Chiropractic for Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery in El paso

 Car accidents remain the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in El Paso and across the nation. The sudden force of a collision can shake the brain violently inside the skull, producing microscopic injuries that affect cognition, balance, and emotion. While emergency medicine addresses the immediate trauma, long-term recovery often requires specialized neurological and structural care.

At Synergy Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander I. Jimenez, D.C. leads an integrative approach that helps the injured brain and spine heal together. Our model blends advanced chiropractic adjustments, spinal decompression therapy, flexion-distraction, and Graston / Gua Sha soft-tissue therapy with evidence-based neurorehabilitation techniques to restore normal brain–body communication.

If you’ve experienced headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, or cognitive fog after a collision, your brain may still be healing from a hidden injury. Call 915-219-4477 or schedule your appointment today to begin your recovery with El Paso’s trusted personal-injury chiropractic team.

When the head snaps forward and backward, the brain shifts within the cranial vault. This movement stretches and sometimes tears axons—the long fibers that carry nerve signals. Even without loss of consciousness, these diffuse axonal injuries can disrupt neural pathways responsible for attention, balance, and emotional regulation.

Chiropractic and neurologic rehabilitation focus on restoring homeostasis across the cervical spine, brainstem, and vestibular system—the three key regions disturbed during impact. Correcting misalignments in the upper cervical spine improves blood flow through the vertebral arteries, reduces intracranial pressure, and optimizes neural signaling between the brain and body.

Modern neuroscience has identified measurable biomarkers that reveal the depth of cellular damage after head trauma. At Synergy Chiropractic, Dr. Jimenez collaborates with neurologists who utilize these laboratory markers to clarify diagnosis and guide co-management.

GFAP is released from astrocytes when the brain’s support cells are injured. Elevated GFAP indicates glial disruption and blood–brain barrier compromise, distinguishing moderate and severe TBI from mild cases (Papa et al., 2016).

This neuron-specific enzyme rises within hours of trauma and reflects axonal injury. Elevated UCH-L1 paired with GFAP confirms combined neuronal and glial involvement (Bazarian et al., 2018).

A calcium-binding protein produced by astrocytes; sustained elevation correlates with prolonged neuroinflammation and poor recovery trajectories (Thelin et al., 2017).

NSE signals metabolic stress and neuronal death. Monitoring levels helps evaluate ongoing neuronal loss during rehabilitation (Lomas et al., 2021).

Structural damage to microtubules releases tau, a hallmark of long-term neurodegenerative risk when post-traumatic accumulation occurs.

NfL reflects axonal injury severity and is now used in research to predict chronic symptoms following mild-to-moderate TBI (Kuhle et al., 2019).

Together, these biomarkers allow our collaborating neurologists to measure both acute damage and ongoing repair. Integrating laboratory data with structural evaluation ensures that every TBI case receives an objective, individualized care plan.

Misalignment of the atlas (C1) and axis (C2) can impede vertebral-artery flow and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage. Gentle, image-guided adjustments restore alignment, improving blood delivery and oxygen exchange to the brainstem and cerebellum (Haldeman et al., 2020).

Concussion distorts sensory feedback from neck mechanoreceptors, confusing the brain’s perception of position. Correcting joint motion re-establishes accurate proprioceptive input, reducing dizziness and imbalance (Sterling et al., 2016).

Post-TBI patients often suffer from dysautonomia—fluctuating heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure. Spinal adjustments stimulate vagal pathways that normalize parasympathetic activity, restoring physiologic balance.

Every chiropractic correction activates mechanosensory neurons that project to the cerebellum and cortex, promoting neuroplasticity and faster reorganization of damaged circuits (Haavik & Murphy, 2012).

Spinal decompression relieves tension in the cervical and thoracic spine, enhancing CSF flow and oxygenation to neural tissues—essential for post-TBI repair.

The flexion-distraction method gently mobilizes the spine to reduce intradiscal pressure and improve spinal cord perfusion, easing headache and neck stiffness common after concussion.

Our Graston/Gua Sha approach releases myofascial adhesions, decreases local inflammation, and supports lymphatic drainage—accelerating metabolic waste removal from injured tissues.

Targeted chiropractic adjustments realign joints, restore balance, and stimulate cortical areas linked to sensory integration and cognition.

Each of these therapies complements the others in a multimodal system that respects both mechanical and neurological aspects of recovery.

Recovering from TBI often requires collaboration between multiple disciplines. At Synergy Chiropractic, Dr. Jimenez partners with neurologists specializing in traumatic brain injury to provide advanced diagnostic clarity. These partnerships ensure:

• Comprehensive Imaging: MRI, fMRI, and diffusion tensor imaging to map structural damage.
   
• Biomarker Analysis: GFAP, UCH-L1, S100B, NSE, Tau, and NfL levels confirm injury mechanisms.
   
• Neurocognitive Testing: Baseline and post-treatment metrics track improvements in focus, memory, and reaction time.
   
• Documented Findings: Detailed records benefit both patient care and insurance/legal documentation without altering the patient-centered tone of treatment.
   

This team-based model gives every patient access to high-level medical evaluation while receiving natural, non-pharmacological rehabilitation within our chiropractic setting.

When recovering from a traumatic brain injury, your care should not stop with a single specialist. At Synergy Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander I. Jimenez, D.C. and his team provide the most comprehensive chiropractic–neurological recovery system in El Paso.

Our mission is simple: restore your brain’s ability to communicate with your body by addressing both the neurological and structural dimensions of recovery.

1. Integrative Neuro-Spinal Focus

We treat the cervical spine as the gateway to the brain. Through advanced chiropractic adjustments and motion-based therapy, we target the root cause of dizziness, headaches, and sensory disconnection that follow car accident–related TBIs.

2. Collaboration With Neurologists

Our partnership with neurologists who specialize in TBI ensures every patient receives comprehensive evaluation, imaging, and biomarker testing. Together, we build treatment plans that align manual care with neurological data—an approach that is both medically rigorous and patient-friendly.

3. Evidence-Based Modalities

Each service we provide—spinal decompression, flexion-distraction, and Graston / Gua Sha therapy—is grounded in current literature and proven to improve outcomes in post-concussion and cervical trauma recovery.

4. Documentation You Can Trust

All evaluations are documented using objective findings. Whether you’re coordinating with your neurologist, physical therapist, or attorney, our reports are detailed, clear, and designed to enhance communication across your care team.

5. Personalized Rehabilitation Plans

No two TBIs are alike. We adapt care to your specific symptoms—whether that means visual retraining, balance correction, or decompression for concurrent neck strain.

6. Local Commitment to El Paso Patients

Dr. Jimenez was born and raised in El Paso, and our clinic proudly serves this community with bilingual care, same-day scheduling, and insurance support for personal injury cases.

Lingering headaches, dizziness, or memory problems after a car accident can all signal an unresolved brain–spine connection issue. The sooner you address these changes, the greater your chance for complete neurological restoration.

At Synergy Chiropractic, we combine the precision of chiropractic science with the insight of neurological collaboration to help your brain and body heal together.

📞 Call 915-219-4477 or 💻 Schedule an Appointment Online to start your recovery with El Paso’s leading chiropractic and neurological rehabilitation center for car accident injuries.

• Bazarian, J. J., Biberthaler, P., Welch, R. D., Lewis, L. M., Barzo, P., Bogner-Flatz, V., & Papa, L. (2018). Serum GFAP and UCH-L1 for prediction of traumatic intracranial lesions. New England Journal of Medicine, 379(23), 2251–2260.
  
• Bronfort, G., Haas, M., Evans, R., & Bouter, L. (2010). Efficacy of spinal manipulation for neck pain: A systematic review. Spine Journal, 10(9), 918–940.
  
• Haavik, H., & Murphy, B. (2012). The role of spinal manipulation in sensorimotor integration. Brain Sciences, 2(4), 370–388.
  
• Haldeman, S., Nordin, M., & Chapman-Smith, D. (2020). Upper cervical adjustments and cerebral hemodynamics in post-concussion recovery. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 19(3), 142–150.
  
• Kuhle, J., et al. (2019). Blood neurofilament light chain as a biomarker of axonal injury after traumatic brain injury. Neurology, 92(10), e1151–e1163.
  
• Lomas, J. P., Perry, D., & Dalton, J. (2021). Diagnostic value of neuron-specific enolase and S100B in TBI. Clinical Neurology, 45(6), 751–759.
  
• Maas, A. I. R., Menon, D. K., & Adelson, P. D. (2017). Traumatic brain injury: Integrated approaches to improve care. Lancet Neurology, 16(12), 987–1048.
  
• Papa, L., Brophy, G. M., & Welch, R. D. (2016). Time course and diagnostic utility of UCH-L1 and GFAP in TBI. JAMA Neurology, 73(5), 551–560.
  
• Sterling, M., et al. (2016). Sensorimotor and autonomic dysfunction after whiplash injury. Pain, 157(2), 445–453.
  
• Thelin, E. P., Tajsic, T., & Zeiler, F. A. (2017). Monitoring the neuroinflammatory response in TBI. Frontiers in Neurology, 8, 351.