Why a Chiropractor Near Me Tests Your Nerve Tracts

If you're a client, or even just follow along on social media, you'll know Team Peak is all about the brain. It's the most important organ in the body, controlling everything you do.

But how does it actually do that? The simple answer is through the nervous system, though it's genuinely a bit more involved than that.

Meet the Descending Tracts

In this piece, we're introducing the descending tracts of the spinal cord: the pathways that relay information from the brain down to the body, helping coordinate movement and overall function.

Lateral corticospinal tract. Carries motor signals from the brain to the muscles of the limbs.

Anterior corticospinal tract. Carries motor signals from the brain to the muscles of the trunk.

Vestibulospinal tract. Uses input from the eyes and ears to help maintain head posture, and supports balance by activating the extensor muscles.

Pontine reticulospinal tract. Assists the vestibulospinal tract, also supporting posture and balance through extensor muscle activation.

Rubrospinal tract. Controls the flexor muscles, predominantly in the upper limb.

Medullary reticulospinal tract. Assists the rubrospinal tract in its function.

Tectospinal tract. Coordinates reflexive movements of the head and neck in response to visual or auditory stimuli.

Why This Matters for Assessment

Understanding what each tract is responsible for helps piece together what's genuinely happening in your body during an assessment. We can evaluate the function of each tract by testing specific movements or reflexes and observing your response.

Since most of these tracts run alongside each other, certain conditions can affect multiple tracts at once. Conditions like MS, ALS, or spinal injury are examples of this. It's worth being clear that assessing tract function is about understanding how your nervous system is currently working, not diagnosing these specific conditions. If assessment findings suggest something more serious might be going on, an appropriate referral is always the right next step.

If Something Feels Off

If you experience pain when you move, or feel a bit uncoordinated or clumsy, it's worth getting properly assessed rather than guessing at the cause. If you're researching a chiropractor near me because you want a genuinely thorough look at how your nervous system is functioning, this level of tract-by-tract assessment is exactly what to look for.

Choosing chiropractic care near me that goes into this much detail means a clearer picture of what's actually going on, and how it can genuinely be helped. Get yourself booked in for a consultation where we can assess each of these tracts, and many more, to figure out exactly what's happening and how we can help.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the descending tracts of the spinal cord? They're the pathways that carry signals from the brain down to the body, coordinating movement, posture, balance, and reflexive responses throughout the nervous system.

Why are there multiple tracts instead of just one? Each tract specialises in a different function, from limb and trunk movement to posture, balance, and reflexive head movements, allowing precise, coordinated control across the whole body.

Can testing these tracts help identify what's causing my symptoms? Yes. Assessing specific movements and reflexes tied to each tract helps build a clearer picture of which parts of the nervous system may not be functioning optimally.

Does tract dysfunction always indicate a serious condition like MS or ALS? No. While these serious conditions can affect multiple tracts, tract dysfunction can stem from many causes. A proper assessment helps clarify what's actually going on, with referral to a specialist if something more serious is suspected.

Is this kind of assessment only relevant if I have obvious symptoms? Not necessarily. Even subtle issues like feeling slightly uncoordinated or clumsy can be worth investigating, since these can sometimes point to underlying tract-level dysfunction.