Dec 9, 2022·edited Dec 9, 2022Liked by Chris Masterjohn, PhD
Wow. Your story reminds me of a fellow I know who was having some hearing loss and went to the audiologist. He heard the doctor say...'what is that?' when looking in his ear, and proceeded to withdraw a tiddly wink that had been shoved in there when the guy was just a kid. A bully type had pinned him down and done that, and in the way kids have of just getting along, my friend eventually worked around the trauma and hearing loss and put it out of mind. I am so glad you got your tailbone straightened out, it took some work but sounds like it was a real game changer. best
Wow. This is such an exciting full circle connection and I’m fascinated here- 21 year tailbone injury with a hunch that facial asymmetry is a result, also my hunch that both my kids failed to descend into my birth canal because of my twisted coccyx and fascia. How do I find a PT that will manipulate my coccyx AND my sphenoid bone?
I have no idea. I had no idea there existed such a PT and she stated working inside my mouth! If you’re in NYC I can give you her info but I don’t know how to go about finding the same services elsewhere.
Generally they will have an background in Osteopathy. I am trained in the coccyx adjustments, intra-oral, and cranial work. The PT’s I know who do this usually trained in France or Canada. Unfortunately I am not working right now since I’m at home with my young daughter. My colleague PT works in NYC but doesn’t take insurance.
There are several important connections between the sacrum, tailbone, ilium and temporal bone. Sometimes the influence of Walther’s ganglion in front of coccyx seems to impact the whole sympathetic tone of the ANS. Not sure the mechanism but have observed the change after treating people.
Great article. It just proves that there are a multitude of things that can cause an issue. Your therapy sounds like Craniosacral Therapy. I had that to try and treat left facial twitching and she did some similar treatments like you had. Unfortunately it didn't resolve my issue. But there a lot of other things that could be a cause.
Fascinating to read how you’ve put the pieces together. And even more fascinating how working on the physical component allowed the repressed memory to surface! I’ve walked a very similar path, but I have had therapies over the years that helped. Unfortunately, I can’t go one month without them otherwise my neck gets to be unbearable. You’ve inspired me to work on a more detailed timeline of my injuries & symptoms. I have a great natural doctor with access to many techniques but I’m curious now on the genetic component that may be putting pressure on the system. The inborn errors of metabolism part remind me of my plan for 2020. It seems we both got derailed on that. I’ll set up something to finally work with you.
While reading this, I noticed you don't mention high oxidative stress (lowered redox potential) as a possible cause of neurological problems, and not sure if you considered insufficient heme synthesis due to biotin deficiency - while iron stores and levels could be fine, you can still have impaired heme synthesis not meeting the demand, which ultimately will lead to poor function of the CBS enzyme and many others.
This can also be connected to synthesis of Coenzyme A, because it requires cysteine.
Have you ever considered chronic oxidative stress as a culprit in your health issues?
Oxidative stress would be a consequence of poor energy metabolism in this case. (Although I have other causes, such as a predisposition to iron overload.)
I think my heme synthesis is fine based on my hemoglobin.
Also quite fascinated by this. I did have a bad “fall on my butt snowboarding” incident in high school, and have had cervical dystonia the past 4 years. I have had my coccyx adjusted externally about a decade ago, but before that, it left a red line on my daughter’s forehead that went away shortly after her birth. I could tell it was my coccyx because the same “zinging” pain I experienced in the months after the injury returned during delivery despite an epidural. It makes me wonder if I have a similar issue where it was not completely adjusted. I’ve been having a blocked eustachian tube intermittently on the same side as the muscle tension but that’s because I have been experimenting with sleeping on foam rollers of various softness to try to get the muscles to relax and I’m sure the long-term pressure wasn’t great for the eustachian tube. I stopped the experiment and the blockages stopped after a bit. Also trying to figure out if the intermittent fluid leaking out of my nostril on the same side is CFS or just really runny snot - I’m really kind of a mess right now. 😂
Hi Chris, you would not happen to know why for 20 years i cannot seem to resolve my shitty cracked and dried lips no matter what i do and throw at them including the kitchen sink?
My lips would probably be like that if I hadn’t discovered cocoa butter lip balm. My lips are always nice and smooth but that’s because I apply cocoa butter lip balm proactively all day. They start drying out quickly in between applications so I stay on top of it.
This could be a lot of things though. Certainly every deficiency from any B vitamin deficiency could be a culprit but some toxicities such vitamin A can also do that.
wow, thanks for sharing that wild story. I've been to PTs before and none of them are anywhere near like yours! She sounds like someone combining old-school Osteopathic and Chiropractic work. Do you mind going what "internal" examination of the coccyx and sacrum entailed? Likewise, the adjustment?
I've had chiropractic adjustments just above the sacrum and on the pelvis but am curious how does one adjust the tailbone or sacrum directly
Chris, your journey into health never fails to amaze me,you’re a very interesting person and the amount of detail you can cover also amazes me, thanks again for a fascinating insight into your journey.
I didn’t mean to suggest the bones should be seen as isolated. My title did suggest that, but in my case anything happening to the temporal bone is happening in the context of a concerted left-forward asymmetry above the waist.
Who would catch a mastoid sinus infection? An ENT?
Wow. Your story reminds me of a fellow I know who was having some hearing loss and went to the audiologist. He heard the doctor say...'what is that?' when looking in his ear, and proceeded to withdraw a tiddly wink that had been shoved in there when the guy was just a kid. A bully type had pinned him down and done that, and in the way kids have of just getting along, my friend eventually worked around the trauma and hearing loss and put it out of mind. I am so glad you got your tailbone straightened out, it took some work but sounds like it was a real game changer. best
Very interesting, thanks for sharing that story.
Thank you for such an interesting opus of research
You're welcome!
Wow. This is such an exciting full circle connection and I’m fascinated here- 21 year tailbone injury with a hunch that facial asymmetry is a result, also my hunch that both my kids failed to descend into my birth canal because of my twisted coccyx and fascia. How do I find a PT that will manipulate my coccyx AND my sphenoid bone?
I have no idea. I had no idea there existed such a PT and she stated working inside my mouth! If you’re in NYC I can give you her info but I don’t know how to go about finding the same services elsewhere.
Generally they will have an background in Osteopathy. I am trained in the coccyx adjustments, intra-oral, and cranial work. The PT’s I know who do this usually trained in France or Canada. Unfortunately I am not working right now since I’m at home with my young daughter. My colleague PT works in NYC but doesn’t take insurance.
There are several important connections between the sacrum, tailbone, ilium and temporal bone. Sometimes the influence of Walther’s ganglion in front of coccyx seems to impact the whole sympathetic tone of the ANS. Not sure the mechanism but have observed the change after treating people.
Would love to know more about the PT's training and background to locate a similarly skilled practitioner.
Hi Chris, that is amazing journey that only you could explain!
I’m in NYC and I’d like your PTs info. Thx
You can email her to set something up:
sarah@serendiptnyc.com
Does she have a website?
Not yet. She just branched out to her own practice this year and hasn’t had time to set one up.
well done :)
Great article. It just proves that there are a multitude of things that can cause an issue. Your therapy sounds like Craniosacral Therapy. I had that to try and treat left facial twitching and she did some similar treatments like you had. Unfortunately it didn't resolve my issue. But there a lot of other things that could be a cause.
For sure. Metabolic health is the overwhelming factor in twitching. Anatomy just helps determine where it shows up.
Fascinating to read how you’ve put the pieces together. And even more fascinating how working on the physical component allowed the repressed memory to surface! I’ve walked a very similar path, but I have had therapies over the years that helped. Unfortunately, I can’t go one month without them otherwise my neck gets to be unbearable. You’ve inspired me to work on a more detailed timeline of my injuries & symptoms. I have a great natural doctor with access to many techniques but I’m curious now on the genetic component that may be putting pressure on the system. The inborn errors of metabolism part remind me of my plan for 2020. It seems we both got derailed on that. I’ll set up something to finally work with you.
While reading this, I noticed you don't mention high oxidative stress (lowered redox potential) as a possible cause of neurological problems, and not sure if you considered insufficient heme synthesis due to biotin deficiency - while iron stores and levels could be fine, you can still have impaired heme synthesis not meeting the demand, which ultimately will lead to poor function of the CBS enzyme and many others.
This can also be connected to synthesis of Coenzyme A, because it requires cysteine.
Have you ever considered chronic oxidative stress as a culprit in your health issues?
Oxidative stress would be a consequence of poor energy metabolism in this case. (Although I have other causes, such as a predisposition to iron overload.)
I think my heme synthesis is fine based on my hemoglobin.
Also quite fascinated by this. I did have a bad “fall on my butt snowboarding” incident in high school, and have had cervical dystonia the past 4 years. I have had my coccyx adjusted externally about a decade ago, but before that, it left a red line on my daughter’s forehead that went away shortly after her birth. I could tell it was my coccyx because the same “zinging” pain I experienced in the months after the injury returned during delivery despite an epidural. It makes me wonder if I have a similar issue where it was not completely adjusted. I’ve been having a blocked eustachian tube intermittently on the same side as the muscle tension but that’s because I have been experimenting with sleeping on foam rollers of various softness to try to get the muscles to relax and I’m sure the long-term pressure wasn’t great for the eustachian tube. I stopped the experiment and the blockages stopped after a bit. Also trying to figure out if the intermittent fluid leaking out of my nostril on the same side is CFS or just really runny snot - I’m really kind of a mess right now. 😂
You can fall asleep on a foam roller?!
You are blessed with an amazing ability to sleep!
Thanks for sharing. Definitely hope you figure it all out!
Hi Chris, you would not happen to know why for 20 years i cannot seem to resolve my shitty cracked and dried lips no matter what i do and throw at them including the kitchen sink?
My lips would probably be like that if I hadn’t discovered cocoa butter lip balm. My lips are always nice and smooth but that’s because I apply cocoa butter lip balm proactively all day. They start drying out quickly in between applications so I stay on top of it.
This could be a lot of things though. Certainly every deficiency from any B vitamin deficiency could be a culprit but some toxicities such vitamin A can also do that.
Do you have any other skin issues?
Is barium a common ingredient in modern paints? Wow, I also test high in barium and have never figured out a source.
Yes, paint and makeup.
wow, thanks for sharing that wild story. I've been to PTs before and none of them are anywhere near like yours! She sounds like someone combining old-school Osteopathic and Chiropractic work. Do you mind going what "internal" examination of the coccyx and sacrum entailed? Likewise, the adjustment?
I've had chiropractic adjustments just above the sacrum and on the pelvis but am curious how does one adjust the tailbone or sacrum directly
Fascinating. How would one test for barium toxicity?
I used Drs. Data 24h urine nutritional and toxic elements.
Thanks. My husband needs this.
Chris, your journey into health never fails to amaze me,you’re a very interesting person and the amount of detail you can cover also amazes me, thanks again for a fascinating insight into your journey.
Good points!
I didn’t mean to suggest the bones should be seen as isolated. My title did suggest that, but in my case anything happening to the temporal bone is happening in the context of a concerted left-forward asymmetry above the waist.
Who would catch a mastoid sinus infection? An ENT?