August 2022


  • Bedwetting Resolved with Chiropractic Care
  • Long Term Maintenance Chiropractic Continues to Show Spinal Improvement
  • Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Symptoms Improved with Chiropractic
  • Improved Health Outcomes in a Child with Down Syndrome Undergoing Chiropractic Care to Reduce Vertebral Subluxation

Bedwetting Resolved with Chiropractic Care

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, Chiropractic, published the results of a case study on August 8, 2022, documenting the resolution of bedwetting in a young boy after starting chiropractic care.

John Hopkins Medical Center describes this problem on their website. "Urinary incontinence (enuresis) is the medical term for bedwetting. Incontinence is accidental or intentional urination in children who are at an age where they should be able to have control of their bladders. Girls usually obtain bladder control before boys do. Incontinence may be diagnosed in girls older than age 5 and in boys who are older than age 6 who are still having urinary control problems."

Nighttime bedwetting is known as nocturnal enuresis. The study explains how common this issue is by stating, "…the prevalence of enuresis was 25% in children who were age four, 23% in children who were age five, 10% in children who were age seven, 4% in children who were age ten, and in adults ages 16-40 it was seen in 2.6% of the population." The condition is twice as likely to occur in boys than in girls.

In this case, a 10-year-old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his parents. The boy was experiencing bedwetting since he was approximately two and a half years old. Over the past seven years, he had not had three dry nights in a row. It was also recorded that the boy had shoulder pain that started after he fell off a skateboard. The boy was not receiving any other types of medical care for these problems.

A chiropractic examination was performed that included measuring the spinal range of motion, palpation of the spine, and spinal x-rays. The results of the examination found that there were no underlying pathologies. However, it was determined that there were multiple areas of vertebral subluxations present.

Subluxations are vertebrae that are out of their proper alignment that are causing interference to the function of the nervous system. Subluxations can alter parts of the nerve system that can alter body functions such as the urinary bladder and the sphincters that control the flow of urine. It is this mechanism that can result in issues of bladder function leading to enuresis.

Based upon these findings, specific chiropractic adjustments were started to address the subluxations. After the first adjustment, it was reported that the boy had three successive dry nights, something that had not occurred in the prior seven years. As care continued, the bedwetting continued to improve from what was initially almost a nightly issue, to only three occurrences on the last three months included in this case study.

In the study conclusion the authors summed up the results of this case by stating, "This case study presents the effects of subluxation-based chiropractic care on the management of a 10-year-old with enuresis." They continued by noting that with the use of specific chiropractic adjustments to correct subluxations, "…the patient received specific intersegmental adjustments, and experienced a reduction in the symptoms of enuresis. After 8 months of chiropractic care, the patient reported only two incidents over a 3-month time period. Prior to the start of care the patient wet the bed almost every night since the age of 2.5 to 10 years old."


Long Term Maintenance Chiropractic Continues to Show Spinal Improvement

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health published the results of a case study on July 20, 2022, documenting the correction over time of spinal vertebrae in the neck. The study is titled, "Reducing Cervical Retrolisthesis With Long-Term Monthly Chiropractic Maintenance Care: A Case Report." What is unique about this study is it showed that spinal positional correction continued to take place years after the chiropractic care started and entered the maintenance portion of care.

Many patients begin chiropractic care for the alleviation of symptoms, commonly musculoskeletal types of pain. In a number of these cases, patients will discontinue their care when they feel better, and the symptoms are gone. These patients skip maintenance care with the assumption that if the problem returns, they can simply go back to the chiropractor to gain relief again.

In this case study, a 44-year-old woman sought out chiropractic care for help with multiple symptoms. The history showed that the woman was suffering with neck pain, numbness, and tingling that was radiating down her right forearm and hand. She also experienced intermittent shoulder stiffness. These problems had been occurring for the previous 12 months.

The woman had originally seen an orthopedist for her problems and was treated with traction and medications. Having seen no benefit from the medical care, the woman decided to try chiropractic.

A chiropractic examination was performed which included spinal range of motion, some orthopedic exam procedures, grip strength measurements, spinal x-rays and a World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) assessment. The WHOQOL assessment ranges from 0 to 100 with 100 being the best. The WHO website describes this test by stating, "WHO defines Quality of Life as an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns." In this case, the woman rated her quality of life as a 64 out of 100.

Chiropractic care was started at the rate of three visits per week for the first month. After this point, the frequency of care was reduced and continued for three months. At the three month point, the patient reported that her symptoms were totally alleviated, and she had regained full neck mobility. She also reported that she had stopped all pain medications. The woman’s WHOQOL score improved from 64 to 98 indicating a vast improvement in her quality of life.

Subsequently, the woman began chiropractic maintenance care and continued this care schedule for 13 years. Periodically, as well as at the 13-year wellness point, x-rays were taken to monitor the process of the woman’s spine. These x-rays showed that improvement in her spine continued to be visible as maintenance care continued. The latest x-rays showed that spinal changes and improvement continued long after the initial phase of chiropractic care.

"Many insurance programs and governmental programs do not cover maintenance care because they consider it to be not medically necessary and of no benefit to the restoration of health," says Dr. Selina Sigafoose-Jackson, president of the International Chiropractors Association. Dr. Sigafoose-Jackson continued, "This study highlights that chiropractic maintenance care continues to have corrective outcomes in addition to the benefits of maintaining good health."


Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Symptoms Improved with Chiropractic

On July 24, 2022, the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research published the results of a case study documenting the improvement of a woman under chiropractic care, for the symptoms of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). In the simplest terms as described on WebMD, "Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a disorder in which most of your blood stays in your lower body when you stand up, and in response, your heart rate jumps."

According to this study, "Approximately 500,000 patients in the United States suffer from POTS, and 25% of them are disabled due to this condition and unable to work." The study also reports that POTS is five times more common in women than in men, and most commonly seen in women between the ages of 15-50 years.

John Hopkins Medicine describe the symptoms by stating, "The symptoms of POTS include but are not limited to lightheadedness (occasionally with fainting), difficulty thinking and concentrating (brain fog), fatigue, intolerance of exercise, headache, blurry vision, palpitations, tremor and nausea."

In this case, a 31-year-old woman went to a chiropractor because she was suffering with neck pain. She could not recall any reason for the neck pain except that she had started a new job that required that she be seated for up to ten hours in a day. She listed that pain as a 6 out of 10, with 10 being the worst imaginable.

Initially, the woman did not mention to the chiropractor that she had been diagnosed with POTS. Many people who are unfamiliar with chiropractic mistakenly do not mention other serious health conditions to their chiropractor because they do not think it would have anything to do with chiropractic care. Since chiropractic works by correcting nervous system interference caused by subluxations, the positive effects can be very wide reaching on all sorts of health concerns.

This woman developed POTS when she was 16 years old. The condition was so severe that anytime she attempted to stand upright, she would pass out. Because of this, her medical physician ordered bedrest for three months. She was given medication in an attempt to help her symptoms. Because she did not like the way the medication made her feel, she made several lifestyle changes and avoided triggers that would create an episode. Even with these changes, the woman was still experiencing severe episodes three to four times a month with durations of thirty minutes to an hour.

After a chiropractic examination, it was determined that the woman had multiple areas of subluxations. A schedule of chiropractic adjustments was started to address the subluxations. The results of the care showed that the woman’s neck pain had resolved, even when working for long hours. The symptoms from her POTS also showed significant improvement. By the end of the care recorded in this study, the woman had gone two months without a POTS episode, and the last one she did experience only lasted five minutes.

In the conclusion of this study, the author summed up the results by saying, "This case report demonstrates the effect of chiropractic treatment of a female patient with postural orthostatic tachycardia and associated neck pain. After experiencing chiropractic care, the patient reported a decrease in the signs, symptoms, and frequency of occurrences of POTS flare ups."


Improved Health Outcomes in a Child with Down Syndrome Undergoing Chiropractic Care to Reduce Vertebral Subluxation

The above headline is from the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, Chiropractic, published on July 22, 2022. The study documented a number of health and quality of life improvements in a baby with Down Syndrome receiving chiropractic care.

The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the condition by stating, "Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Chromosomes are small ‘packages’ of genes in the body. They determine how a baby’s body forms and functions as it grows during pregnancy and after birth." They further explain, "This extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby."

It has been estimated that about 6,000 babies are born with Down syndrome in the United States each year. The average lifespan of a baby born with Down syndrome has increased over the years. In 1910, a baby with Down syndrome would be expected to live only to age 9. By 1983 the life expectancy had risen to 25 years, and by 2012, the life expectancy had risen to 60 years and is continuing to increase.

In this case, a 7-week-old baby girl was brought to the chiropractor by her mother. The baby had been diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth as the mother was not aware until delivery that her baby had this condition. The baby girl had trouble breastfeeding and was not gaining appropriate weight. The baby also had issues with sleep and did not establish a normal sleep pattern. Additionally, the parents had to wake the baby every two to three hours and attempt to feed her to prevent further weight loss.

When the baby was brought to the chiropractor, an examination was performed. This examination included inspection, a postural analysis, and spinal palpation. It was determined that the baby had areas of vertebral subluxation that were affecting nerve system function.

Specific age-appropriate adjustments were given to the baby girl to correct the subluxations. The baby was seen weekly for a six-week period. After the initial six weeks, the mother reported that her baby girl was no longer having problems with breastfeeding. The baby was also gaining weight normally and her sleep pattern had returned to normal. As care continued, it was reported that other issues, such as constipation or congestion, would clear up after a chiropractic adjustment.

In the study conclusion, the authors summed up the results of this case by noting, "This case demonstrates a situation in which subluxation-based chiropractic care has successfully helped a patient with Down Syndrome to stimulate normal developmental activities (such as latching and regular sleep patterns) and increased her overall health (by resolving acute symptoms including constipation and respiratory issues)."