If you're dealing with persistent symptoms months after a COVID-19 infection or other viral illness, including fatigue, brain fog, and heart palpitations, you're not alone, and you're not imagining it. At Van Every Family Chiropractic Center, we support patients with long COVID and post-viral syndromes by addressing the nervous system dysfunction that plays a central role in these conditions.
Long COVID and other post-viral syndromes share a common feature: dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. The vagus nerve, which regulates heart rate, breathing, digestion, and immune function, often becomes dysfunctional following viral infection. Our doctors use Koren Specific Technique (KST) and Talsky Tonal Chiropractic (TTC), gentle, neurologically-focused approaches that support autonomic recovery and help your body find its way back to balance.
How Long COVID Shows Up
Long COVID rarely looks the same from one patient to the next. Some people are hit hardest by crushing fatigue that doesn't improve with rest and worsens with the smallest physical or mental exertion. Others notice brain fog, trouble concentrating, memory lapses, and a racing or irregular heartbeat that shows up especially on standing. Shortness of breath without a clear pulmonary explanation is common, along with widespread muscle aches, joint pain, headaches, and sleep that stays disrupted no matter how tired you are. For many, even light activity that used to be routine now triggers a symptom flare that can take days to settle.
The Vagus Nerve and Autonomic Balance
The vagus nerve is central to autonomic function and immune regulation, and upper cervical adjustments support the vagal tone that's often compromised in long COVID. Many patients are running an overactive sympathetic system, stuck in fight-or-flight long after the infection itself has cleared.
Our neurological assessment includes heart rate variability testing, which shows us how deeply post-viral dysfunction has affected your autonomic nervous system, not just which symptoms you happen to mention that day. The nervous system also regulates immune function, so restoring healthy nerve signaling supports your body's own ability to resolve the lingering inflammation behind many long COVID symptoms.
Our Approach
We begin with a comprehensive evaluation, including INSiGHT neurological scanning and heart rate variability (HRV) testing, to pinpoint where stress is stuck in your nervous system, whether that's tension left over from the viral illness itself, autonomic dysregulation, or accumulated life stress your body hasn't yet released.
Using Koren Specific Technique (KST) and Talsky Tonal Chiropractic (TTC), our doctors gently address the areas of neurological tension affecting your autonomic function, no cracking, popping, or forceful manipulation. Care stays conservative and carefully paced, and we coordinate with your medical team along the way since post-viral recovery is often a gradual process.
Paced for a Sensitive System
Long COVID patients are often extremely sensitive, so care stays conservative from the start. Adjustments are ultra-gentle, with no cracking or forceful manipulation of any kind, and we adjust intensity based on how your body responds. You can be adjusted seated, standing, or in whatever position your body tolerates best, and we pace everything to avoid triggering a symptom flare.
What Patients Notice, and the POTS Overlap
Improved energy and reduced fatigue, better mental clarity, a more stable heart rate, and fewer palpitations show up often as autonomic function recovers. Better sleep, improved exercise tolerance, and steadier digestion tend to follow the same trend, along with a general sense of resilience that patients often describe as feeling like themselves again.
POTS is one of the most common forms of autonomic dysfunction we see in long COVID patients. If a racing heart on standing sounds familiar, that overlap is worth mentioning at your first visit.
Take the First Step
If long COVID is still running your days, our doctors in Royal Oak are glad to talk about what steady, gentle support could look like.
Common Questions
Is there a cure for long COVID?
Is chiropractic care safe for someone with long COVID?
How does long COVID relate to POTS?
Will my symptoms come back if I stop care?
How is this different from other long COVID treatments?
Related: POTS & Dysautonomia · Chronic Fatigue · Fibromyalgia · Immune System Support · Vagus Nerve Function
