Chiropractic care can play a crucial role in the management of multiple sclerosis. At the Marc Bony Chiropractic Center in Mataró, we explore how chiropractic adjustments can improve our patients’ natural health.
subluxations/upper cervical spine
Erin L. Elster, D.C. INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is threefold: To examine the role of head and neck trauma as a contributing factor to the onset of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease; To explore the diagnosis and treatment of trauma to the upper spine using the protocol developed by the INTERNATIONAL UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTIC ASSOCIATION (IUCCA); and to investigate the potential to improve and reduce the severity of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease by correcting injuries to the upper cervical spine. This study presents data from 81 patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease who recalled a previous trauma involving injuries to the upper cervical region and who received care in accordance with the aforementioned protocol.
CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Patients were selected based on the author’s criteria. Each patient was examined and received chiropractic care at the author’s private practice in an uncontrolled setting over a period of more than 5 years. Of the 81 patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, 78 had experienced at least one head or neck injury prior to the onset of their illness. In order of frequency, patients reported having suffered car accidents (39 patients), sports-related accidents—such as skiing, horseback riding, bicycling, and American football (29 patients)—or falls on icy sidewalks or while descending stairs (16 patients). The time interval between the traumatic event and the onset of the disease ranged from two months to 30 years.
PROCEDURE AND RESULTS: Two diagnostic tests—a digital paraspinal infrared image and a laser-aligned X-ray—were performed in accordance with the IUCCA protocol. These tests objectively identify subluxations (misalignment of the upper cervical vertebrae within the neurological canal) in the upper cervical region, resulting in neuropathophysiological changes. Subluxations in the upper cervical vertebrae were found in all 81 cases. After administering treatment to correct the trauma in their upper cervical spine, 40 out of 44 (91%) patients with multiple sclerosis, and 34 out of 37 (92%) cases of Parkinson’s disease showed symptomatic improvement and a halt in disease progression during the treatment period.
CONCLUSION: There appears to be a causal relationship between trauma to the upper cervical spine and the onset of both multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Correcting damage in the upper cervical region using the IUCCA protocol may reduce and reverse the progression of both Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Further study is recommended in a controlled, experimental setting with a larger sample size. INTRODUCTION While the relationship between head trauma and the subsequent development of Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis remains controversial, many researchers studying Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis have confirmed this connection. Several researchers have reported a strong association between head trauma and the subsequent development of Parkinson’s disease in controlled retrospective studies, and have found that this association was much stronger than that of other environmental factors long suspected of being risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. On average, these studies found that head trauma occurred two or three decades before Parkinson’s disease developed. In a recently published study conducted at the Mayo Clinic and led by Dr. J.H. Bower, the association between head trauma and Parkinson’s disease was investigated in greater detail. After reviewing the complete medical records of both cases and controls, the research team was able to objectively confirm a prior head injury. The study’s results suggested that head trauma was associated with the subsequent development of Parkinson’s disease, even when the study’s limitations were taken into account. In a discussion arguing for the possible role of trauma in the development of multiple sclerosis, Dr. Charles Poser argues that in some patients with multiple sclerosis, certain types of trauma (to the brain and/or spine, including whiplash) can act as a trigger for the onset of new or recurrent symptoms. Poser further suggests that trauma to the central nervous system can disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which many researchers consider to be a critical factor in the formation of multiple sclerosis lesions. His study conducted on monkeys demonstrated that moderate trauma inflicted on the central nervous system—including damage caused by whiplash—resulted in a breach of the BBB. He also cites several studies that observed a correlation between trauma and the formation or exacerbation of multiple sclerosis lesions. He goes further by stating that the relationship between cervical spondylosis and multiple sclerosis has been very well documented by multiple sclerosis researchers, revealing a very close anatomical correspondence between compression of the cervical spine due to spondylosis or herniated discs and intraspinal plaques at the same level. In 1996, a British court awarded damages to a plaintiff based on the rapid onset of multiple sclerosis shortly after he had been in a car accident.
The judge presiding over the case said he agreed that the plaintiff had suffered whiplash, and that the symptoms that later appeared indicated that multiple sclerosis had developed in the same area that had been affected by the accident. Experts testified that hundreds of cases of multiple sclerosis were diagnosed immediately after a car accident; in other cases, they stated that the diagnoses were coincidental. While links between accidents and the subsequent development of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease have been established, researchers have yet to define an exact mechanism to explain the onset of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease following an accident, nor have they identified an objective method to measure or diagnose the type of trauma that causes damage and appears to precipitate the onset of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. This study serves to demonstrate the aforementioned facts through a case summary, diagnostic test results, and responses to chiropractic treatment in 81 patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, 78 of whom confirmed that they had sustained a head or neck trauma prior to the onset of the disease. These patients were examined and treated in the author’s private practice over a period of more than 5 years in a non-experimental setting without a control group. This paper is not intended to be a controlled research study, but it does serve to lay the groundwork for future research. Reports on two of the 81 cases (1 with multiple sclerosis and 1 with Parkinson’s disease) were published in scientific journals (reviewed and peer-reviewed by professionals in the field). Other reports documenting the success of treatments for patients with similar diagnoses using chiropractic care of the upper cervical spine are limited primarily to Palmer’s research on the upper cervical spine from 70 years ago, which has never been published in the same manner. Patients with other neurological conditions, such as migraines and Tourette syndrome, also responded favorably to chiropractic care of the upper cervical spine following the IUCCA protocol. In both cases, patients reported significant head or neck injuries or trauma prior to the onset of symptoms and diagnoses.
CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Of a total of 81 cases of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, 44 individuals with multiple sclerosis and 37 with Parkinson’s disease consented to examination and treatment at the author’s private practice. Patients began treatment at various times over a period of more than five years. The duration of treatment varied from one patient to another depending on the individual. Data from the 44 patients with multiple sclerosis and the 37 with Parkinson’s disease were compiled and presented in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. The patients with multiple sclerosis ranged in age from 21 to 66 years and had been diagnosed with the disease by their neurologists between 1 and 20 years prior. Most patients reported that they had already tried everything to alleviate their symptoms, including prescription medications, osteopathic manipulation, physical therapy, massage therapy, Rolfing, acupuncture, herbal remedies, Chinese medicine, chelation therapy, special diets, and supplements… Patients were asked if they had suffered any type of trauma (blow to the head, concussion, whiplash, accident, fall, etc.) prior to the onset of multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. Of the 44 patients with multiple sclerosis, 43 (98%) recalled some type of trauma. (Table 1). Of the 37 patients with Parkinson’s disease, 35 (95%) recalled some type of trauma. (Table 2). Of the 78 patients who recalled some type of trauma (many recalled more than one), 39 (21 Parkinson’s patients and 18 multiple sclerosis patients) reported having suffered one or more traffic accidents (most were minor rear-end collisions) 29 reported blows to the head and/or neck during sports activities, including skiing, bicycling, horseback riding, gymnastics, etc. And 16 reported falls on icy sidewalks or down stairs. In other less severe incidents, one man reported being struck in the head by a cow, another man reported head injuries resulting from an accident involving heavy machinery, and two women reported concussions due to domestic abuse. The time interval between the traumatic events and the onset of the illnesses ranged from two months to 30 years.
TREATMENT: Each patient was examined and treated using the protocol developed by the INTERNATIONAL UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTIC ASSOCIATION (IUCCA), including the use of digital infrared paraspinal imaging and laser-aligned X-rays of the upper cervical spine, the Knee-to-Chest posture adjustment procedure, and post-adjustment recovery. This care, explained in detail in previous publications, is based on the original research on the upper cervical spine conducted by Palmer 70 years ago. To diagnose damage to the spine, a paraspinal thermal analysis was performed using the Tytron C-3000 in accordance with thermographic protocols. In all 81 cases, paraspinal scans revealed static thermal asymmetry of 0.5 degrees or greater, indicating neuropathophysiological conditions originating in the upper cervical region. Based on the results of the thermal scans, a series of cervical X-rays (lateral, anteroposterior, open-mouth, and posterior-base views) were taken using a specially designed machine (American X-Ray Corp.) that incorporates a laser-aligned frame, an X-ray tube-mounted laser (Titronics Research and Development), and a specialized positioning chair with head restraints. This configuration is designed to accurately determine the deviation of the upper cervical region relative to the neural canal (and thus the spinal cord). Analysis of the upper cervical X-rays revealed misalignment of the upper cervical spine relative to the neural canal, or subluxations of the upper cervical vertebrae, in all 81 cases. On average, each patient’s atlas and axis were laterally deviated (to the left or right) from the foramen magnum (occipital) by about five millimeters or less, and rotated (anteriorly or posteriorly) by five degrees or less. In Tables 1 and 2, the listings of laterally deviated atlases are denoted by L (left) or R (right), and rotation by A (anterior) and P (posterior). Lateral deviation of the axis is denoted as (ESL) to the left and (ESR) to the right. Because subluxations of the upper cervical spine were discovered in all 81 cases, it was recommended that these patients receive the necessary care to correct these cervical injuries. Before beginning treatment, patients were advised to continue their medical treatments, including medications, unless their doctor had discontinued the treatment. After obtaining consent, treatment was initiated in accordance with the IUCCA protocol to correct the misalignments of the upper cervical vertebrae. To receive the adjustment, each patient was positioned on a special knee-chest table with their head turned to the right or left side, using the posterior arch of the atlas or the lamina of the axis as the contact point and applying an adjustment force with the hands. Upon completion of the adjustments, each patient lay down in a post-adjustment recovery room for 15 minutes, following the thermographic protocol. After 15 minutes, a post-adjustment thermal scan was performed to ensure the restoration of normal neurophysiology. All subsequent visits began with a thermal scan. An adjustment was performed only when the patient again exhibited thermal asymmetry. If an adjustment was performed, a second scan was conducted after the recovery period to determine whether normal thermal symmetry had been restored. On average, patients attended the clinic twice a week during the first two weeks of care, once a week for the next four weeks, twice a month for the following month, once a month for the next three months, and once every three months thereafter. RESULTS: The results for the 44 patients with multiple sclerosis and the 37 patients with Parkinson’s disease are shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. The tables indicate gender, age, years since diagnosis, initial symptoms, improvement in symptoms, and the category of improvement (minor, moderate, substantial, or no change). If the patient’s condition remained the same during the treatment period, it is indicated as “no change.” Patients who showed improvement or an absence of symptoms in less than half of the cases are listed as “minimal improvement.” Patients who showed improvement or an absence of symptoms in half of the cases are listed as “moderate improvement.” If the vast majority of patients showed improvement or an absence of symptoms, this is indicated as “substantial improvement.” Of the 44 cases of multiple sclerosis, 40 (91.1%) showed improvement. Of these 44, 28 showed substantial improvement, 8 showed moderate improvement, and 5 showed minor improvement. There was no progression of multiple sclerosis in these cases during the care period, which ranged from 1 to 5 years depending on the patient. Four cases showed no change in their condition (stability). Of the 37 patients with Parkinson’s disease, 34 (92%) showed improvement. Of these 37, 16 showed substantial improvement, 8 showed moderate improvement, and 11 showed minor improvement. There was no disease progression during the follow-up period, which ranged from 1 to 5 years depending on the individual patient. Three cases showed no change in their condition (stability). HYPOTHESIS: 78 of the 81 patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease had suffered a head or neck injury prior to the onset of the disease, including blows to the head, whiplash, or concussion resulting from a car accident, sports injury, or other types of accidents. These findings are consistent with retrospective studies conducted with patients with multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. In this study, patients were examined to confirm damage to the spine resulting from the trauma. Two diagnostic examinations were performed, in accordance with the protocol of the International Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (IUCCA)—digital infrared imaging and laser-aligned X-rays of the upper cervical spine. In all 81 cases, subluxations were found in the upper cervical spine due to trauma. After receiving chiropractic care in accordance with the IUCAA protocol, 91% of the multiple sclerosis patients and 92% of the Parkinson’s patients showed improvements, and all showed a halt in the progression of their diseases during the time they received chiropractic care. 70% of the multiple sclerosis patients who showed improvement, and 47% of the Parkinson’s patients who showed improvement, experienced substantial improvements, reporting the absence or significant improvement of most symptoms. Hypothesis: Both multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease may result from head or neck trauma, leading to damage to the upper cervical spine. This damage can be diagnosed and corrected through chiropractic care of the upper cervical spine following the IUCCA protocol. Finally, correcting this damage can slow and reverse the progression of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
CONCLUSION: 81 patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease were examined and treated using the protocol developed by the International Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (IUCCA). Trauma to the neck or head was confirmed in 78 of the cases: subluxations of the upper cervical vertebrae were found in all 81 cases, and the In 91 percent of cases, treatment led to an improvement in symptoms and the reversal and/or halt of disease progression. These results indicate a causal relationship between trauma, damage to the upper cervical spine, and the onset of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Correcting damage to the upper cervical spine using the IUCCA protocol may slow and reverse the progression of both diseases. A study in a controlled setting with a larger number of patients is recommended.
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