Epilepsy, a Nine-Year Old Girl and Upper Cervical Care

Upper Cervical Care in a Nine-Year-Old Female
With Occipital Lobe Epilepsy: A Case Study

FROM: Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research 2011 (Feb 3): 10–17

Susan Hooper PhD, DC, Allison Manis DC

Objective: The reduction of an upper cervical subluxation (head/neck misalignment) through (upper cervical) chiropractic care in the case of a child with occipital lobe epilepsy is described.

Clinical Features: A nine-year-old girl presented with uncontrollable blinking of the left eye and fainting spells, previously diagnosed by a neurologist as occipital lobe epilepsy.

Intervention and Outcomes: High velocity and light force adjustments (Blair technique) were applied to the first cervical vertebra on three separate occasions. Other low force adjustments (Activator) were administered to various levels of the spinal column where vertebral subluxations existed. The patient’s uncontrolled eye twitching decreased immediately following the first upper cervical adjustment and ceased completely 3 weeks following the final adjustment. The twitching has not resurfaced in approximately 2 years.

Conclusions: This case report demonstrated resolution of signs and symptoms associated with occipital lobe epilepsy in a child following the reduction of an upper cervical subluxation.

Have You Heard Of Upper Cervical Care?

by Mindy Drake D.C.

If not, you’re not alone. Most people haven’t, and the funny name kind of makes you wonder what type of care this is? When we speak about ‘upper cervical care‘, we’re actually referring to the area of the upper spine that connects your head to your neck. There are 24 vertebrae in your spine- they’re like little square donuts stacked on top of each other, forming a tunnel for your spinal cord, and the spaces between them are like exit windows for all of your nerves. Your spine is really just a very ‘drafty’ house for your nervous system!

The top seven vertebrae are called your ‘cervical spine’, basically meaning the ‘bridge’ between your head and your body. The very top two vertebra, right up near your head, are the ‘upper cervical’ spine, and they have the very important job of holding up your head, allowing it to move in all directions, and they also surround and protect your brain stem. The design of this area makes it the weak spot in your body, and it’s very vulnerable to injury. Now, your brain stem is the most important part of your body- it’s kind of like your battery, and all of the nerves in your whole body eventually travel into the brain stem, either from the spinal cord below, or from the brain above. If those two very special vertebrae at the top of the neck, called the Atlas (C1) and the Axis (C2) are not in perfect alignment due to trauma or an accident, often the nerves that come out of that area can be irritated, and can cause pain and dysfunction. Usually the pain will start slowly, and get worse as the bones are misaligned for a longer period of time.

C1 and C2: Atlas and Axis

Upper cervical doctors require additional training to learn how to adjust the top of the neck precisely and gently; there are a few different techniques for this very precise work (N.U.C.C.A, Knee Chest, Toggle Recoil, Grostic/Orthospinology, Atlas Orthogonal and Blair). It’s very similar to all of the others, but involves a little different analysis of the spine, and some additional muscle testing.

The most important word to describe what we do as upper cervical doctors is ‘specific', and we take extra time to carefully analyze, and then very gently adjust the top of the neck. We also do extra testing to make sure we only adjust when absolutely necessary. This procedure gently and effectively ‘put’s your head on straight’ (all of our mothers and teachers love to hear this!), but crucially, it also takes pressure and irritation off of the nerves of the upper cervical spine, which are frequently implicated in migraine headaches, occipital neuralgia, and trigeminal neuralgia, and this also removes irritation from the brain stem area. This is a very good thing, and frequently can lead to a decrease in pain, sometimes almost immediately.

Another benefit of specific upper cervical care is that if we can gently and effectively correct the position of the top two vertebra, it takes far fewer adjustments to help the adjustments stay in place, and quite often the lower areas of your spine will align all by themselves with very little help from us. Your body can heal itself; sometimes it just needs a little boost in the right direction.

Upper Cervical Care Stories Of Healing: Part 2

Editors Note: Here is another person's story, again from Dr. Margaret Banitch in Montclair, New Jersey.

Barbara's Story

My back problems began about 29 years ago, shortly after the birth of my first daughter. I was plagued by random bouts of sciatica that sent pain shooting down my right leg, and sometimes completely numbed it for a minute or so. The doctor said that I could expect temporary back problems after childbirth. My lower back pain came and went, sometimes I would "throw my back out" so badly that I was bent sideways and couldn't sit down because of the pain. I've had numerous cortisone shots, which helped temporarily; I've taken strong pain medication: valium & darvocet & percoset, during the times my back was "out". I lost a whole summer one year because I was all twisted up and in pain, and couldn't do much. I had my first daughter with natural childbirth, but my back pain felt worse. I had MRI's which revealed three herniated disks in my lower back, which were very thin, as well as some arthritis.

I've had lots of chiropractic adjustments: three different general chiropractors who don't do the Blair method. They helped a lot initially, but as time went on, the adjustments didn't do much any more. I had always been very physically active, and running was my favorite workout. My doctors & chiropractors told me "no more running", since it may have contributed to my problem. Every time I exercised my back felt so bad, that I exercised very little, and gradually gained about 25 lbs. (over the course of about 15 years).

I finally thought that my only option now was to have surgery. I decided that I would just live with the side effects caused by surgery so I could get somewhat back to normal again, and I made an appointment with a surgeon. Meanwhile, my oldest daughter kept begging me to try Blair (upper cervical). She was in a car accident years ago, which left her with mandibular (jaw) pain, migraines, and neck & upper back pain. Her boss was a patient of Dr. Forest, a Blair (upper cervical doctor) in our home town of Pleasanton, California, and he recommended Dr. Forest to my daughter. My daughter's jaw pain is gone, migraines, and all other symptoms are completely gone. She just goes in for "tune-ups" now as needed.

I kept telling my daughter that she just didn't understand: I had lower back problems, and Blair (upper cervical doctors) just worked on the neck area. How can the method possibly help me? Finally she persuaded me to try the Blair method before resorting to surgery.

I was impressed by the thorough explanation of how the Blair (upper cervical) method works, as well as by the fact that Dr. Forest actually gave me a timeline for when I could expect to be completely healed. No other (doctor) had done that. He took detailed x-rays and measurements, and showed me that my atlas, the bone that sits at the top of the spine, was twisted to the left side and downward, thus pinching the nerves that run from my brain to the right side of my body. This caused the muscles to cramp and pull up my hip on one side, causing the discs in my lower back to be squeezed in an unnatural manner. Each time I went in for an adjustment, he first checked to see if I even needed adjusting. If I didn't need it, he wouldn't do anything. He explained how once the nerves coming from the brain through the atlas are freed, the muscles and other body parts that they serve can relax and begin the healing process in stages. Each time I went in for a treatment, I was taught something new about the healing process, and told what exactly to expect next. Everything went exactly how Dr. Forest had said, and though it was too good to believe at first, I actually began to get better! I felt like I'd gotten my life back. I was able to begin exercising again, and have been able to lose 10 pounds so far, and looking forward to losing the other 15, plus skiing again, maybe tennis again too.

Shortly after beginning my Blair treatments with Dr. Forest, my husband's job required us to move to Connecticut. Dr. Forest recommended Dr. Banitch, and I have received the same quality of care from her that I received from Dr. Forest. I am steadily improving to the point that the chronic pain I used to live with is just a memory. I don't mind having to drive all the way from Connecticut to New Jersey for treatments, because it is worth it to me to feel like my old self again, after many years. I just wish I had taken my daughter's advice sooner than I did, because it would have spared me a lot of misery. I'm so thankful to Drs. Forest and Banitch for restoring my health and energy. And all this without any popping or cracking, or medicine! I'm soon going to turn 52 years old, and I feel better now than I did ten years ago.

Upper Cervical Care Stories Of Healing: Part 1

It's our 200th post and I wanted to share some amazing patient stories over the next few days, many of which are from Dr. Margaret Banitch in Montclair, New Jersey / Blair upper cervical doctor.

(Editors Note: Please remember that upper cervical doctors do not treat any condition or disease. They are simply removing an obstruction to the body healing on its own. When this is accomplished and it stays that way the wisdom of the body can do amazing things)

Denise's Story

I am a 35 year old female. I started to get head and facial pain in 1994. It seemed to come out of nowhere, although I had been in a car accident two years prior to this. I initially went to a dentist who insisted that I wear a nightguard on my teeth, thinking that the facial pain must he from grinding my teeth. I was also being treated by a chiropractor at the time, but there was no improvement to my condition.

My next visit was to a dental specialist who claimed my jaw was misaligned and that I had T.M.J. He fitted me with another mouthpiece, with no improvement, so eventually he put me under anesthesia and manually manipulated my jaw until it popped, hoping this would realign my jaw and fix the problem, but again after the pain of the procedure subsided, I was left in constant pain, mostly to the right side of my face and head. I was so depressed that I decided to go to a neurologist. After reviewing the results of my MRI, he felt my problems were emanating from my neck and recommended that I go to a pain center to receive Novocain injections. I still had little relief.

In 1997 my mother found a chiropractor who practiced the "Blair Technique", and specialized in upper cervical care. I had nothing to lose, so I went to see him. Within my first week of treatments I began to see real results and within a few months I was back to feeling normal for the first time in years. I could finally start to live a normal life again. I continued treatment with this doctor until he moved to California in 1999. I then went under the care of a chiropractor who had been training on the Blair Technique for about a year, but was more of a conventional chiropractor, rather than an upper cervical specialist. Within a few months I was back to where I started and it only seemed to be getting worse.

My husband and I began to search the Internet for chiropractors who specialized in the Blair Technique of upper cervical care and found Dr. Margaret Banitch in Montclair, New Jersey. She not only practiced this technique, but was also a trainer/teacher of this method to other chiropractors. We were very optimistic and traveled the hour to see Dr. Margaret for a consultation. We felt very comfortable and confident in Dr. Margaret's treatment and began care for our whole family after that first visit. Within the first few days I started to feel great and by the end of the first month the pain was completely gone. Most times when I'm out of alignment I don't even know it, because I have no pain. On the occasions that I do feel discomfort I know it's just a matter of being adjusted to feel better.

Dr. Margaret Banitch is my hero, I really count my blessings that I have found her. My husband and our two children are under Dr. Margaret's care with fantastic results. We believe strongly in the Blair Upper Cervical Technique and recommend Dr. Margaret to everyone. We continue to go for regular checkups to stay healthy.

Study On Upper Cervical Care And Seizures

This recent study published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine suggests a potential benefit from Upper Cervical care for those suffering from seizure activity. Click here to view the abstract. Drs. Todd Hubbard, Casey Crisp and Brett Vowles did a wonderful job with this study and I greatly appreciate them adding the the literature base for Upper Cervical Care.