I saw this article the other day and thought it was amazing. My first reaction was, “Why in the world haven’t we talked more about this in school?” All anyone seems to talk about in school is back pain-this and neck pain-that. This is an amazing example of what Upper Cervical Chiropractic really can do, and instead we’re relegated to learning modalities and functional assessments.
I’ll post the body of the article entitled “Chiropractic Correction May Help Reverse Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease” here. You can find this article on News-Medical.net. The research done by Dr. Erin Elster was originally published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (JVSR) in 2004.
“A recent study of 81 cases, published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (JVSR), is the first to show that correction of upper neck injuries may reverse the progression of both Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).
The research was performed by Erin Elster, D.C., an Upper Cervical Chiropractor in Boulder, Colorado, who compiled data from 44 MS patients and 37 PD patients treated over the past five years. After treating upper neck injuries in 81 patients, 91% of MS patients and 92% of PD patients improved, suggesting that correction of neck injuries stimulated a reversal of MS and PD.
According to Dr. Elster, traumas to the head, neck, and upper spine can result in vertebral subluxations that occur when vertebrae (the small interlocking bones of the spinal column) misalign or become stuck and interfere with the function of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). By aligning the first two upper vertebrae with the skull, nerve pathways traveling between the brain and spinal cord became less obstructed. This may help improve and/or reverse both MS and PD.
“According to medical research, head and neck injuries have long been considered a contributing factor for the onset of both Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease,” said Elster. “But this is the first research to show that correction of those injuries can have a dramatic effect on improving and reversing MS and PD.”
Upper neck injuries frequently occur during traumas in which an individual sustains a blow to the head, whiplash, or concussion, such as during a fall, auto accident, or sporting accident. The injury can precede the onset of MS and PD by months, years, or even decades. In many cases, an individual is completely unaware that he or she has sustained such an injury. “An examination would need to be performed in each individual’s case to determine whether a neck injury is contributing to his or her health problem,” Elster noted.
Dr. Matthew McCoy, JVSR editor, commented that “Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year on research of MS and Parkinson’s — none of that money goes to chiropractic research. Hopefully Dr. Elster’s research will get the attention of the government, private foundations and individuals who can earmark money to further research the effects of chiropractic care on these disorders. What motivation does a pharmaceutical company have to look elsewhere for the answers? Clearly, attempting to solve what might be a mechanical problem with chemicals is not the answer.”
This research comes on the heels of other publications by Elster in which upper neck injuries were corrected in patients with migraine and cluster headaches, seizures, bipolar disorder, Tourette Syndrome and ADHD, all of which have been linked to head and neck trauma by medical researchers.
JVSR is a peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to subluxation based chiropractic research affiliated with the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA), an international organization representing doctors of chiropractic and promoting the traditional, drug-free and non-invasive form of chiropractic as a means of correcting vertebral subluxations that cause nerve interference.”
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
None of that money goes into chiropractic research! I think there’s a good reason why! Now where’s that missing control condition?
Many conditions and diseases improve with chiropractic care, but chiropractic doesn’t “cure” anything.
Health is normal. If you’re not healthy, something is interfering with this normal state. The only thing that doctors of any type can do is to remove interferences that may be preventing your body from expressing your normal health or mask symptoms (pain) with drugs.
A chiropractor’s focus is on your nervous system, which controls and regulates every aspect of your body. Restoring better brain/body communications allows a more normal expression of health. The fact that your illness may improve in the process is an expression of better nervous system control of your body.
Chiropractic doesn’t cure anything. Only your body can do that –if there isn’t any interference!
Amen to that!