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Exactly one year ago, HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel aired a show entitled “Monsters no more”. It was a story about the 1985 Chicago Bears – one of the most iconic championship teams in modern pro sports history. The program featured an array of memorable characters such as Jim McMahon, William Perry, Walter Payton, Dave Duerson, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent. Bryant explored the triumph and tragedy that has touched this band of close-knit brothers. McMahon's physical and mental struggles were front-and-center.
What a difference a year can make.
On February 4, 2016, ESPN will air a “30 for 30” documentary that examines the 1985 Bears and includes the remarkable recovery of Jim McMahon.
A few years ago, Jim McMahon thought that he was in the early stages of dementia, but in the following video he talks about how his pain and some of his memory problems were linked to a simple alignment problem in his spinal cord.
McMahon’s miracle story came about after a visit to New York chiropractor Dr. Scott Rosa. After a specialized scan in the FONAR Upright MRI, Jim was found to have significant misalignment at the base of his skull causing obstruction to the flow of his spinal fluid. McMahon received Rosa’s patented I.G.A.T. (Image Guided Atlas Treatment) which, Jim says literally saved his life.
Just moments after the first cervical adjustment, McMahon said "it felt like a toilet bowel flushed and all the pain and stress went away". This occurred because the CSF (Cerebrospinal Fluid) flow went from being obstructed to flowing normally, allowing it to remove the neurotoxins and wastes that are a byproduct of brain function. This improved Jim McMahon's dementia symptoms as well his brain fog, migraines and slurred speech.
“Jim McMahon suffered from Cranio-Cervical Syndrome (CCS), which was giving him his pain," said Dr. Damadian, the inventor of the FONAR Upright MRI. Cranio-Cervical Syndrome (CCS), occurs as a result of injury to the structures which connect the head to the neck. Misalignment may cause abnormal stress tension on the spinal cord and blood vessels interfering with brain function. Image Guided Atlas Treatment restores the alignment of the affected structures so the brain and nervous system can return to normal function. "Jim's problems originated because of injury to his neck which caused the obstructions of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow to his brain. After the IGAT treatment, Jim’s brain functions normalized.
Dr. Damadian also said "We are stunned by these most recent medical insights we are gaining from FONAR's new technology for making live cines of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as it flows in and out of the upright brain. It opens a whole new dimension in our understanding of the body's brain and nervous system, the processes that regulate it, and the prospect of developing new therapies that might be able to address a significant number of current day neurological problems."
Jim McMahon with Dr. Raymond Damadian, the inventor of the FONAR Upright MRI and Dr. Scott Rosa - seated at right who treated Jim with his patented IGAT (Image Guided Atlas Treatment) method.
The alignment issue is also important when talking about "specialized" mouthguards which, when combined with good neck strength and upper body muscle asymmetry, could prevent or reduce the severity of concussions. But that's another story for another time.
I can't say whether the new Upright MRI scanning device and Image Guided Altas Treatment method will help you, or any other former player that is experiencing pain and/or neurocognitive impairment problems, but it can't hurt to look into it.
I know Jim McMahon's glad he did. "Let's raise the awareness about this problem,'' he said. "I wish they had figured out what was wrong with me sooner, but at least I got some help. Let's help others out there and let's deal with the problem."
You can read more about how these doctors helped Jim in this Newsday article - LI doctors help Jim McMahon get his life back, and they can help others, too.
It should be noted that in the aforementioned article it states that "Despite his recent improvement, McMahon believes he may be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. He has agreed to donate his brain to the Boston University School of Medicine, said to be the country's leading facility for studying the brains of deceased former players."
For more information, contact the Trauma Imaging Foundation at 845-796-2200, or by email at [email protected].
