Off-Label Uses For Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care

by Dr. Adam Tanase

(Editor's note:  This post again comes from my good friend and colleague, Dr. Adam Tanase.  His perspective on this topic is interesting and I think will serve to help more people understand the potential uses of Chiropractic care more easily.) 

Medical physicians commonly use Botox, a medication intended to treat wrinkles, on patients with headaches. They also give Singular, an adult asthma/allergy drug, to children with atopic dermatitis. This practice is called "off-label prescribing" and it’s so common that the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality estimated 20% of all prescriptions are written for off-label use.

Since this now happens on a daily basis, it doesn’t really shock anyone. Plus, it’s perfectly legal. What you might be surprised to find out, however, is that (upper cervical) chiropractic care has off-label uses of its own.

If you have generalized back or neck pain, (upper cervical) chiropractic adjustments are very helpful. This type of pain relief could be considered an "on-label" reason for seeking the assistance of a chiropractor. But what about the patients who don’t have back or neck pain, and elect to receive care for relief from other conditions? Examples may include constipation, dizziness, or TMJ.

Believe it or not, (upper cervical) chiropractic offices across the world are filled with patients receiving these "off-label" benefits. That’s why you might hear chiropractors discussing how they’ve been able to help patients with psoriasis or IBS. To outsiders, this can seem like complete quackery. And while I would consider it irresponsible for chiropractors to advertise a "cure" for these conditions, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a hoax. Some people with non-musculoskeletal conditions really do respond well to (upper cervical) chiropractic care.

In fact, just yesterday, two of my patients expressed how they can immediately feel their sinuses open up after getting an upper cervical adjustment. Now, both of them originally came to see me for "on-label" reasons – neck pain and upper back stiffness. I didn’t attempt to diagnose either of them with any sort of sinus issue, nor did I ever tell them that the adjustments would help sinus congestion. Moreover, neither one mentioned sinus irritation being a concern when we first met. But now, they each come back as needed for an "off-label" benefit (improved sinus function), as well as typical relief from back/neck pain.

Why does this happen? The answer is fairly simple: Our bodies function better with a strong and balanced spine that moves properly.

I invite you to consult with a reputable chiropractor in your area so that you too may experience the "off-label" benefits of (upper cervical) chiropractic care.

Fibromyalgia Resolved and Medications Discontinued

A case study published in the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research on Oct. 21, 2014, documents the case of a chiropractic patient being helped with fibromyalgia. According to the Mayo Clinic's website, "Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues."

The authors of this study point out that more than 5 million adult Americans are affected by fibromyalgia. Patients with fibromyalgia have an amplification of their pain as well as a heightened perception of pains that may not normally be felt by others. Sleep disorders are also common in these cases and contribute to the pain problems experienced by fibromyalgia sufferers.

In this study, a 31-year-old woman went to the chiropractor after suffering with diagnosed fibromyalgia for two and a half years. Her chief complaint was constant back pain and shooting pain down her legs. Her history also showed that she had been suffering with headaches 3-4 times a week, depression, fatigue, loss of balance, ringing in the ears, visual stars, chronic sinus infections, dry mouth, acid reflux, painful periods, excessive sleeping, constipation, and hemorrhoids.

A chiropractic examination with thermographic studies and spinal x-rays was performed. The x-rays showed multiple areas of spinal bone malpositions including a loss of the normal neck curvature and a head position that was more forward than normal. It was determined that the woman had vertebral subluxation causing nerve system interference. From this finding, a course of specific chiropractic adjustments was begun.

After her first chiropractic adjustment, the woman reported a 40 percent reduction in her pain. The study records that one month into her care, the woman described improvement in her back pain, headaches, leg pain, sciatica, and constipation. A few weeks later, she stated that her sciatic pain, back pain, and knee and foot pain had all improved, and her pain had decreased 80 percent since starting chiropractic care. At this point, she took herself off all pain medications.

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)

Heart Rate Variability And Other Symptoms Improve With Upper Cervical Care

 In the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research, a study was published on May 9, 2013, documenting a positive change in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) as well as a variety of other symptoms in a series of three different patients. HRV is used to measure the variation in beats of the heart. Since this is controlled by the nervous system, HRV is a good indicator of nerve system function.

The authors of this study relate the measurement of HRV to vertebral subluxation of the spine. The authors postulate that since subluxations cause interference to nerve system function, the effects of subluxations should be noted in HRV readings. In addition to the HRV, bilateral heat readings along the spine were used to establish a "pattern" by which to measure change or improvement.

In this study, three separate patients were documented while under (upper cervical) chiropractic care. The first case was of a 35-year-old male truck driver with right shoulder and neck pain that radiated into the right arm and forearm. He also had numbness in his right hand. He had been suffering with these problems for 10 years. A chiropractic examination revealed an upper neck subluxation, and a course of specific correction was initiated.

The second case was of a 67-year-old woman who was diagnosed with hypertension one year earlier. The patient stated that medication was ineffective. Her blood pressure at the time of the examination was 156/100. Her chiropractic examination also revealed subluxation in the upper neck and specific care for correction of her subluxation was initiated.

The third patient was a 42-year-old woman suffering with constant pain from between the shoulders down to her hips. She was also suffering from fatigue, loss of sleep, nervousness, difficult digestion, and constipation. A chiropractic examination also revealed the presence of subluxations for which specific adjustments were given.

In all three of these cases HRV was used to monitor the effects of the subluxation correction. Bilateral heat readings were also used to establish a heat pattern for each patient. In all three of these cases the HRV and the heat readings improved along with significant improvement in the symptoms that each of the patients experienced.

In their conclusion the researchers noted, "In these three cases, there appears to be a relationship between the improvements in bilateral skin temperature pattern analysis and heart rate variability following an upper cervical chiropractic technique. It is feasible that upper cervical chiropractic care can have a positive effect on the autonomic nerve system and there may be a connection between pattern reduction and improved heart rate variability."

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)
 

Multiple Sclerosis and Upper Cervical Care: Case 2

Editor's Note: This is the third of a seven post series where I will be sharing five case reports on patients with Multiple Sclerosis that received upper cervical care and the results that occurred. The full article with all the reports can be read at length here.

CASE 2

History: After this 33-year-old male noticed visual changes at age 30, he was examined by a neuro-opthalmologist and showed 20/30 vision in the right eye (according to the Snellen eye chart examination). After an MRI showed three brain lesions (MS plaques), he was diagnosed with MS. The year following his diagnosis, this subject showed minimal deterioration in his condition. However, during the subsequent two years, he experienced chronic progression of MS symptoms. In addition to vision loss, he suffered from loss of bladder control, constipation, loss of balance, sensory deficits in his extremities, and L'hermitte's sign. Three years after the MS diagnosis, he was reexamined by his neuro-opthalmologist who noted his optic nerves appeared pale and his vision had deteriorated to 20/400 in the right eye and 20/200 in the left eye. He was declared legally blind. A follow-up MRI showed ten lesions, one active. This subject began upper cervical care soon after the second MRI.

Exam: During this patient's initial examination, he reported wearing sunglasses at all times, even indoors, due to light sensitivity. L'hermitte's Sign was present. Sensitivity was reduced in his hands and feet. Heat aggravated his symptoms. He showed inability to balance on one foot bilaterally and to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line. As a result, he reported frequent falls on hiking trails. He reported difficulty with bladder control (he urinated six times per night) and constipation (averaging four to five days without a bowel movement). He also suffered with memory loss (he carried a tape recorder to remind himself of errands, etc.), insomnia, and fatigue. Most of his MS symptoms had progressively worsened during the second and third years following his diagnosis and had been constant for at least one year. Analysis of cervical radiographs revealed left laterality of atlas. Computerized thermal imaging showed thermal asymmetries as high as 0.8ºC.

Outcome: After the first upper cervical adjustment, L'hermitte's Sign was absent and balancing on his left leg improved (both symptoms had been present for one year or greater). One week later, he reported that due to less light sensitivity, he was able to leave his sunglasses off, even outdoors. Upon visual reexamination one month later, he tested 20/160 bilaterally. Six months later, balancing on both left and right legs improved, so he was able to resume hiking while carrying a heavy backpack. He also was able to take hot showers and sit in jacuzzis because heat no longer aggravated his symptoms. In addition, normal sensation returned to his extremities, bladder control improved (urination occurred once per night), and constipation improved (one bowel movement per day).

Summary: During the two years prior to (upper cervical) chiropractic care, this patient experienced a progressive worsening of MS symptoms. Most symptoms had been present constantly for at least one year prior to the start of upper cervical care. After the intervention of (upper cervical) care, this subject reported immediate correction of some symptoms as well as gradual improvement of other symptoms over several months. One year after beginning care, this patient reported an overall correction and/or improvement in MS symptoms.

Why Didn't I Know About Upper Cervical Care?

Why didn't I know?

By Dr. Andy Gibson

Recently, an 8 year old little girl came into our office with the following list of health issues: chronic ear infections, nosebleeds, constipation and restlessness. She didn't eat very well or often. From the outside, she looked like a "normal" little girl. But underneath the surface, she was very sick and heading for a lifetime of health issues. When I explained to her grandma about the upper neck bone, the atlas, being subluxated, or out of its proper alignment with the skull, she was a little confused. She wondered how it may have gotten that way. After some investigative work, it was determined there was a strong correlation with the forceps-assisted delivery and her current status of health. HOW? Simple. During a "normal birth, the neck of the infant is stretched and twisted upwards of 2x the normal length. Now with the use of forceps, that force is substantially increased. The bottom line: Little "Kayla" was subluxated from day one. And for the next 8 years, her little body fought to keep her healthy. At age 1, it was colic. Age 2, the ear infections began. Age 4-7, the nosebleeds and constipation set in.

Two weeks have passed since her 1st upper cervical adjustment. "kayla" has been adjusted 2 times. In just over 14 days, she has no more nosebleeds, eats like a horse (remember it was a chore for her to eat most anything), has been to the bathroom numerous times per day and is finally sleeping through the night. As for the earaches, her grandma reports that all is well. Time will tell the rest of the story but for now, there are two parents, one grandma and a little girl whose lives have all just changed through the power of an upper cervical adjustment. At the end of the visit, the grandma asked the question we hear almost daily: "Why didn't I know about Upper Cervical?" Now you do.

Pain, Suffering And Upper Cervical Care

What are Your Symptoms Telling You?

by Dr. Tanase

My car has an unnerving ability to scare the bejesus out of me with it’s monitoring system.

It emits a piercing 2-second tone whenever I’m within 50 miles or less of needing to refill the gas tank. The same thing happens when the tire pressure drops, a tail light goes out, or when it’s time for an oil change. Basically, this tone will sound if anything malfunctions, prompting me to have it inspected. It won’t “go away” until I address the issue that triggered the warning tone.

While not every car on the road has this feature, every person reading this article does. You see, our bodies are designed with their own sophisticated warning systems. They’re called symptoms.

For some reason (convenience?), a lot of patients and doctors aren’t overly concerned with why the symptoms are present – they just want them to go away. One of the marvelous accomplishments of Modern Medicine is how they’ve created drugs and treatments that are really good at controlling these symptoms… Unfortunately, it’s almost always temporary. On top of that, serious complications or side-effects can result.

I’ve developed an acronym that represents how Americans view SYMPTOMs:
Something You Merely Patch, Treat, Or Mask.

What if I applied the typical medical approach of symptom-treating to the monitoring system in my car? Well, if I really didn’t want to hear the annoying sound, I could just drive around with noise-canceling headphones over my ears. If you’ve ever tried on a pair, you’d know how easily the “symptom” can be masked by these headphones.

But would that be a very good idea? If all I did was treat my car’s symptom, I’d inevitably run out of gas, get a flat tire, or witness my engine explode. Not good problems to have…

The same holds true for your health. Your body has all sorts of different warning indicators. Headaches, fatigue, dry-mouth, joint pain, numbness/tingling, constipation, and fever are just a few examples. Yes, they’re annoying and inconvenient, but that’s the point! They’re prompting you to take action and fix the problem.

You can choose to patch, treat, or mask these symptoms temporarily, but your body will eventually give out if you continue to neglect what triggered them in the first place.

Now’s a great time to start listening to your body. What are your symptoms trying to tell you?

Perhaps your body is saying it is time for upper cervical care.