#Neurological Expertise

[centreforbrainandspine1]

Scoliosis treatment without surgery using exercise | Neurosurgeon in Delhi

Scoliosis can cause trouble if not treated correctly. Many doctors and top neurosurgeon have suggested exercises to help patients deal with pain and correct the spine posture during daily activities. Scoliosis exercises should be done cautiously and with good technique. The objective is to establish spine symmetry to restore trunk alignment and relieve back discomfort. 

This guide curated by the Dr. Nagesh Chandra, Neurosurgery Specialist in Dwarka, Delhi, explains the meaning of scoliosis, exercises, etc. You must consult your doctors before performing any exercise to ensure it is safe for your condition. Follow all the instructions from your doctor and take a path towards fitness. 

What is Scoliosis and its diagnosis in Delhi?

Scoliosis is a sideways spine curve that can look like an “S” or “C” shape. It can cause the body to tilt to the side, and some people may have one shoulder higher than the other. Scoliosis is usually mild and does not cause symptoms but can lead to back pain. Most cases of scoliosis are mild, but some curves worsen. Scoliosis is more likely to get worse while bones are still growing. 

Scoliosis occurs in about 3% of people and most commonly develops between the ages of ten and twenty. Females typically are more severely affected than males, with a ratio of 4:1.

Scoliosis and Kyphosis however looks similar but are two different spine conditions.

Scoliosis treatment without surgery using exercises

These are some of the exercises for scoliosis that must be performed under an Spine doctor supervision. 

Cat-camel

The cat-camel stretch is a freehand exercise that can help improve the flexibility and mobility of the spine. It can also help prevent spinal disorders and reduce pain. 

How to perform it: You must lie down and stand on your hands and legs. Ensure your back is on level and your head & neck are comfortable. Arch your back and inhale deeply while drawing your abdominal muscles up & down. Now, exhale, relieve your abdominal muscles, and drop your neck. Lay flat on your belly and lift your towards, facing towards the ceiling. 

Latissimus dorsi stretch

How to perform it: Stand and keep your back straight. Keep your legs apart and slightly bend your knees. Raise your hands and hold the right wrist with your left hand. Bend towards the right side until you feel a stretch in your body. Hold your breath for 10-15 seconds, and release your breath and hands. Repeat the same process on the left side. 

Abdominal press

The abdominal press is a static exercise that can help with scoliosis by strengthening the core and abdominal muscles. Read more

[asterhospitals]

Title: Dr. Vinay K Gurumath: Expert Neurosurgeon in Dubai for Advanced Brain and Spine Care

Dr. Vinay K Gurumath is a renowned neurosurgeon in Dubai, specializing in cutting-edge treatments for brain and spine conditions. With expertise in advanced surgical techniques and personalized patient care, he is dedicated to delivering exceptional outcomes for complex neurological disorders.

[catboybiologist]

“As a biologist, the terms biological woman and man don’t make any sense to me” okay then you’re an idiot and a terrible biologist. I swear to god, morons like you only become biologists just so you can hold it over others, when in reality, if biology deniers like you can become biologists, then being one really doesn’t mean much anyway. But this probably just gave an autogynophile like you a boner to read, anyway.

Oh fun! Haven't gotten one of these in a while. Disregarding the fact that you somehow think the qualification for being a biologist entirely hinges on defining womanhood, I do need to ask some clarification. I know I'm feeding the trolls here, but here we go: does your definition of "biological woman" mean:

Sociological woman? Eh, context dependent, I'm not fully out of the closet, but oftentimes, I am and present femme. So let's call that one 50/50.

Psychological woman? Because I am one.

Neurological woman? Because I am one [1].

Physical woman? My soft tissue redistribution is handling that well.

Hormonal woman? My blood tests are within cis female ranges.

Transcriptional woman? As a signalling molecule, the downstream effects of estrogen have broad transcriptional effects, completely changing the profile of gene expression and functional genomics of my cells. [2]

Genetic woman? I mean, see my above point- as far as my genes that are actually active, I have all of the same transcripts being produced, controlling which genes are expressed.

Karyotypic woman? I actually have a few signs pre-HRT that might point to a non-XY chromosome pair, but I haven't had a karyotype. We'll put that down as unknown. And hell, even if its XY, there's plenty of cis women who are karyotypically XY, with suppressed sry or complete androgen insensitivity. Interestingly enough, a completely androgen insesitive woman can go her whole life without knowing- and functionally, is very similar to a trans woman, actually. Fancy that. [3]

Reproductive woman? I can't produce an egg cell, but neither can significant fractions of cis women. Also, this is all gonna change soon, which is fun. [4]

There's also a lot of understudied aspects to the biology of HRT and even pre-HRT that are emerging, largely demonstrating widespread cellular and genetic remodeling of trans individuals undergoing hormone therapy. The field is a bit behind due to constant political pressure to revoke funding, but a lot of the results are extremely exciting in both testosterone and estrogen hormone therapies. I'm sure that, as a self professed biology As someone who presumably has a lot of expertise in biology, I'm assuming that you're aware of all of this cutting edge research, and are keeping up with modern papers, including but not limited to these cool findings:

Trans men on HRT exhibit significant genetic and transcriptional changes that make them biochemically male. [5][6]. It's a good hypothesis that the same happens with estrogen treatment, but those studies don't exist yet- I'm sure you're reserving judgment until more publications exist, of course.

Trans men on HRT develop male cell types and tissues. [7]

Trans women experience muscular and blood cell changes that align with cis women moreso than cis men [8]

And many, many more! This is an exciting, underserved, and groundbreaking field of research, and I'm sure you're keeping up with the latest in scientific journals about it.

I'm sure, of course, that you understand that it becomes impossible to draw a distinct line anywhere in here, and that words like "woman" are shorthand for the myriad of traits that invisibly synthesize in our mind and in society to represent a concept? I'm sure you understand that science is fundamentally descriptive, not prescriptive? I'm sure that you understand that these findings, while really cool and interesting, actually don't mean jack shit about what the word "woman" means or not?

As someone who is the ultimate decider in what a biologist is, I'm sure you know that bioessentiallism is a childish mindset that completely ignores and disregards the constantly changing, dynamic nature of biological systems, something that extends well beyond biological sex and its relation to gender.

I'm sure that also, that you understand that beyond just this, that the role of science in society is to advise how to achieve our moral principles, not create moral principles in themselves. And I'm sure that understanding means you know that trans affirming healthcare and supportive societal treatment leads to reduced mortality and increased happiness for everyone, right?

So great to talk to someone who is surely a scientist on this. You are a biologist, if you're talking like this, I assume? I assume you're not going to spit complete misreadings of scientific language from the background sections of these papers that only reveal you've never read a scientific paper in your life if you're thinking this way? I assume you have experience interpreting data like this?

Also, imagining my genitalia while writing this? Ew. Please stop projecting your fetishes into my inbox.

Works cited:

Kurth F, Gaser C, Sánchez FJ, Luders E. Brain Sex in Transgender Women Is Shifted towards Gender Identity. J Clin Med. 2022 Mar 13;11(6):1582. doi: 10.3390/jcm11061582. PMID: 35329908; PMCID: PMC8955456.

Fuentes N, Silveyra P. Estrogen receptor signaling mechanisms. Adv Protein Chem Struct Biol. 2019;116:135-170. doi: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2019.01.001. Epub 2019 Feb 4. PMID: 31036290; PMCID: PMC6533072.

Gottlieb B, Trifiro MA. Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. 1999 Mar 24 [Updated 2017 May 11]. In: Adam MP, Feldman J, Mirzaa GM, et al., editors. GeneReviews® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2024. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1429/

Murakami, K., Hamazaki, N., Hamada, N. et al. Generation of functional oocytes from male mice in vitro. Nature 615, 900–906 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05834-x

Pallotti F, Senofonte G, Konstantinidou F, Di Chiano S, Faja F, Rizzo F, Cargnelutti F, Krausz C, Paoli D, Lenzi A, Stuppia L, Gatta V, Lombardo F. Epigenetic Effects of Gender-Affirming Hormone Treatment: A Pilot Study of the ESR2 Promoter's Methylation in AFAB People. Biomedicines. 2022 Feb 16;10(2):459. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10020459. PMID: 35203670; PMCID: PMC8962414.

Florian Raths, Mehran Karimzadeh, Nathan Ing, Andrew Martinez, Yoona Yang, Ying Qu, Tian-Yu Lee, Brianna Mulligan, Suzanne Devkota, Wayne T. Tilley, Theresa E. Hickey, Bo Wang, Armando E. Giuliano, Shikha Bose, Hani Goodarzi, Edward C. Ray, Xiaojiang Cui, Simon R.V. Knott, The molecular consequences of androgen activity in the human breast, Cell Genomics, Volume 3, Issue 3, 2023, 100272, ISSN 2666-979X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100272. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666979X23000320)

Xu R, Diamond DA, Borer JG, Estrada C, Yu R, Anderson WJ, Vargas SO. Prostatic metaplasia of the vagina in transmasculine individuals. World J Urol. 2022 Mar;40(3):849-855. doi: 10.1007/s00345-021-03907-y. Epub 2022 Jan 16. PMID: 35034167.

Harper J, O'Donnell E, Sorouri Khorashad B, McDermott H, Witcomb GL. How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation. Br J Sports Med. 2021 Aug;55(15):865-872. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-103106. Epub 2021 Mar 1. PMID: 33648944; PMCID: PMC8311086.

[peachetteprice]

CW: dark themes, kidnapping, assault.

Neuroscientist!Price wishes to explore the established neurological link between sex and fear, to better understand the heightened state of sexual arousal present in abduction victims who have experienced symptoms of Stockholm syndrome at the hands of their kidnappers. 

He files an advertisement in the morning paper and tapes his research proposal form onto the faces of street-lamps, urging women who may be interested in his project to rip a strip of paper from the bottom, a phone number – his phone number – advising anyone who fits the criteria of his sample to call it; it states you must be over thirty and under forty-five, have been sexually active for the previous five years, and have natural brown hair. You don’t quite comprehend enough about neuroscience to discern the relevance of asking a woman for the colour of her hair, though you assume it is the simple reasoning of an intellectual with much more expertise than a lowly accountancy firm receptionist, and, fitting the description with enough accuracy and curiosity to wish to take part: you call the number.

Three days later, you receive a voicemail asking if you’re available to meet him in his office. The man's voice is warm, woody; it has the exact qualities that would warrant you fantasising about him requesting that you get on your knees, like the good slut you are, and keep your hands to yourself as you throat him. His office is in the centre of London, you learn, within a building you’ve never heard of before, though it seems to be across from a quaint café that requires you stop off at an hour before the scheduled meeting, arriving in the building's empty foyer with a latte and a croissant. 

The research will take place not far from his office, he explains, and leads you down a set of stairs, indented from the rear of the caretaker’s workroom, though you’re hardly paying attention to his words, nor the path you’re taking when his hips are swaying so seductively, biceps flexing against the constraints of his lab coat as he opens door after door, descends step after step, all the while a fragrant and tantalising scent keeps your mind hazy.

Poor thing. You don't stand a chance. Neither did the four other women before you.

By the time your eyes adjust to the dim lighting, to puzzle together a set of metal chains and leather straps hanging from the ceiling and a cold, wet, stone interior, you’re thrust to the floor with a deft slap, nostrils free from the smell of his cologne to settle, instead, on the faint, rustic scents elsewhere, coalescing together much as the damp and mould in the corner of the room, that not a soul would be able to guess incorrectly: blood, sweat, and cum.

No one quite understands what Doctor Price does in the evenings: why the back-up generator in the basement ticks overtime long after every employee has left the building, why his office remains vacant and his name and photo stripped from every company poster and website listing, or why he has such a friendly rapport with the building's sole cleaner, a man who goes only by the moniker of Ghost, but they know exactly how he elicits such darling noises from the women he passes in the street during the daytime – for he has the sort of mind that drives women insane.

| Masterlist |

[estellan0vella]

Taking Back Control ❀ Toge Inumaki Masterlist HFBU

The idea is risky. Cursed speech is powerful, but it's not something to be used lightly, especially not on something as complex and delicate as the human brain. But the thought of having a way to stop a seizure in its tracks is too tantalizing to ignore.

Now, as you sit in the living room, the atmosphere is a mix of anxiety and anticipation. Shoko sits beside you, her medical expertise offering a sense of safety and reassurance. Gojo lounges on the opposite couch, his usual carefree demeanor somewhat tempered by the seriousness of the situation.

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Shoko asks. “There’s a lot we don’t know about how cursed energy interacts with neurological conditions.”

You nod, feeling the weight of your decision. “I know it’s risky, but if it works… it could change everything.”

Toge reaches out and takes your hand, his touch warm and reassuring. He’s wearing his usual high-collared jacket, which he nervously adjusts with his free hand.

Gojo leans forward, his usually hidden eyes visible through his lowered sunglasses. “Alright, here’s the plan. Shoko will monitor your vitals closely. Toge, you’ll be on standby. If a seizure starts, you’ll use your cursed speech to try and stop it. If it seems like things are going wrong, we'll figure it out"

Shoko sets up the equipment to monitor your brain activity and vital signs, her movements precise and efficient. “Ready?” she asks, looking at you with a reassuring smile.

You take a deep breath and nod. Toge squeezes your hand gently, and you feel a surge of determination. You’re ready for this. You have to be.

As the minutes tick by, you try to stay calm, focusing on your breathing and the warmth of Toge’s hand. The room is quiet, everyone waiting in a tense silence. Then, it happens. You feel the familiar, terrifying aura of an impending seizure—a sense of unreality, a detachment from your own body.

“Toge,” you manage to whisper, your voice trembling.

His eyes lock onto yours, filled with a mixture of fear and resolve. He takes a deep breath, focusing his cursed energy. “Stop,” he commands, his voice firm and clear.

The effect is immediate. You feel a strange sensation, as if something invisible has wrapped around your mind, holding it steady. The aura recedes, the seizure stopping before it can fully take hold. Your body, which had started to tense, relaxes. The room is silent except for the steady beeping of the machines.

Shoko leans in, checking the readouts with wide eyes. “It… it worked. Your brain activity is stabilizing.”

Gojo lets out a low whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned. Looks like we might be onto something here.”

Toge pulls you into a gentle hug. “Tuna mayo,” he says softly, his way of expressing his feelings when words fail him.

The next few days pass in a blur of cautious optimism and careful observation. Under Shoko's vigilant eye, you and Toge repeat the experiment several times, each trial bringing a mixture of anxiety and hope.

Each time, Toge’s cursed speech successfully halts the seizures. The results are consistent, and with every successful attempt, the initial trepidation starts to give way to a budding sense of triumph.

One afternoon, as you sit in the medical wing with Shoko, she goes over the data collected from the trials. “Your brain activity shows significant improvement during and after Inumaki's intervention,” she says, her tone a mixture of amazement and caution. “But we need to keep in mind that this is still very experimental. There’s a lot we don’t understand about how cursed energy interacts with the brain.”

You nod, understanding the gravity of her words. “I get it. But it’s a start. A really good start.”

Shoko smiles, placing a hand on your shoulder. “It is. And I’ll be here to make sure you’re safe every step of the way.”

Later, you and Toge take a walk through the school grounds, the evening air cool and refreshing. The sun sets in a blaze of orange and pink, casting long shadows across the lawn. Toge’s hand is warm in yours, a comforting presence as you navigate this new chapter together.

“Toge,” you say, breaking the comfortable silence. “Thank you. I know this hasn’t been easy for you either.”

He stops walking and turns to face you, his eyes serious. “Mustard leaf,” he says softly, his way of conveying that he’s doing this for you, because you mean the world to him.

You smile, squeezing his hand. “I know. And I appreciate it more than you can imagine.”

Months continue to fly by, and the routine you and Toge establish becomes a new normal. Shoko remains ever-vigilant, her careful monitoring ensuring that you stay safe.

Gojo, in his own way, continues to offer support, though his methods are often unconventional. He even suggests training sessions to help you and Toge better synchronize your efforts, making sure you’re prepared for any situation.

One afternoon, during a particularly intense training session with Gojo, you feel the familiar aura of an impending seizure. Without missing a beat, Toge steps forward, his eyes locking onto yours.

“Stop,” he commands, his voice steady and filled with authority.

The seizure halts almost immediately, the sensation dissipating like mist in the morning sun. You take a deep breath, feeling the wave of relief wash over you. A rare warm smile forms on Gojo's face, the man knowing first-hand the toll your condition takes on you, physically, mentally and most of all emotionally.

“Excellent,” Gojo says, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “You’re getting the hang of this. Both of you.”

You glance at Toge, who is watching you intently, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief and pride. His hand finds yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Salmon,” he says softly, his simple word conveying so much more—his unwavering support, his pride in your strength, and his love.

Gojo claps his hands together, breaking the moment. “Alright, let’s call it a day. You both deserve a break.”

As you walk back to the dormitory, the setting sun casting long shadows across the training grounds, you feel a deep sense of accomplishment. The progress you’ve made with Toge’s help is more than just a physical achievement; it’s a testament to the bond you share.

Later that evening, you find yourself in the common room with Toge, Shoko, and Gojo. Shoko is reviewing the data from your latest session, her brow furrowed in concentration. Gojo, meanwhile, is lounging on the couch, a rare moment of stillness for the usually hyperactive sorcerer.

“You know,” Gojo says, his voice breaking the silence, “this whole thing has got me thinking. Maybe we should document your progress. It could help others in the future.”

Shoko looks up from her notes, nodding thoughtfully. “That’s not a bad idea. The data we’re collecting is invaluable, but personal experiences and observations are just as important.”

You look at Toge, who nods in agreement. “Fish flakes,” he says, indicating his support for the idea.

Over the next few weeks, you and Toge begin documenting your journey, writing down your experiences, your feelings, and the progress you’ve made. It’s a therapeutic process, allowing you to reflect on how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown.

One evening, as you’re writing in your journal, Toge sits beside you, his presence a comforting constant. He reads over your shoulder, his hand gently resting on your back.

“Do you think this will help others?” you ask, looking up at him.

He nods, his eyes filled with conviction. “Salmon,” he says softly, his way of saying that he believes in the impact of your story.

Months pass, and your routine becomes a new normal. Shoko continues to monitor your condition, while you and Toge grow more adept at managing your seizures with his cursed speech. It’s not a perfect solution, but it gives you a sense of control you haven’t felt in years.

One evening, you find yourself on the dormitory roof with Toge, watching the stars. The night is clear, the sky a canvas of twinkling lights. You lean against him, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath.

“It’s strange,” you say softly, breaking the comfortable silence. “I’ve spent so long fearing my seizures, feeling like they controlled my life. And now, thanks to you, I feel like I have some control back.”

Toge’s arms tighten around you, his silent way of offering comfort. “Salmon,” he murmurs, his voice a gentle reassurance.

You turn to face him, your heart swelling with gratitude and love. “I don’t know what the future holds, Toge. But I’m not afraid anymore. Not with you by my side.”

His eyes meet yours, filled with a depth of emotion that words can’t capture. “Tuna mayo,” he replies, a promise of his unwavering support and love.

The stars above seem to shine a little brighter, the world feeling a little more hopeful. With Toge by your side, you know you can face whatever challenges come your way.

[nerdraging4point0]

Power Play // Chapter Four // Hockeyplayer!Noah AU

Tropes and tags: RPF:AU hockey player romance, angsty romance, hidden relationship, forbidden relationship, smutty, MF, multiple POV. 

Content Warning: angsty romance, hockey player shenanigans, locker room talk, smutty, aggressive hockey players, PinV, MF relationship, possessive male, protective male.

This work below is fictionalized ideas and stories involving real people but does not directly reflect their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. Please keep in mind that this is a work of fiction.

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Two days. Forty-eight hours. That's all I get to train before they toss me headfirst into the role of head athletic nurse. Just a couple days shadowing Naomi and then - bam! - she's gone on early maternity leave. And if that's not enough, I can't find a single affordable apartment in this insane city. I was so determined to make it on my own, but after 24 fruitless hours of searching, Dad insisted I take an apartment in the complex where the hockey players live. Move in ready next week, free rent, close to the rink. I should be grateful, right? I mean, it gets me out of Dad's place at least. But now it's game day and I'm nowhere near ready. My head's spinning and my stomach's in knots. I have no idea what I've gotten myself into. This is way too much way too fast. Breathe, girl. Just breathe. You've got this. 

My heart pounds as I frantically take stock of my supplies. Tape, ice packs, ace bandages - check. It's not that I don't know how to treat injuries. As a nurse, wounds and fractures are second nature. But this - this is new territory. I didn't sign up for the intensity of trauma care on the sidelines. My expertise is in orthopedics, urology, neurology - slower paced clinic work. Not split second emergency response.

I sit on the sidelines watching warmups, taking in the sights and sounds of the rink. There's a smattering of early bird fans already in the stands, but more are still filing in, arms loaded with popcorn and hot dogs. The boys glide and weave across the ice, firing pucks into the gaping net, muscles coiled as they launch themselves into sharp turns.

McClain and Sanders emerge from the tunnel, bundled in pads and skates. They ease towards the goal, McClain positioning himself between the posts while Sanders hangs back, stick resting casually on his shoulder. The other players start peppering McClain with shots - his glove flashes out, quick as a cat's paw, snagging the pucks from the air. He drops into a butterfly, legs splaying wide to kick away rebounds. I can't take my eyes off him, enthralled by his reflexes and fearless focus. 

My stomach is in knots as the warmups wind down. One by one, the players skate over to tap fists with Coach and Jack before heading off the ice. Sanders, Dominick, McClain, Ruffilo - they all make sure to bump fists with me too. I force myself to take some deep breaths as the opening ceremonies begin. I watch anxiously as the puck drops for the first faceoff. The boys look sharp, moving the puck around cleanly, getting some good chances early. My nerves start to settle just a bit seeing them come out strong in these crucial opening minutes. But I'm still on the edge of my seat, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

I've got my eyes glued to the ice as the Avalanche roar down the rink with the puck, making a beeline for McClain's net. Sebastian bursts forward, moving in to intercept. Sticks clash and sparks fly as he battles for possession. With a mighty swing, he breaks free and shovels the puck away. But his opponent doesn't take kindly to being shaken off. As Sebastian streaks up the ice, the guy charges after him and slams their bodies together, crushing them both against the boards. The glass shudders from the hit - you can feel the aggression pulsating through the arena. 

My eyes are glued to Sebastian as he shakes off that nasty hit. The guy is seeing red, flexing out the arm that just got plastered into the boards. He's back in position now, still fuming, and drives hard to defend the net again. A few more plays and another try for a score but McClain is quick as ever and snags the puck. Sebastian eases up to circle back, but that same goon swoops in and crunches him into the wall again. Suddenly it's mayhem - helmets flying, sticks tossed, bare fists grabbing jerseys, going for faces. The refs dive in to break it all up. My heart's pounding as I take it all in. This game just got heated.

As the whistle blows, Coach bellows for Sebastian to hit the bench and sends in Dominick. My stomach drops. Sebastian's face is as red as his jersey as he skates over, and I shuffle closer, dreading what I'll see. His lip is swollen and split open, a trail of blood oozing down his chin. Coach grabs Sebastian's cheeks and gives him a stern once-over before nodding my way. Our eyes meet briefly before Sebastian clambers over the boards on wobbly skates, weighed down by pads and gear. 

My heart races as I rummage through my bag for the gauze and antiseptic. I gently dab the wet gauze on his rugged, battered face, taking care not to hurt him. He winces ever so slightly, pulling back as I tenderly clean the gash on his lip.

"This will need some ice," I murmur, transfixed by his mouth. The wound isn't deep, but it would still hurt if I tried to kiss it. Stop it, Sarah. 

"I could just lay on the rink, would that help?" he jokes, flashing me a roguish grin.

I can't help but smile, lost in his sparkling eyes. Even bruised from the game, he makes my stomach do somersaults. As I gently dab the last of the blood from his rugged face, I ask for his hands.

He turns them palm down, rough and shaking. I trace my fingers over the tattoos marking his skin, checking for any hidden injuries. Through my gentle touch, I feel his warmth, his strength. Our eyes meet and my heart flutters. I take his hand in both of mine, lightly pressing each knuckle, thrilled by his closeness. He doesn't flinch. If he's in pain, he doesn't show it. Or maybe it's just the adrenaline. 

"Looks good," I say, my eyes lingering a little too long on his handsome face. "Nothing too badly damaged."

He smiles, though it turns into a wince as the wounded side of his lip curves up. "Just my pride," he replies ruefully.

"Ah, pride," I tut, leaning in conspiratorially. "A tricky thing to find once lost. But if I happen to stumble over yours rolling around, I'll be sure to scoop it up and return it to its rightful owner." I give him a playful wink, unable to keep from flirting. Even banged up, he's cute as hell.

NOAH'S POV

As I hop over the boards and back onto the ice, my legs feel a little shaky. I skate slowly back to position,  my head still spinning. Man, her smile just melts me every time. So sly and sexy. And that hair... She's such a little fox. I can't stop thinking about her. I've got it bad for this girl. Focus, dude! Gotta keep my head in the game. The way her black and red scrubs hug those round curves of hers. Alright, deep breaths. Back to the action. 

I'm back defending our goal after that goon got himself tossed for busting my lip. The blood's dripping down my chin but I've got no time to worry about that. We're up 4-2 with the clock winding down. Karlsson and me, we go together like peanut butter and jelly defending our net. A winger tries to blow past me but I plant him into the boards. I knock the puck loose and pass it off to Karlsson but their center snags it. I shake off the winger clinging to me and slide across the crease to rob the center's shot. I scoop up the puck and send it flying down the ice. I'm throwing hits left and right, keeping their forwards outside our zone. The final horn blares and we've done it again - chalk up another W. My jersey's soaked with sweat but the pain doesn't matter.

I'm beat as we drag our battered bodies back to the locker room. My muscles are screamin' under these pads after the torture session on the ice. That bone-crunchin' check into the boards left my shoulder throbbing with a deep bruise. I grunt and roll my arm, trying to shake out the pain.

The locker room erupts when we stumble in. The boys are hootin' and hollerin', dancing around half-naked and drenched in sweat. I toss my stick and lid in my stall and collapse on the bench, rip off my gloves and gingerly touch my busted lip. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth as I wince. 

I peel off my jersey, wincing as the sweaty fabric sticks to my skin. The pads come next, and I sigh in relief as my shoulders are freed from their restrictive embrace. The locker room falls silent as all eyes turn to me. I run a hand through my damp hair, pushing it back from my forehead.

As I sit on the bench, spent from the game, a shadow falls over me. I glance up to see Little Fox standing there, ice pack in hand, trademark smirk on her lips. She holds out the bag, ice cracking inside, and I take it slowly, letting my fingers brush hers. Her eyes trace over my bare chest and I see her throat tighten as she swallows hard. She wants me. My teammates watch us, eager for the show.

I stand tall in front of her, watching those dark eyes go wide. Her lips part slightly as she takes me in. "F-for your face," she stammers, pressing the ice into my hands before slipping away, a new bounce in her step. I grin as she goes. 

Game on, Little Fox.

We roll into Sully's still riding high after crushing Washington 4-zip on the ice tonight. 

That game was a brawl, I'm still aching all over. But hey, at least my mug is still pretty this time. The split lip from the last match is finally scabbing up enough that I can wolf down a burger without wincing. The shiner's faded and I clean up alright for a night out. The boys and I threw on our nicest threads, my black slacks and a soft navy shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off the ink running up my arms.

The second I open the door, this total dive hits me with that sweet stench of stale beer and chicken wings. Road signs and hilarious bar quotes plaster the walls from floor to ceiling. Three monster TVs behind the bar blast sports on full volume - college ball, NFL, and of course our boys lighting up the NHL highlights.

With the game pumping through the speakers and the home team plastered on every screen, Sully's is our scene tonight. Loud, messy, no pretensions - just how we like it after a big win.

We snag the biggest table in the joint and start pounding 'em back, one after another. The energy is through the roof thanks to that W. Jolly's already facedown in his third pint, trying to sweet talk the waitress in his sloppy Swedish. The swedish isn’t working but the way he is batting his eyes at her and has her laughing tells me she is into him. 

Sanchez is working his magic on a couple hockey bunnies in the corner, likely wanting to take both of them back to the hotel with him. Meanwhile, Nick and Andy are talking trash and seeing who can balance more empty bottles on their domes. As for me? I'm just taking it all in, boys - the brews, the brotherhood, that sweet taste of victory. 

"Check it out, McClain," Nick says, words running together as he balances a third bottle on his head, swaying to keep it steady. "It's all about that balance, bro."

Andy scoffs, clutching his six shot glasses in one hand and snatching one of Nick's to perch on his middle finger. "Balance? I'll show you balance, you little punk," he slurs back. 

The dim lights of this hole-in-the-wall bar make it tough to see much of anything. Shadows dance across dark wood as my eyes adjust. The dance floor packed tight with bodies grinding up against each other to the pulsing beat. Through the mass of writhing shapes, I catch a glimpse of foxtail curls swaying in time with the music. She's gorgeous, sipping a cocktail through a black straw, full lips wrapped around it. Hips swaying hypnotically in that little red dress that hugs every curve. She laughs, head thrown back in delight, and her friend with the messy bun joins in. 

I'm transfixed as I watch her move across the dance floor. The sway of her hips and bounce of her curls has me hypnotized. I down my drink in one gulp, no longer interested in anything else tonight. Pushing through the crowded club, I keep my eyes locked on her - my prize. A few eager ladies try to divert my attention but I'm relentless, driven by desire. I have to feel her body against mine.

Finally reaching her, I slide my hand across the curve of her hip, fingertips digging into the silky fabric of her dress. Pulling her into me, I bring my lips to her ear and growl, "Dance with me, beautiful." 

The bass is pulsing through my body as I sway my hips to the beat. Me and my bestie Marissa hit up Sully's after the Kraken game for some much needed drinks and dancing. She looks bangin' in her tight black dress, fending off guys left and right. "Not worth your time, honey!" she says with a flip of her hair.

I laugh but I'm feeling that itch, you know? It's been too damn long since I've felt those hands on me, those lips on my neck. I wore this sexy red number hoping to lure in a hookup, but with Marissa running cockblock patrol, doesn't look like that's happening tonight.

Then, I feel it. Strong hands grasp my hips from behind and pull me back against a hard chest. Mmm I can't help but melt into him as we sway together. Now this is exactly what I needed after that hockey game. Looks like Marissa can't stop me from having a little fun tonight after all.

"Dance with me, beautiful," he murmurs, his voice low and sultry against my ear. I feel the rumble of it through his chest pressed against my back, sending a shiver down my spine. His hands slide around my waist, pulling me closer as we sway to the music. I'm intoxicated by his presence, melting into his embrace. Our bodies move as one, passion smoldering between us. His breath hot on my neck, his touch electric. This dance is full of promise, an invitation to something more.

I'm swaying to the beat, drink in hand, when Marissa leans in close so I can hear her over the pounding music. "I want details," she says, planting a kiss on my cheek and taking the drink from my hand before disappearing into the crowd.

I close my eyes again, letting this mystery man's hands roam as we move together. When I finally open them, I do a double take - it's Noah! Those intense brown eyes boring into mine with that look of determination he gets on the ice.

His strong hands grip my hips, pulling me flush against him. I know I shouldn’t give in, but the heat radiating from his body thaws my resolve. If Daddy found out his little girl was messing around with a player, he’d blow his whistle for sure. Not that his rules have ever stopped me before. That goalie with the dreamy eyes almost made me forget curfew back in high school. But getting caught now might mean so much more than grounded from prom. Still, a girl’s got needs. And this player’s touch tells me he knows exactly how to satisfy them. 

"What's the matter, little fox?" His words are a sensual purr that makes my knees weak. The heady scent of beer, whiskey and woodsy cologne intoxicates me. I'm helpless against him, my body craving his touch despite the risk. My breath catches as his lips graze my neck.

[ladycharles]

Umm this is a gender war deep cut but I was on Wikipedia looking at old, rejected studies about Gender and went down a rabbit hole that led me to this:

This guy was a respected figure in psychology but has no real expertise on trans issues or gender dysphoria. Now he constantly makes himself available as an "expert" witness to Republicans and right wing governments to support anti trans laws.

And it turns out he is banned on wikipedia for using sock puppets to try to push his views in gender related pages 😅

Imagine being respected for your neurological studies on pdffiles, having a teaching position at the top university in your country, featuring in the media and successful documentaries...

And being so terminally online that had to write a failed ban appeal insisting it wasn't your sockpuppet accounts, just a close friend who talks the same...

Scratch a transphobe and no one bleeds bcause they're terminally online.

[darkmaga-returns]

Five Frontline Canaries Who Fought for Lives, Truth, and Medical Freedom

In the gripping series Canary in a Covid World, five extraordinary doctors emerge as heroes who stood on the frontlines during the pandemic, saving lives and advocating for truth when it was most needed. Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. George Fareed, Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, Dr. Pierre Kory, and Dr. Paul Marik represent the courage, expertise, and unwavering dedication that define the true spirit of medicine. Their stories, featured across Canary in a Covid World: How Censorship and Propaganda Changed Our (My) World (Vol. 1) and newly released Vol. 2 Canary in a (Post) Covid World: Money, Fear, and Power, illuminate the power of early treatment and the failures of institutionalized health policy.

Dr. Peter McCullough

Featured in Chapter 15 of Vol. 1 and Chapter 14 of Vol. 2, Dr. McCullough, a leading cardiologist and epidemiologist, spearheaded the development of the first outpatient treatment protocol for COVID-19, drastically reducing hospitalizations and fatalities. He worked tirelessly to bring proactive, patient-centered care into focus, even as health authorities actively suppressed his methods.

In Volume 2, Dr. McCullough delves deeper into the rise of vaccine-related injuries, exposing alarming trends such as myocarditis, blood clots, and neurological damage linked to COVID-19 vaccines. He joins a growing group of medical experts calling for the immediate suspension of mass vaccination programs. Additionally, his work on vaccine detox protocols, which includes dietary changes, supplements, and therapeutic interventions, offers hope to those suffering from long-term side effects. His chapters are both a searing indictment of institutional failures and a roadmap for ethical medicine.

[pandemic-info]

At Yale’s Long COVID Clinic, Lisa Sanders Is Trying It All

excerpts:

Since the beginning of the pandemic, she — together with colleagues in the pulmonary and neurology departments — had been seeing long-COVID patients at Yale but often in an ad hoc way. Some of the doctors had become so flooded with people seeking help that they were having difficulty scheduling and treating their regular patients who came to them for everything else ...

Long-COVID patients, generally speaking, have been very miserable for a very long time, and because the illness attacks their brains, their hearts, their lungs, their guts, their joints — sometimes simultaneously, sometimes intermittently, and sometimes in a chain reaction — they bounce from specialist to specialist, none of whom has the bandwidth to hear their whole frustrating ordeal together with the expertise to address all of their complaints: the nonspecific pain, the perpetual exhaustion, the bewildering test results, the one-off treatments. “These are people who have not been able to tell their story to anybody but their spouse and their mom — for years sometimes,” Sanders tells me. “And they are, in some ways, every doctor’s worst nightmare.”

...

Long COVID has been pushing the limits of hospital systems everywhere, not just at Yale. As Americans emerged from the most acute phase of the pandemic, as mask and vaccine mandates lifted and life returned to a semblance of normal for the people who had contracted COVID and recovered, primary-care physicians started to say, “‘I’m not interested in long COVID,’ or ‘I don’t treat long COVID. Let me refer you to a specialist,’” said David Putrino, who runs the new chronic-illness recovery clinic at Mount Sinai. For their part, Putrino added, the specialists were saying, “This is not what my practice is. This is not an emergency anymore.” Patients all over the country reported monthslong waiting times for appointments at long-COVID clinics. All the while, scientists and pundits heaped skepticism on the very notion of long COVID, arguing that infection made people stronger, that new variants posed no threats, that the danger of long COVID was overblown — implying that what patients were suffering from was all in their heads.

Forgotten in this debate are the 65 million people worldwide for whom the pandemic remains a torturous everyday reality.

...

In the late 1990s, patients with a galaxy of unexplained chronic symptoms — including fatigue, sore throat, joint pain, insomnia, dizziness, brain fog, and depression — began to gather into activist and identity groups, calling themselves sufferers of “chronic Lyme.” They had something, they argued, related to a previous infection from the bite of a deer tick, but their doctors were dismissing them as whiners and neurotics. This was in an era when the medical Establishment was rolling its collective eyes at patients who were querying whether diagnoses of “chronic fatigue syndrome” or “fibromyalgia” might fit their symptoms — ones that looked very much like those linked to chronic Lyme.

Sanders joined the chorus of debunkers. These patients had real symptoms and real ailments, she asserted in Every Patient Tells a Story. But the collection of symptoms was “hopelessly broad and overinclusive,” she wrote. “These are some of the most common symptoms of patients presenting to a primary care office.” She concluded that chronic Lyme was a “phantom diagnosis.” 

“I completely regret that chapter,” she says now. “I would like to rewrite it.” Sanders explains that she was reacting to the doctors who were preying on suffering people by prescribing interminable courses of antibiotics that were not helping them: “But I completely misunderstood it. The patients were making the connection between their symptoms and Lyme disease.”

...

“We’re not paying enough attention,” she said. “We’re not. Doctors are still dismissing this disease as something that’s in your head. I have seen the exchanges on Twitter: ‘Long COVID is exaggerated, not real.’” Women are diagnosed with long COVID at roughly twice the rate of men, Iwasaki pointed out: “I think if the situation was reversed, we’d pay even more attention to this disease.” - Akiko Iwasaki, immunologist at Yale [also known for her work nasal vaccine & long covid research]

...

But even Sanders was not prepared for how little doctors and scientists know about long COVID. There is no blood test. Health officials can’t even agree on how to define it. The CDC describes long COVID as “signs, symptoms, and conditions that continue or develop after acute COVID-19 infection” — or, in Sanders’s paraphrase, “You got COVID and then something bad happened.” Under the CDC definition, patients have long COVID if they are symptomatic at least four weeks after initial infection. The WHO defines it similarly but with a different time frame: occurring or lasting at least three months after initial infection. This discrepancy matters to Sanders because, as much as possible, she wants to identify patients who have long COVID and not those who may take a little longer to recover from their original illness. In her clinic, she uses the WHO definition.

...

Sanders, more than ever before, is dependent on the patient’s account — on detailed specifics — to establish her diagnosis. It’s a process of elimination and deduction. So she has “learned just to shut the fuck up and listen.”

[justforbooks]

The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks

These posthumously published essays range from psychiatry to plagiarism to near-death experiences

One March in the mid 1990s I checked into a hotel in Helsinki. I dropped my bag on the floor and, wondering what Finnish daytime television was like, switched on the TV. A darkened room with a dining table came into focus, and around it were six people having a conversation. To my surprise, all were speaking English, then a face I knew filled the screen – it was Oliver Sacks. Then another, Stephen Jay Gould, and another, Daniel Dennett. I had books by all three. It was snowing outside, and Helsinki seemed suddenly less inviting; I sat down on the bed and began to watch.

A Dutch TV company had assembled these men, together with Freeman Dyson, Stephen Toulmin and Rupert Sheldrake, for the round-table finale of a documentary series on science and the meaning of life. The series, A Glorious Accident, didn’t seem to have invited any women to take part but even so I watched it to the end – three hours later. The participants’ areas of expertise were diverse: biology, physics, palaeontology, neuroscience, philosophy. As the only practising clinician, Sacks made perceptive and valuable contributions – and was clearly having fun.

Sacks died nine years ago in August 30, 2015. A melanoma of the eye, diagnosed nine years earlier, had recurred and metastasised to his liver. The New York Times had referred to Sacks as the “poet laureate of medicine”, and carried an obituary that said that neurological conditions were for him occasions “for eloquent meditations on consciousness and the human condition”. In his last year he put the finishing touches to a memoir (On the Move), and completed some final magazine essays collected soon after his death (Gratitude). In one of his last newspaper pieces he wrote: “I have several other books nearly finished.” We might expect further posthumous essay collections to be on the way.

Millions of Sacks’s books have been printed around the world, and he once spoke of receiving 200 letters a week from admirers. For those thousands of correspondents, The River of Consciousness will feel like a reprieve – we get to spend time again with Sacks the botanist, the historian of science, the marine biologist and, of course, the neurologist. There are 10 essays here, the majority published previously in the New York Review of Books (the collection is dedicated to its late editor Robert Silvers). Their subject matter reflects the agility of Sacks’s enthusiasms, moving from forgetting and neglect in science to Freud’s early work on the neuroanatomy of fish; from the mental lives of plants and invertebrates to the malleability of our perception of speed.

The essay on speed has some characteristic flourishes: of Parkinson’s disease, Sacks writes that “being in a slowed state is like being stuck in a vat of peanut butter, while being in an accelerated state is like being on ice”. He is as good on near-death experiences: “There is an intense sense of immediacy and reality, and a dramatic acceleration of thought and perception and reaction.” Sacks has a Jain-like reverence for insects, and delights in comparative neuroanatomical facts: an octopus may have six times more neurons than a mouse; many plants possess nervous systems that move at a thousandth the speed of our own.

Plagiarism troubled Sacks, and an essay on memory dovetails with one on creativity, examining how someone can copy another’s work through unconscious repatternings of memory. “Memory arises not only from experience,” he concludes, “but from the intercourse of many minds.” He quotes the letters between Mark Twain and Helen Keller on plagiarism, and his own correspondence with Harold Pinter (whose play A Kind of Alaska was inspired by Sacks’s Awakenings). Most of his books are mentioned in passing, and the chosen essays stand as a kind of testament or gazetteer to their range. Reading them, I was reminded of something Annie Dillard said about the essay form: “The essay is, and has been, all over the map. There’s nothing you cannot do with it; no subject matter is forbidden, no structure is proscribed.”

Some of the slighter pieces here suffer from being placed between more substantial work, and in one, only one, Sacks’s argument loses coherence. But even then I was conscious of the great premium he placed on flights of ideas: “If the stream of thought is too fast, it may lose itself, break into a torrent of superficial distractions and tangents, dissolve into a brilliant incoherence, a phantasmagoric, almost dreamlike delirium.”

Sacks was deliriously in love with details – to the irritation of his editors – and he crammed his books with them. When the text couldn’t take any more, he spilled them over to the bottom of the page. It’s in the footnotes that his treasures are often to be found: in a two-page footnote to his essay “Scotoma: Forgetting and Neglect in Science”, Sacks outlines how urgent is the need for reconciliation between psychiatry and neurology, divided now for nearly a century. A “scotoma” is a blind spot in the vision, an area of darkness conjured by irregularities in brain or retinal function:

If one looks at the charts of patients institutionalized in asylums and state hospitals in the 1920s and 1930s, one finds extremely detailed clinical and phenomenological observations, often embedded in narratives of an almost novelistic richness and density ... this richness and detail and phenomenological openness have disappeared, and one finds instead meagre notes that give no real picture of the patient or his world.

Through the course of the 20th century, the US Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (a book conceived to facilitate health insurance billing) has, Sacks insists, impoverished clinical language. “Present-day psychiatric charts in hospitals are almost completely devoid of the depth and density of information one finds in the older charts, and will be of little use in helping us to bring about the synthesis of neuroscience with psychiatric knowledge that we so need.” Earlier in the book he singled out one of the defining moments of that schism, when in 1893 Freud gave up looking for elements of brain pathology that might be relevant to mental health: “The lesion in hysterical paralyses must be completely independent of the nervous system,” Freud wrote, “since in its paralyses and other manifestations hysteria behaves as though anatomy did not exist or as though it had no knowledge of it.”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[manekijinx]

Three more Hi-Fi Rush OCs from a personal project of mine! Introducing Mikan, Paprika, and Dr. Camembert.

More info on these guys below!

Just a bit of lore! These guys are connected to the OCs I posted over here.

Mikan is Yuzu's younger sister! She's 19 and the lead singer/bassist of her indie rock band, Harmonia Rocket (ハルモニアロケト). They had started off with a pretty small following but have had a big boom in popularity in recent years. Yuzu used to play drums for the band before their current drummer joined. ✨

Paprika is Vandelay Security's top unit with prodigy level skill in combat and leadership. She's been recognized by Korsica as her most efficient and competent guard and is often tasked with the jobs that require an expert's attention. She volunteered for Project Armstrong to replace a paralyzed leg and is now capable of the gymnastic level athleticism she formerly was in highschool. She and Cayenne volunteered for the project without knowing the other had, making for a very awkward reunion after years of not seeing one another.

Dr. Camembert is one of Vandelay's most brilliant minds. He assists in conducting studies involving robotic implants and neurological technology. However, despite his expertise, he's often kept in his lane by Roxanne Vandelay due to his bizarre interest in the removal of human necessities for the body in favor of achieving "peak efficiency". He was kept under Macaron's watch for most of his time working at Vandelay Technologies, but was left with a bit more leeway when Kale took over the company and replaced Macaron with Zanzo. Nowadays, with Roxanne back at the helm, he's once again kept in check, but now has a body much more cybernetic than she last saw him.

[centreforbrainandspine1]

Know difference between Neurologist and Neurosurgeon in Delhi

It’s essential for you to know the difference between a neurologist and a neurosurgeon when dealing with medical disorders involving the central nervous system. They both deal with problems that affect the brain and spinal cord which perform most functions of the body. However, their roles differ: a neurologist diagnoses and treats neurological diseases using medicines without surgery and operations while a neurosurgeon in Delhi carries out the surgery to deal with brain and spinal cord disorders.

What is a Neurologist?

Neurologists treat brain and nervous system conditions. They diagnose and treat them using non-invasive approaches. They are the first expert someone visits if they are facing brain or spinal cord issues. Neurologists can treat several conditions, including

Neurological disorders: epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and forms of dementia.

Neuromuscular disorders: Muscular dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, peripheral neuropathy and other diseases.

Headaches and migraines: Management of terminal and chronic stages.

Stroke: Eliminating both ischemic (clot-promoting) and hemorrhagic (bleeding-causing) kinds.  

Movement disorders: Tremor, dystonia and restless leg syndrome.

Seizure disorders: These include epilepsy and several other types of seizures.

Neurodevelopment disorders: These include autism and Attention-Deficit — Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  

Neurological injuries: These refer to traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury.

Neurologists use a variety of diagnostic tests and methods. Some of these diagnostic tests are MRI, CT scans, EEGs, EMGs, regular neurological exams, and nerve conduction studies. They work with other physicians and specialists to ensure the best care for neurological condition. Read more

[skaldish]

sorry for the incovinience, but I read this, and as neurodivergent medical student I'm very curious. Do you have any resources or recommend (websites,books,etc) about neurodiversity from a neurology,psychiatry pov? (especially from a neurodivergent health professional or science expert) Because it so hard to found those (mainly bc the missinformation and ableism), most books in my college's library are not updated :(.

not to mention some doctors have said some wild ableist shit (and even some medical students) :(

I don't have much, but I have directions I can point you towards. (I need to update it, but any sources I do find generally go on my brain blog @prefrontal-bastard.)

First, I highly reccomend the Neuroclastic website for autistic perspectives. This website is by and for autistic folks and features a multitude of people with different expertise and backgrounds, including scientists. I imagine any pertinent developments in our understanding of neurodiversity would probably appear on that website.

I also know the AIR Network Model's website has scientific articles on trauma and dissociation, so I recommend looking into them too.

I'd also look into the MNRI PTSD Recovery Protocol by Svetlana Masgutova, Ph.D. I'm not sure if she's neurodivergent herself, but I would hardly be surprised if she is.

I recommend this because the studies behind her protocol reveal some extremely telling things about neurodiversity and its relationship with trauma. I have one of her books and it goes into the entire neuroscience and testing behind it, but unfortunately copyright laws means I can't, like...share the charts. This approach seems to be the direction the science is taking us on regarding neurodiversity though, so it might be the "in" you're looking for in terms of a non-ableist medical framework.

(The breakdown though, because this shit's fascinating:

Traumatic stressors can cause our nervous systems to blow like overloaded circuits. This causes our primitive reflexes [patterns of movements that reflect the core operating system of mindbody interface] to re-emerge, or to fail to integrate if the trauma was during babyhood.

Evidently, retaining 35% or more of the known reflex patterns produces the symptoms associated with things like sensory processing disorder, autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, anxiety, or emotional dysregulation. It even contributes to depression and dyslexia.

Dysregulated reflexes can impact damn near anything: cognition, attention, coordination, disposition, emotional reactions, visual /auditory / spacial perception, pain perception and threshold, body growth, mood, and even the function of our digestive and immune systems.

From what I understand, certain primitive reflexes correlate with certain disorders. Apparently the Startle Reflex / Fear Paralysis Reflex and Moro Reflex are highly correlated with Autism diagnosis. Other reflexes potentially contribute to it since this is not a "rigid categories" thing, but those are the two her book is citing in particular here.

You can actually re-integrate these reflexes with exercises, which initially thought was fucking bogus until I tried it and suddenly could perceive and conceptualize things I didn't realize I couldn't before, as well as perceive parts of my body I didn't realize I couldn't perceive before [like my spine].

You can actually find integration exercises on youtube. It's an Occupational Therapy thing, but since it's new and emerging it's not something the average OT knows how to do yet, I'm afraid.

Also, important note: Some reflexes take longer to integrate, others don't. They might have to be integrated in a certain sequence depending on which ones are retained, but I'm not sure what all the sequences are.

Rule of thumb for anyone reading this: If the internal experience of "being you" sucks ass in any way, check your primitive reflexes. It ain't a curse and it ain't the devil, you might just need recalibrating.)

Hope this helps!

[thebibliosphere]

I’m rereading your bvd/cci/eds/migraine posts with interest, bc I’m coming at it from the other direction—cervical spine degeneration and my body’s compensation attempts being the cause of the vision and other neurological symptoms, where you seem to experience that compensating for the vision problems exacerbates the issues with your spine.

Did you end up trying the preemptive bracing, since you found that monthly hormone changes caused eds flareups and migraines? What kind of brace, if you don’t mind saying?

And do you find that chiropractic adjustments help or hurt more than massage?

Not asking you for medical expertise, but it is so nice to hear from people who are speaking from the lived experience.

Thank you!

.

I haven’t tried bracing my neck yet, no. I doubled down on cervical stability exercises in PT and that seems to be helping a bit more. (Though I am still on the lookout for a brace that doesn’t break me out in hives.)

And no, chiropractic adjustments of the neck are never recommended for anyone, but especially not for anyone with cervical instability issues. I found this out after a neck adjustment tore all the muscles in my neck and required me to have an MRI to look for a possible brain bleed after I started developing neurological symptoms from the injury. I was bedridden for weeks.

This was not a “bad” or wrongly performed adjustment: it’s just the risk of having your neck adjusted.

It’s been 5 years and I still don’t have full stability on the right side of my neck and often get tingling numbness on that side.

The spinal specialist I saw for my recovery told me he used to primarily see people with brain injuries from car crashes and construction accidents. Now most of his primary patients are people who saw chiropractors and had their necks adjusted.

I still sometimes see a chiropractor for mid and lower back adjustments, and my hips because those pop out of place fairly often and my chiro is better at getting them back in than the local urgent care, but my person uses gentle stretching motions rather than the more abrupt cracking motions. She also refuses to touch anyone’s neck ever. There are far too many vital nerves and blood vessels there to risk it. The fact that she knows this makes me feel safe entrusting my pain management to her.

Massage and physical therapy are how I manage my issues the best.

Mysofascial release therapy has been very helpful for me in reclaiming a lot of my range of motion, breaking up muscle adhesions and building healthy soft tissue. There’s some new-agey bullshit claims about it, but if you find someone who knows how to do it and who doesn’t believe the “cures cancer” horseshit (claims some chiropractors also make) it can be beneficial.

The real long term progress, however, has been from regular physical therapy from providers who know how to deal with my hypermobility.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

Ireland specific slant, but Dr. Loscher has some really excellent and eloquent discussion of what long covid is and why it's an existential threat to both people and health systems.

By Michael McHale

A recent scientific paper has highlighted the global effects of long Covid on healthcare systems and wider society, writes Michael McHale

The figures are stark. A condition that affects around 400 million people worldwide. An estimated annual global economic impact of $1 trillion. More than four years on from the onset of the pandemic, a full picture of the impact of long Covid is beginning to emerge.

While getting a grasp on the number in Ireland affected by the condition has been a challenge, what we do know is that its effects on patients are broad and varied.

Symptoms range from neurological dysfunction to gastro-intestinal issues, from cardiovascular health to endocrine and reproductive impacts.

Globally, a recent paper in the journal Nature Medicine assessed the impact of long Covid on wider society. It found that the illness strains health systems and national economies, and threatens progress on health initiatives like the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Professor of Immunology at Dublin City University Christine Loscher believes that, while we’re beginning to see the full range of impacts which long Covid has on the human body, questions remain over how patients will fare into the future.

“What it (long Covid) can affect, we probably have a fairly full picture,” she said. “How that’s going to continue to affect people over time, and whether these things will resolve over time, is probably the thing that we still don’t know.”

The reality of how long Covid is impacting healthcare now is beginning to hit Irish health officials. In June, the Government decided to extend a sick leave scheme for health staff affected by the condition for a further 12 months.

It is thought that around 120 frontline HSE workers are still unable to return to their jobs due to suffering ongoing symptoms of long Covid.

Six public long Covid clinics have also been set up around the country – three in Dublin, and one each in Galway, Limerick and Cork. Most operate one day per week.

However, patients have experienced delays of several months in being seen, with the group Long Covid Advocacy Ireland (LCAI) recently telling the Oireachtas Committee on Health that patients have been left disappointed by the care they received. LCAI estimates that around 350,000 people in Ireland have the condition.

“I think we can definitely do more. The biggest issue around long Covid is that a huge number of people present with a number of different issues,” said Prof Loscher.

“Our health service doesn’t do well on the multidisciplinary front. We need clinics that have a very broad set of clinicians so that people can go to a clinic and have access to an immunologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist. That’s probably where we struggle a bit.

“Hospitals pull multidisciplinary teams together to talk about particular patients when there’s lots of issues going on with the same person. But it’s having a clinic where they’re set up to do that as the norm, rather than doing that for patients when they require it,” she added.

“The idea of setting up long Covid clinics is that people have access to different expertise, but I don’t know if we’re doing that on the scale that is required.” The Nature Medicine paper ‘Long Covid science, research and policy’ argues that a coordinated global research and policy response strategy is required to address the challenges posed by the condition.

In Ireland, DCU’s Covid-19 Research and Innovation Hub was established in 2020 to bring together a number of projects investigating the pandemic’s impact on healthcare, technology, the economy and society.

An international review of the epidemiology of long Covid was conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) last year. It drew from 51 primary research projects but was unable to find any studies on the prevalence of long Covid in Ireland.

The HIQA review advised that the health service should resource multidisciplinary services for long Covid patients, and provide additional resources for existing services, ‘given the additional burden associated with the management of those experiencing an exacerbation of their pre-existing condition and or new-onset conditions’.

[thelongestway]

Ahem. Well. This is certainly a different tempo and a different everything. This is one of the greatest antfuckers I have ever written (antfucker as in mierenneuker: someone who is meticulous to a fault). And I have written, let's say, a few. So there is quite a lot of recap here, but also quite a bit of worldbuilding.

And I still haven't the faintest fucking idea if this is a chapter thing or an intermezzo thing or whatever. I suppose we'll see by chapter 3 or chapter 4, like last time.

Chapter 2

Of all the route checkpoints on this Friend's lists, Preservation Alliance stood as one that had one of the lowest probabilities for the necessity of a violent extraction. That had been why this Friend and its partners funneled refugees through it. Even if they had been discovered, the chances that they would be harmed were distinctly low. And now this Dandelion was telling it she had to conduct a violent extraction. Of this Friend.

What about the refugees?

They are safe aboard Preservation Station. They have been given the appropriate medical treatment and the legal protections Preservation grants refugees. They have, in fact, contacted Preservation Station security with a request to be able to thank the Friend for its assistance in person once it regained consciousness, but due to the current situation, security is taking some time to process this request.

Violent extraction. Of this Friend, and this Friend alone. This Friend's mind looped around the idea, unable to parse it. If this Dandelion was a corporate bounty hunter, she would have kept this Friend in medical stasis until handing it over to BreharWallHan or any number of similar polities. If Preservation Station had been compromised by BreharWallHan and the Trellian ship were allies, they would not have extracted this Friend alone. And if Preservation Station remained the same place it had always been, there would have been no need for a violent extraction.

Dandelion Tenacious did not seem to be concealing the truth. There was simply a piece missing.

This Friend would appreciate a complete explanation of the situation.

The Friend arrived at Preservation Station two days before we did. It was damaged significantly.

Dandelion tapped this Friend for permission to send it files, and it granted them. She waited patiently as it read. The damage report had been consistent with prior expectations. The reason this Friend still lived was that Shena, the refugee leader, had risked the only chance they had to repel potential borders. Ke retrieved this Friend and put it back into its power armor, and then ran the life support routines, explicitly against instructions. This Friend felt a surge of irritation. The refugees had only remained unboarded by sheer luck, and this was how they spent their scant resources?..

The ship continued, Once aboard the Station, it was given medical treatment. It was at this time that the Friend's Preservation doctor, one Dr. Mrinal, noticed its Lyson modifications.

This Dandelion knew too much by far. Was she from some lost colony world where the Friends were still thriving? Suddenly, the question of which Javelin exactly their colony had come from was no longer irrelevant. Still, there was much more she could tell this Friend before it became prudent to start prying, so it waited.

To Dr. Mrinal's credit, they did not simply attempt to restore the Friend's lost neural matter. They had never seen a Lyson project before and believed it to be some sort of corporate mind control, and so feared that they would harm the Friend. Dr. Mrinal called in a local biologist with particular neurological expertise to provide a second opinion. It was precisely during this delay that I had chanced to survey the medical suite where the Friend was recuperating, as Trellin had been in the middle of negotiations with the Alliance for certain forms of medical technology.

A puzzle piece clicked into place. This was consistent with the state of Dandelion's own med bay. But gratifying as the solution was, this Friend set it aside, distracted by a mix of worry and fascination as the ship spoke and its emotions filtered through into this Friend's augments. The fear was prominent now, magnified as it was being recalled; the guilt rising with a slight delay behind it. Dandelion was not hiding these feelings from the Friend, but neither did she scream them at it, the way people occasionally did when they lost control. But she was just too big. It was like this Friend had stepped into an ocean that had a voice, and the emotion carried upon its languid, heavy fluid; something unlike any of the robots or constructs this Friend had interfaced with before.

I overheard the doctors' discussion and had my suspicions, Dandelion said, her waves rising and falling, deep and controlled, determination and resignation singing louder and louder. I offered them help, and they took it. I saw that the patient in front of me was a Public Universal Friend. I attempted to explain the augmentations were voluntary. They did not listen. They concluded that they would reverse the Lyson procedure.

Query, Dandelion.

Yes?

The brain surgery required is costly. Who was to be paying for this?

This is Preservation Station, Friend, admiration and sadness shone through like sun rays on the water. The Friend had risked its life to save people for years and years. In their eyes, giving it the best of medical care was the least they could do to repay it.

This Friend needs a moment.

Dandelion waited patiently as this Friend recalibrated. Most places in the Rim had neither the requisite knowledge nor hardware; and those that did, did not use them on behalf of creditless security guards; and in the scant few cases where these someone did have a vested interest in doing so, still no one who would initiate such a procedure unless they were perfectly aware of who would be footing the bill--that is, unless either the patient themself was awake and provided valid documentation, or their allies did. Unless one were truly unlucky and became someone's laboratory rat, of course, but that was not so common a risk.

This Friend had not even considered that someone who had admired its work would try to heal it. Amateur mistake. It would not happen again.

Please, continue.

Dandelion sent another request for permission, and this Friend granted it. This time, it was activity logs. This Friend checked for falsification; the ship--strange, breathing thing as it was--waited.

The logs were clean. And yet they beggared belief.

This Friend disconnected from the ship, who released it with no trouble. It needed to think, and think alone.

"The Friend must have many questions." Dandelion said, quietly. "I will be here to provide additional data as necessary. But for now, I must inform it that Captain Reed has finished kes talks with the Preservation Leadership, and has requested that the Friend sees kem as soon as possible."

This Friend felt a jolt of irrational suspicion. Historically, it did not have the best of luck with brennan commanders. But there was information to be gathered and a trap to be set.

"Show this Friend the way."