Benefits of Chiropractic

Webster Technique for Pregnancy

Posted by vKuzma    Posted in Research Articles    Posted in January 26, 2012    |    1 Comments

Webster Technique for PregnancyCurrently 10% of our patients are expecting mothers.  Pregnancy is a very important time to be under chiropractic care as it supports the changes that your body is going through; it also helps your body to function better so that you can provide a better environment for the growing fetus.  There are additional benefits to prenatal chiropractic, including optimal pelvic alignment for fetal movement and position – this makes for a quick and easy childbirth, too!  Our mums usually labour for only 1-4 hours if they follow their recommended care plans.

Dr. Jassal is certified in the Webster Technique for pregnancy. Contrary to what some people will have you believe, Webster is a technique only for your pelvis and the ligaments supporting your uterus – it aligns your own body so that the fetus has the freedom to move on its own. The chiropractor does not move, manipulate or adjust the fetus itself.

Below is a small abstract outlining the effects of Webster Technique for pregnant women with abnormal fetal positions. If you are curious about whether Webster adjustments would help you with your pregnancy, please call us to book your complimentary consultation.

The Webster Technique: Results From a Practice-Based Research Network Study

Joel Alcantara DC Bio Jeanne Ohm DC Bio  Derek Kunz BS Bio.  Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic ~ Volume 2012 ~ Issue 1 ~ Pages 16-21  

Objective:  To contribute to evidence-based practice, the use of Webster Technique is characterized in a chiropractic practice-based research network.

Methods:  In an exploratory study, we sought data from pregnant subjects under chiropractic care that included their sociodemographic information, previous prenatal care and abnormal fetal positioning prior to after care with the Webster Technique.

Results:  A convenience sample of 81 pregnant women receiving chiropractic care comprised the study subjects.  The average age of the patients was 32.4 years.  Previous or concurrent care included external cephalic version, slant board, acupuncture, moxabustion, homeopathy and various forms of exercises. Based on 63 of the 81 subjects, we found  70% of the subjects with abnormal fetal pregnancies reporting a correction to the vertex position.

Conclusion:  The preliminary results of our study contributes to evidence-based practice that pregnant women with abnormal fetal positions may derive benefits from chiropractic care using the Webster Technique.

Chiropractic and Neurological Dysfunction in Children

Posted by vKuzma    Posted in Research Articles    Posted in November 28, 2011    |    No Comments

The Effects of Chiropractic Treatment on Students with Learning and Behavioral Impairments due to Neurological Dysfunction

School Children

Chiropractic Can Help with Learning Disabilities

In this study of 24 learning impaired students, half received chiropractic care and the other half, who were either on medication or receiving no treatment at all, were used for comparison. The case histories that follow were obtained from the above paper.

Case C-91: A high school student who was failing three subjects, with a history of failure, low morale, discipline problems, poor coordination, and a long history of clinical and medical treatment. After chiropractic care the student was passing all subjects, highly motivated, showing improved coordination and able to participate in athletics. All medications were dropped.

Case C-92: Also a high school student on 20mg. Ritalin and on Dilantin. She was non-motivated, negative, passive, nonverbal, and failing in high school work despite placement in special classes. After chiropractic adjustments the student was taken off  Ritalin, began talking and expressing herself, and showed improved reading comprehension and reading speed.

Case CE-92: An elementary student who was extremely hyperkinetic, irritable, and he had severe behavior problems at home and school. Grades were marginal to failing. Al-though the boy was only 8 years old, Ritalin had been increased from an initial 5mg. to a total of 70mg./day with steadily diminishing results. (70mg. approaches danger level as a dosage). At the conclusion of chiropractic care, the Ritalin had been entirely discontinued and coordination was improved to the extent that the student became an able Little League ball player. His attitude was excellent, grades were up an average of one letter grade, and the student was considered free of all limiting factors. Behavior at home and school was exemplary.

Case CE-101: An elementary student. This student was marginally passing his courses. There was a four year history of marginal accomplishment in school. He was nervous, underweight and suffered from insomnia. Medication was briefly tried but the student’s emotional control became poor and he frequently wept. The medication had to be discontinued. After chiropractic care there was a marked reduction in nervousness and great improvement in emotional stability. His mother reported that his appetite was now normal and he began enjoying school during the last month.

Case C-93: A high school student. Initially on heavy dosages of medication, non-motivated with a long history of clinical evaluation and treatment. The girl was failing most school subjects, marginal in others, and withdrawn. After chiropractic adjustments, her self-confidence improved; she was passing all subjects. All medication was discontinued after four months of treatment. A vocational goal was established.

Case CJ-95: A junior high school student. He was hyperkinetic almost from birth and had a traumatic early developmental history with suspected neurological problems. Although of above average intelligence he was passing only two subjects, both marginally. He was starting to become a discipline problem, making little or no effort in school. After chiropractic care, fine and gross motor coordination improved markedly. He began taking an interest in athletics and played Little League on a team that placed third in the state. Effort and motivation improved to the extent that plans to send him back to a lower grade were dropped and he was promoted. Reports at the third week of school indicated that his academic progress was excellent after a late summer remedial program.

Case CE-102: An elementary student who had been diagnosed by numerous clinics as minimally brain damaged, retarded and/or suffering from neurological dysfunction. He also suffered from severe emotional problems. After chiropractic he showed great improvement in self-confidence. He began to take part in public speaking in school. Mental ability tests indicated that the student was at normal grade level except for deficiencies in reading.

Walton EV.   Int Rev of Chiro 1975;29:4-5,24-26.

Chiropractic Can Reduce High Blood Pressure

Posted by vKuzma    Posted in Research Articles    Posted in November 22, 2011    |    No Comments
High Blood Pressure

Lower Your Blood Pressure With Chiropractic!

The US Food and Drug Administration has a standard for determining the efficacy of new hypertension drugs: it requires “a blinded design with a placebo-subtracted reduction in diastolic BP of 5 mm Hg or more and be free of serious side effects to be approvable.”

With that guideline as their standard, a group of researchers from the University of Chicago set out to determine if chiropractic adjustment of the atlas could reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension. The authors summarize the relationship between the first cervical vertebra (C1) and hypertension:

“Unlike other vertebrae, which interlock one to the next, the Atlas relies solely upon soft-tissue (muscles and ligaments) to maintain alignment; therefore, the placement of C-1 is pain free and thus, remains undiagnosed and untreated, whereas health-related consequences are attributed to other aetiologies.”

“Minor misalignment of the Atlas vertebra can potentially injure, impair, compress and/or compromise brainstem neural pathways. The relationship between hypertension and presence of circulatory abnormalities in the area around the Atlas vertebra and posterior fossa of the brain has been known for more than 40 years.”

In this study, the researchers took 50 patients with Stage 1 hypertension who had either never been on hypertensive drugs or who had stopped taking hypertensive drugs for at least two weeks.

All of the patients were evaluated by a chiropractor for misalignment of C1 using radiographs and leg-length checks. Half of the patients received spinal manipulation of the C1; the other half received a sham treatment that was indistinguishable from a real treatment by the patient.

The diagnostic procedure was conducted at intake, after the treatment and at eight weeks.

The authors found that the patients who received the chiropractic treatment experienced a dramatic drop in average blood pressure compared to the control subjects:

Control

Treatment
BP Baseline

145.3/91

147/92.5

BP End of Study

142.1/89.2

129.8/82.2

The drop in blood pressure was so impressive the authors state that it “is similar to that seen by giving two different antihypertensive agents simultaneously.”

Furthermore, 85% of the patients needed only one treatment to realize the improvement in blood pressure.

In addition, the study also documented the degree of pelvic misalignment and the position of the C7 vertebra; these measurements are used with this particular method of chiropractic to diagnose dysfunction of the C1 vertebra. Just as they found with the results for blood pressure, the degree of misalignment was reduced dramatically in the treatment group, but not the control group.

“As discussed in the Methods section of this paper, techniques are now available to screen for atlas misalignment. This type of screening should be the responsibility of the primary care physician and should be performed on patients who have a history of head and neck trauma even if it is deemed insignificant. Those patients who present with pain related to head and neck trauma should not be screened. At a time when the prevalence of hypertension is increasing and its control more difficult due to a variety of factors, linking the correction of C1 misalignment to the subsequent lowering of BP may represent an important advancement in the screening of such patients.”

Bakris G, Dickholtz M, Meyer PM, Kravitz G, et al. Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study. Journal of Human Hypertension 2007;21:347-352.