Upper Cervical Care And The Patient With Parkinson's Disease

CASE STUDY

Reduction in Symptoms Related to Parkinson's Disease Concomitant with Subluxation Reduction Following Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care

Jonathan Chung DC & Justin Brown DC

Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research ~ March 14, 2011 ~ Pages 18-21

Abstract

Objective: To provide a detailed report on one case of a 67 year-old female with Parkinson’s disease under upper cervical chiropractic care.

Clinical Features: A 67 year-old female patient presenting to a private practice with an atlas subluxation complex as well as signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that include weakness, tremors, scoliosis and rigidity.

Intervention and Outcomes: Over a period of 6 months, the patient was seen 19 times and was adjusted 12 times following the NUCCA protocol. Improvements in radiographic measurements, paraspinal thermography, and sEMG were recorded. Patient self-reported improvements in weakness, tremors, rigidity, and overall mobility.

Conclusion: The upper cervical subluxation may be a contributing factor to the symptomatic expression of Parkinson’s disease. Reduction of the subluxation with specific vectored correction may be a plausible, safe, and effective approach for managing PD. More research is warranted investigating the effects of upper cervical care and Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

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Editor's Note: Remember that upper cervical care is not a treatment for Parkinson's Disease. An individual with Parkinson's Disease will benefit from a good nerve supply free of interference due to head/neck misalignment (the objective of upper cervical care). Sometimes that improved function better enables the body to heal itself as is evident in this case of a woman with Parkinson's Disease.

Sciatica and Upper Cervical Care

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

Sciatic Pain in both legs and the Upper Neck?

by Dr. William R. Davis Jr., D.C.

Sciatica that affects both legs (bilateral) is slightly less common than one sided (unilateral) sciatic nerve pain. Either leg can be affected individually or both together at once. Bilateral symptoms have a reputation as being a highly variable pain process and most patients demonstrate pain, tingling, weakness or numbness throughout wide ranging areas of the lower back, buttocks, legs and feet.

Being an upper cervical chiropractor many people cannot understand how I can get such good results with lower back and leg pain. But the truth is one of the most common conditions that I see in my practice is lower back pain with or without leg pain or sciatica.

So what does the neck have to do with the lower back and legs?

Upper neck misalignments (can) cause the posture of the body to be altered. Accidents and injuries to the head and neck will tear loose the tissue that holds the spine in place which will create a weakness and allow the spine to break down and lock into a stressed position.

The most movable bone in the body is located at the base of the skull and is called the Atlas. When the Atlas has lost it’s normal position the weight of the head is shifted to one side or the other.

Once this shift has taken place the body will begin to compensate. One of the shoulders will typically become lower and the pelvis will distort in order to compensate for lack of balance in the upper neck.

This Functional Pelvic Distortion is the underlying factor in many sciatic cases. This twisting and tilting of the pelvis causes a tethering on the sciatic nerve or nerves, inflammation and muscle spasms in most cases.

Here is an example from my office just last month.

Jim had lower back pain for years and was seeking help for severe degenerative disc disease in the lower back from a spinal decompression center in the area. After receiving the spinal decompression treatment his lower back pain increased and eventually he began getting intense sciatica down both legs.

He was referred to our office by a friend and came in quite sceptical that an upper cervical correction could help his lower back and legs. But at the encouragement of his friend he decided to give it a shot.

He had a history of severe head and neck traumas including several concussions and a auto racing crash at 145 mph.

He was assessed and found to have significant postural problems originating from the upper neck. His head and neck were markedly off to the right side and his pelvis was severely tilted and twisted 3 degrees from level. His thermographic scans showed severe inflammation in the upper neck and lower back.

He had lower back pain mostly on the left side and leg pain from the buttock to the foot on the left and sporadically on the right as well. He also had numbness and tingling on both sides worse in the feet.

He noticed if he moved his head back into extension it would increase the leg pain.

He was barely walking, could not sit for more than 5 minutes and was taking 4 Codeines and 12 Advil per day!

His x-rays showed significant disc degeneration in the lower back and neck and a very complicated and unstable upper cervical misalignment.

We began working on him and results were slow because of the instability of his misalignment. Once he began to hold his correction and the pressure remained off of the nerves for prolonged periods of time, his pain began slowing improving. A 30% reduction in the pain and the majority of the numbness in the legs was gone in the first month. He is in his second month now and his corrections are holding better and better. His hips stay level for weeks at a time and now he is completely off of the pain pills and able to sit for long periods of time again and his pain has gone from a constant 10/10 pain to a sporadic 3/10 pain that has localized to one leg. He and his wife just left on a week long cruise and he is very happy!

I never did any treatment on his lower back! I only corrected the underlying postural problems in the spine that were causing the lower back pain and the sciatica. By balancing out the head and the neck the pelvis is able to stay level and the pressure stays off the nerves.

Who do you know that has recurring lower back pain or sciatica? Who do you know that is considering surgery, decompression, injections or other overpriced and dangerous options?

The best questions to ask to see if upper cervical chiropractic could help you is…

Have you had head or neck traumas in the past?

Do you have obvious postural issues? Head tilts to one side, shoulders uneven, etc.

The results that I see are common in upper cervical offices. If you google upper cervical and sciatica you will see many of the patients who have been helped with sciatica across the country.

To find out if upper cervical chiropractic is right for you go to www.nuccawellness.com, www.nucca.org or www.upcspine.com and find a doctor in your area today.

Upper Cervical Care And Genetics

DNA, three little letters that no one ever heard of a century ago yet today almost everyone has heard of. Although most people do not know that DNA stands for, deoxyribonucleic acid, we do know that it is the blueprint for the human body. Within the genes of a fertilized egg are the plans for everything from the color of your eyes to the maximum amount of time you have on the earth. Scientists have even identified many of these genes and determined what their responsibility is in various functions within the body. Their desire is to alter these genes and to repair damaged ones that may lead to medical conditions. Genetic altering and cloning are just part of this entire concept that sounds very much like science fiction. But then who would have thought 75 years ago that we would be talking to each other on phones without wires!

The discovery of the genetic code was truly a great event, worthy of the Nobel Prize that it gained for its discovers. But in all the hoopla and attention paid to the genetic code we have lost sight of the fact that it is just a blueprint. First, a blueprint does not create itself. It is the result of thoughts of an intelligent person. The architect or the designer makes the blueprint. The blueprint may say your eyes are going to be blue but it did not design the thousand parts that make up the eye anymore than the blueprint grew the wood or made the bricks that will go into the building. That too took intelligent actions on the part of brick makers, and of course, “only God can make a tree.”

The major area where the genome discovers went wrong was to assume that the DNA makes the body, that it creates new cells to fashion the organs and tissues of the human organism. That would be like setting down the set of blueprints at the work site, dumping the bricks, cement, steel and wood next to it and saying “go ahead blueprint, erect this building.”

Blueprints are great, even necessary to the success of the building and perpetuation of any structure. (If a building was just thrown together without a design it probably would not last very long). DNA is necessary for the design and perpetuation of the human organism, but it is only a blueprint. The architect and the builder of the human body is a principle called life. In upper cervical care, we call that principle the innate (inborn) intelligence of the body. It even repairs and makes changes to the blueprint. It then takes the blueprint and creates the organs and system of the body. It will even make changes when the blueprint is not quite what it should be. The innate intelligence can compensate for weaknesses in our DNA. For example, just because you have a genetic tendency toward a condition like diabetes does not mean you will necessarily have the disease. The innate intelligence of the body can overcome certain genetic predispositions. It can do it a lot better if it is free to express itself. That is where upper cervical care comes in.

The innate intelligence uses the nerve system to cause function, adapt the body and compensate for genetic weaknesses. If there is an interference in the nerve system due to head/neck misalignment the body just cannot adapt and compensate as well. Your DNA is important. But remember a dead body has cells all with DNA and it does that body no good. Only the life-giving, life-enhancing innate intelligence of the body can direct the DNA to benefit you, your life and that of your family.