying it all together. Think of your brainstem as the behind-the-scenes tech support: always working hard, rarely getting the credit.
This area is hugely important. The brainstem is like a busy highway for nerves, carrying signals from your brain out to your body, and even handling a lot of things right in your head. Thankfully, it’s tucked away and protected by the skull and the bones at the very top of your neck. But let’s face it, life happens—bumps, falls, roughhousing, even just being born (have you seen how babies are delivered?) can lead to little misalignments around the brainstem.
Now, these misalignments aren’t usually crushing nerves or anything dramatic. What they do is put pressure or tension on the nerves, like someone gently tugging your shirt while you’re trying to walk in a straight line. Sure, you can still move forward, but it’s harder—and honestly, it gets old fast. Inside your nervous system, this tension can make nerves work overtime or go on strike, creating all sorts of problems.
Take the Trigeminal Nerve, for example. It starts in your brainstem and controls pain sensations in your head and the muscles in your jaw. If this nerve is irritated by a misalignment, you might get headaches, jaw issues, nerve pain that feels like it’s in your teeth, and other frustrating symptoms.
How Do These Misalignments Even Start?
The simple answer? Trauma. Sometimes it’s something big, like a fall or an accident, but honestly, it’s just as likely to be a bunch of smaller things stacked up over time. Trauma can even happen during birth—babies have a rough start! As kids grow up, think about all the tumbles off the jungle gym, trampoline mishaps, bike crashes, and let’s not forget sibling wrestling matches.
Here’s the tricky part: pressure at the brainstem doesn’t usually hurt right away, so it often goes unnoticed. What you actually feel are the symptoms your body develops in response to that pressure, and those can show up much later. Kids are even trickier—they just don’t feel pain the same way adults do, so their brains aren’t tuned in yet. That’s why so many of the kids we see aren’t coming in for neck pain, but for things like bedwetting, night terrors, headaches, or immune system challenges. All those nerves have to pass through the brainstem, so it’s no surprise these things can be related.
How Do We Actually Measure Brainstem Pressure?
Here’s where things get a little technical (but still cool). In our office, we don’t just chase symptoms—we look for measurable, objective signs. When the brainstem is under pressure, your body does its best to adapt, which often makes one leg look shorter than the other. (No, you’re not shrinking—promise.) We can measure this imbalance, and we have a bunch of ways to make sure the problem is actually coming from your neck.
One of the ways we check is by measuring the temperature on both sides of your neck—down to the hundredth of a degree. Your brainstem helps control how your blood vessels open and close, which affects temperature. If a bone in your neck is out of place, it can make those vessels stay more open on one side, creating a measurable pattern. And to really see what’s going on, we use 3D x-rays so we know exactly how the bone has shifted and how to correct it—no guessing games.
What Is a Blair Upper Cervical Adjustment Like?
If you’ve seen “traditional” chiropractic, you might expect some popping or twisting. Blair adjustments are nothing like that. They’re incredibly gentle and precise, using a special headpiece that allows us to correct the misalignment without any cracking or twisting. Most people are surprised by how subtle it is—sometimes it barely feels like anything at all.
Here’s what’s even better: the more accurate and gentle the adjustment, the longer it tends to hold. Some of my patients have only needed one adjustment in several years. That’s because it’s not just the adjustment that matters—it’s your body’s ability to heal once things are back in alignment and stay that way. As your brainstem gets to work without any interference, your body finally has a chance to address the real cause behind those symptoms.
We’ve helped thousands of people—many who thought they were just “migraine people”—simply by taking pressure off the brainstem and letting their body do what it’s designed to do.
Common Symptoms Connected to Brainstem Pressure
Wondering if this could be part of your story? Some of the most common symptoms we see include:
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All kinds of headaches
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Balance and dizziness issues
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Neck and back pain
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Brain fog or cognitive struggles
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High blood pressure or heart palpitations
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Bedwetting (especially in kids)
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Numbness, tingling, or pain in the arms and legs
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Persistent immune system problems
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And plenty more
If you’re curious whether Blair upper cervical care could help, we’d love to talk with you. Our approach is always gentle, precise, and focused on actually solving the problem—not just patching the symptoms.
Ready to see what life feels like when your brainstem isn’t under pressure? Reach out and schedule a consultation with one of our doctors. We’re here to help you get back to feeling like yourself again.
