Multiple Sclerosis, BJ Palmer and Upper Cervical Care

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

B.J. Palmer, D.C., reported management of Multiple Sclerosis patients with upper cervical chiropractic care as early as 1934. In his writings, Palmer listed improvement or correction of symptoms such as "spasticity, muscle cramps, muscle contracture, joint stiffness, fatigue, neuralgia, neuritis, loss of bladder control, paralysis, incoordination, trouble walking, numbness, pain, foot drop, inability to walk, and muscle weakness." His chiropractic care included paraspinal thermal scanning using a neurocalometer (NCM), a cervical radiographic series to analyze injury to the upper cervical spine, and a specific upper cervical adjustment performed by hand.

While few of Palmer's Research Clinic cases were published, Palmer described one case of Multiple Sclerosis in detail. The patient, a 38-year-old male, went to the Palmer Research Clinic in Davenport, Iowa, in 1943, after a diagnosis of MS by the Mayo Clinic. At the time of admission into the Palmer Clinic, this subject was "…helpless; he could not feed nor take care of himself." His medical history included a head/neck trauma at age 16 in which "…he fell ten feet off a building, landing on his head." The fall rendered him unconscious for thirty minutes and he reported having a sore neck for several days. At the Palmer Clinic, upper cervical radiographs showed a misalignment of the atlas to the right. After upper cervical chiropractic care, the patient remarked, "I am happy to say that through (upper cervical) chiropractic, I have been made almost well. Today, I have just a little numbness left in my hands. I have the full use of my hands, feet, and my whole body."

Reduction in Asthma with Upper Cervical Care

(Upper Cervical) Chiropractic Management of 47 Asthma Cases

from Today's Chiropractic, November 2000
By William Amalu, DC.

Study Report

Over a seven-year period, 47 cases of asthma were managed in an outpatient setting. Every case was followed for a minimum of two years to observe effectiveness of care. The study group comprised 28 males and 19 females, ranging from 7 to 42 years of age. Of the 47 cases, 32 patients ranged in age from 7 to 19 years.

All of the cases presented with an incoming medical diagnosis of asthma and corresponding classification level. Medical specialists monitored these patients for objective respiratory improvement and medication changes. A thorough initial history and physical examination was performed to corroborate the diagnosis. The chronicity of this condition ranged from 2 to 23 years. Patients with intermittent or exercise-induced asthma were excluded from this study due to the ease of care response in most cases. Of the 47 cases, 11 were classified as mild persistent, 28 as moderate persistent and 8 as severe persistent. Each patient's progress was assessed on every office visit by rating the intensity of the symptoms along with the frequency of their acute medication usage.

Upon stabilizing the upper cervical spine, determined by consistently presenting normal paraspinal infrared images, objective improvement in all 47 asthmatic cases was 87-100 percent. The total time of care to reach this point ranged from 3 to 9 months, with a mean time of 16 weeks. The most common initial care frequency used was 3 times per week with tapering frequency after 4-8 weeks. Total care visits ranged from 14 to 44, with a mean of 26 office visits to stabilization. All 47 patients reported maintaining their improvements at two years or more of follow-up care. The sole care method rendered consisted of corrections of aberrant arthrokinematic function of the occipito-atlanto axial complex (upper neck), via adjusting with Applied Upper Cervical Biomechanics procedures.