Seizures And Upper Cervical Care

A case study documenting the improvement of a 25 year old woman suffering from seizures who was helped by [upper cervical care] was published in June 2010. In this case the woman was diagnosed at age 14 with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), and had suffered with the problem for more than 10 years.

The woman's history showed that the seizures started at age 14 shortly after a neck injury and just after her first menstrual cycle. She had been diagnosed with JME by the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders in 1998, 11 years before starting [upper cervical] care. She reported that at age 14 she fell out of bed and hit her head on a desk 2 to 3 months before the seizures began. At the time of her initial visit she was taking 200 mg of lamotrigine per day to control the seizure activity. Over the previous 11 years, she reported that she experienced 1 to 2 seizures per month. She also noted that her menstrual cycles were severely abnormal lasting approximately 10 days, with 10 to 15 days between cycles.

Examination was specifically focused on the upper cervical spine and care was initiated to correct a [misalignment of the] first cervical vertebrae (atlas) using specific [correction] procedures. The study reported that the woman received this care over a 12 week period.

The results showed that the woman did report one seizure a few days after the beginning of [upper cervical] care. After that point she reported having 6 episodes of minor twitching that did not progress into seizure. According to the study the woman did not experience any additional seizures from this point forward. In addition to the seizure benefits she also reported that her last 2 menstrual cycles lasted less than 7 days and were 28 days apart.

In their conclusion the authors wrote, "This case study demonstrated improvement in a young woman with a seizure disorder after she received upper cervical [care]. This case suggests the need for more rigorous research to examine how upper cervical [care] may provide benefit to patients with seizure disorders."

But remember upper cervical care is not a treatment for seizures but people with seizures can improve with upper cervical care because it frees up the body to function more correctly and efficiently once again.

Upper Cervical Care and High Blood Pressure: The Palmer Study

Below is part of an article about the research that Palmer College will be doing regarding Upper Cervical Care and Hypertension/High Blood Pressure.

Click here for the full article

Researchers at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR) clinic facility, 741 Brady St., Davenport, on the campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic, are looking for 165 people in the Quad Cities with hypertension, or high blood pressure, to participate in a clinical research study with the potential for significant impact on the treatment of hypertension. Patient recruitment began in late November. Participants must have high blood pressure and be between 21 and 75 years of age.

“More than 50 million Americans suffer from high blood pressure, making it the most commonly diagnosed disease in the United States,” said Dr. Goertz. “Although many medical treatments for diagnosed hypertension are available, only about 30% of patients achieve blood pressure goals. Many patients report that they are unable to tolerate medication side effects and find it difficult to sustain significant lifestyle changes. Thus, a non-pharmacological therapy that lowers blood pressure could become an attractive option to many patients and their physicians.”

“The concept that manipulation of the upper cervical spine could reduce blood pressure is both novel and appealing at the same time” said Dr. Lamas. “It is novel because of its originality of thought, and because it is backed up by preliminary data. It is appealing because any treatment for high blood pressure that does not expose patients to drugs and their side effects should be investigated. I really look forward to assisting with the study and seeing the results.”

“This should be an interesting trial,” added Dr. Giudici. “Work to date has shown that blood pressure responds to other non-pharmacologic interventions such as diet, weight loss, exercise, stress reduction and yoga. There is also some interesting early data on blood pressure response to slowing respiratory rate. Palmer has put together an impressive team of researchers and the infrastructure needed to perform this and other studies.”

Potential participants in the study will be examined at the PCCR clinic and Trinity Terrace Park Family Practice Clinic to determine whether they qualify for the study. If so, they will be randomly assigned to one of three different upper cervical treatment groups, all of which will receive chiropractic care at the Palmer Research Clinic for eight weeks. Patients will have their blood pressure monitored on a regular basis while participating in the study. All examinations and treatment are provided at no charge to the patient.