How does Spinal Flow Support Memory & Brain Health in Alzheimer's and Dementia?

When navigating Alzheimer’s, dementia, or progressive memory decline, how well do complimentary therapies work? This article focuses on a specific class of complimentary therapies... light touch chiropractic techniques and how these modalities support the brain's ability to detox, heal, and function optimally.

Light touch chiropractic techniques are believed to work because they support increased flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — the brain’s natural way of clearing out waste.

Why CSF Flow Matters in Dementia & Alzheimer’s

Your brain relies on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to remove metabolic waste (including beta-amyloids), deliver nutrients, and support healthy neural communication.

Several studies show that CSF flow is altered in various disease states like autism, Parkinson's, and in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, CSF flow is often sluggish or impaired.

CSF plays several critical roles in brain health and the one role I'll focus on in this post is the role of cerebrospinal fluid in bathing the brain and spinal column, this increased flow of CSF:

✅ Enhances clearance of metabolic waste from the brain and spinal column (beta-amyloids are one type of metabolic waste)

✅ Improve overall brain resilience (by optimizing fluid flow and nervous system balance)

✅ Supports neural communication (vital for memory and cognitive function) | not to get too sidetracked, but when in Rome...

Here's the short list of how CSF facilitates neural communication:

1. Improves Chemical Signaling:

   • CSF carries neuromodulators, hormones, and signaling molecules that influence brain function. CSF transports dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitter-related metabolites, affecting neural activity. Research has found that CSF flow helps distribute these chemical signals efficiently across different brain regions.

2. Waste Clearance & Neuroprotection (throwback to 1st bullet above):

   • The glymphatic system uses CSF to flush out metabolic waste, including excess neurotransmitters and amyloid-beta proteins both linked to Alzheimer’s. By clearing waste, CSF indirectly supports optimal neural communication by maintaining a healthy cellular environment.

3. Mechanical Influence on Neurons:

   • CSF movement is pulsed, synchronized with the cardiac cycle, and this pulsed flow influences intracranial pressure, and there's some fascinating research around generation of CSF (which is typically diminished in elderly populations with memory problems) vs. impedance of flow of CSF throughout the brain and spinal column (impeded flow is noted in a number of disease states like autism and hydrocephaly). This one's a little too involved to fully summarize here, so stay tuned for future articles.

4. Neurodevelopment & Plasticity:

   • During brain development, CSF provides essential growth factors that guide neural cell migration and synapse formation. As we learn more and more about the role of neuroplasticity in memory, it's becoming apparent that neuroplasticity is necessary for healthy brain function and repair throughout life not just during development.

With any of the gentle touch chiropractic techniques (I tend to focus on two — Spinal Flow and Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) just know there are others as well), light touch is applied along the spinal column at targeted locations to support healthy flow of CSF.

Spinal Flow To Support Memory

Spinal Flow is a gentle, non-invasive technique designed to release spinal tension, support the body's ability to shift into rest-digest-repair (parasympathetic) state, and improve CSF flow.

Among light touch chiropractic modalities, Spinal Flow is relatively new, developed in the early 2000s by a chiropractor who pulled from aspects of Network Spinal Analysis (NSA), Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT), and Torque-Release Technique (TRT), along with an anatomic understanding of the regions of the spine where nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system exit.

The beauty of Spinal Flow is that it harnesses older techniques which have more substantial research demonstrating the power of light touch chiropractic for various dis-ease states and specifically for enhancing the flow of CSF.

I'm not proposing this will cure Alzheimer's or dementia or memory loss, but what I know for sure (from my own experience with Spinal Flow) is that it is a powerful tool for overall wellbeing and symptom reduction. And, with its impact on CSF flow, how could it not alter disease progression?

Book a Spinal Flow Session

If you or a loved one is navigating Alzheimer’s, dementia, or early cognitive decline, reach out to me at [email protected] to book your first session.

About the author: Brandy Searcy's a research scientist turned Spinal Flow practitioner following her own experience with this modality. Brandy credits light touch chiropractic techniques to transforming her health and ultimately her life. Georgia native based in North County San Diego, she works with people of all ages and their pets too.

References

Attier-Zmudka J, Sérot JM, Valluy J, Saffarini M, Macaret AS, Diouf M, Dao S, Douadi Y, Malinowski KP, Balédent O. Decreased Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow Is Associated With Cognitive Deficit in Elderly Patients. Front Aging Neurosci. 2019 Apr 30;11:87. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00087. PMID: 31114494; PMCID: PMC6502902.

Shen MD. Cerebrospinal fluid and the early brain development of autism. J Neurodev Disord. 2018 Dec 13;10(1):39. doi: 10.1186/s11689-018-9256-7. PMID: 30541429; PMCID: PMC6292033.

Pierobon Mays, G., Hett, K., Eisma, J. et al. Reduced cerebrospinal fluid motion in patients with Parkinson’s disease revealed by magnetic resonance imaging with low b-value diffusion weighted imaging. Fluids Barriers CNS 21, 40 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12987-024-00542-8