Heavy Metal Burden

What is a Rhomberg’s Test and how does a primary care chiropractic physician make it an effective part of his or her examination, diagnosis and prognosis when treating a patient for loss of balance?

Romberg's test or the Romberg maneuver is a test used by chiropractors in an exam of neurological function. The exam is based on the premise that a person requires at least two of the three following senses to maintain balance while standing: proprioception (the ability to know one's body in space); vestibular function (the ability to know one's head position in space); and vision (which can be used to monitor [and adjust for] changes in body position).

A patient who has a problem with proprioception can still maintain balance by using vestibular function and vision. In the Romberg test, the standing patient is asked to close his or her eyes. A loss of balance is interpreted as a positive Romberg's test. This is how the Romberg test is used to evaluate the cerebellum’s ability to regulate the body's sense of positioning and muscle coordination (proprioception). 

The Romberg test is used as a differential diagnostic tool to rule out or investigate possible causal reasons for of loss of motor coordination (ataxia).  A positive Romberg test suggests that the ataxia is sensory in nature, depending on loss of proprioception from the hips, knees or ankles. If a patient is ataxic and Romberg's test is not positive, it suggests that faulty motor control of the body area examined is cerebellar in nature, that is, depending on localized cerebellar dysfunction instead.

When the eyes are closed and truncal/torso stability is compromised this means there is a nutritional problem with the cerebellum. This part of the central nervous system does not communicate properly with the pelvis, thighs and legs, it can’t any longer maintain postural control of the body’s balance or position in space putting a person at right of slipping or falling. 

In chiropractic terms, a positive Rhomberg’s test is an indication of cranial sutural fixation and/or subluxation (loss of alignment and motion) in the neck and/or pelvis. The test is also very helpful in the detection of a heavy metal burden, as this is also a major problem affecting the cerebellum’s ability to properly link in and communicate with the peripheral nervous system.

The question is not who has a heavy metal burden but how bad is it in each person? The following five sources are the most common sources through which heavy metals may get into our body and deregulate the nervous system.

1-Mercury: dental fillings, tuna, swordfish, (a coal fired power plant will kick out 8#s of mercury a day); 2-Lead: drinking water, cosmetics, medicines/drugs; 3-Arsenic: paint pigments, table salt, pesticides; 4-Cadmium: cigarette smoke; 5- Aluminum: kitchen pots and pans

The Rhomberg’s test is a quick and certain tool used during initial examinations provided at Healing Hands Wellness Center. Call on pH 651-699-3366 to clarify if you are at risk of unpredictable loss of coordination and balance, hence at risk for falling. If you are feeling a lack of coordination or postural sense of where you are placing your feet, hands or any type of positional imbalance this test can determine if such signs have an association with cranial or spinal misalignment, as well as a heavy metal burden interfering with the proper function of the cerebrum.