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Recent research reported in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family
Health - Chiropractic revealed improvement in symptoms related to multiple sclerosis in a
woman undergoing chiropractic care suggesting that chiropractic may play an
important role in managing people with such disorders. The
51 year old woman reported on in the study also suffered from gastroesophageal
reflux disorder (often called GERD), asthma and a number of other problems
which were all helped through chiropractic care. The research includes a review
of the literature on the role of chiropractic in such disorders. "Research
is revealing that there is a relationship between abnormalities in the spine,
the nervous system and brain," stated Dr. Ben Lerner,
lead author of the paper.
"Researchers from different fields are now showing that trauma, problems in the
upper neck and problems with blood flow to and from the brain may be playing a
significant role in multiple sclerosis." Research
has shown that in many cases people who have multiple sclerosis have a history
of head and/or neck trauma and researchers studying this in chiropractic
suggest that this trauma also cause misalignments of the bones in the neck. The
trauma along with the misalignments can lead to compression of nerve structures
as well as alterations of blood flow leading to the degenerative conditions and
other problems associated with multiple sclerosis. "It
makes perfect sense when you think about it" stated Dr. Sheri
Lerner, a co-author on the paper.
"Our study is one more example of how people with these debilitating conditions
can be helped through specific chiropractic adjustments to restore normal
spinal and nervous system function." According
to Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of
the journal that published the study, "Chiropractors
have been talking about these links for some time now and I think research in
this area will soon reach a critical mass because its not just chiropractors
saying this any more. You have researchers in several different fields coming
to similar conclusions. The real challenge with these models is going to be
showing what works best and chiropractic has a respectable foundation of
research in this area" stated McCoy. In
the case reported on in the article the initial application of chiropractic was
followed by nutritional advice which included eliminating sugar and grains from
the patient's diet. Correction of the spinal and related neurological
interference was the first priority however. Abnormal position or movement of
the spinal vertebra can develop and this can lead to nerve and vascular
interference. It is this interference, called vertebral subluxations, that
chiropractors correct. The
woman reported on in the study suffered from a number of health challenges
including multiple sclerosis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), asthma,
osteoarthritis, and scoliosis. She also had complaints of neck pain, back pain
and jaw pain. She had been under the care of several healthcare professionals
prior to presenting to the chiropractic office. These practitioners included
the family medical doctor, a neurologist, allergist, rheumatologist,
gastrointestinal specialist, cardiologist, and dermatologist. She was taking
several medications. The
patient began to report improvement in pain levels throughout her body after
just 12 visits, had better mobility and was able to increase her physical
activity. Her lung function and posture improved and she was gradually able to
discontinue all her medications. Follow-up x-rays revealed an improvement in
the crucial curve in her neck. The
authors of the study call for more research on the role of chiropractic care in
these types of disorders. Source: http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseaction/show/pageid/2990 |