Chiropractic Neurology: Breakthrough or Placebo?

Will Arlen has a traumatic brain injury and is so sensitive to light that he wears sunglasses all the time.

The 17-year-old describes his migraines as like a knife stabbing his brain. His short term memory is shot. He can barely stand up on his own or move his left arm.

The teenager from Exeter, N.H., said his symptoms developed after an illegal hit during a lacrosse game gave him a concussion so severe that it sent him into an 8-month downward spiral. His father, Larry Arlen, said his son used to be an active, outgoing, straight-A student, but they have had to pull him out of school because of his condition.

Will, however, believes Ted Carrick, a chiropractor who specializes in the brain, holds the key to a miraculous cure for his condition.

Carrick, who has 28 clinics worldwide and sees patients all over the world, practices a therapy he calls chiropractic neurology, a treatment he has been perfecting for 33 years. He rarely grants interviews, but allowed "Nightline" to be the first American television network to watch the treatment unfold at his clinic at Life University in Marietta, Ga.

Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET

He said his treatment involves re-activating pathways in the brain, what scientific circles refer to as neuro-plasticity, by simulating other parts of the body. He is considered the main architect of chiropractic neuology because he pioneered several of the methods used, in part by combining treatments that already exist, as well as developing new treatments.

On average, a week-long therapy costs about $5,000. But Carrick doesn't turn away patients who can't afford to pay.

"We're in the service of humankind, above self," he said.

When hockey superstar Sidney Crosby suffered serious concussions, he praised Carrick for saving his career. But the doctor wouldn't go so far as to say his treatment is a "miracle cure."

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Chiropractic Neurology: Breakthrough or Placebo?