Autoimmune Disorder
The chiropractic management of a paralytic
autoimmune disorder Amalu WC. Today’s Chiropractic.
March/April 2002;51-57.
This is the case of a 33-year-old female
with stocking-glove numbness, bilateral upper and lower extremity
weakness and twitching and overall fatigue over a three-month
period. Six months earlier she had awoken with numbness in
her left pinky finger and within two months the symptoms
progressed to complete quadriplegia.
MRI, CT scans, spinal taps
and lab exams failed to identify her problem. When intravenous
immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy brought cessation of all signs
and symptoms, a diagnosis of autoimmune disorder with associated
peripheral neuropathy was made. Her symptoms would disappear
after IVIG therapy but slowly returned to complete paralysis
until another IVIG treatment followed by 10 days of prednisone
to counteract the side effects.
Chiropractic spinal analysis
using infrared imaging, muscle analysis and precision X-ray
analysis revealed upper cervical (atlanto-occipital, atlano-axial)
subluxations. The atlas was adjusted knee-chest posture on
the posterior arch. Post adjustment spinal scans revealed resolution
of subluxation symptom complex. The patient was adjusted once
weekly for three months of care.
Stocking-glove numbness increased
for two days after the first adjustment followed by a significant
decrease in symptoms including a mild improvement in muscle
strength and fatigue. She continued to improve. Her upper extremity
strength increased, she was able to increase her workload,
had more energy, and discontinued her IVIG and prednisone therapy.
After one year the patient continued her improvement; apart
from some lower extremity weakness with stair use she remains
active and symptom free.
Copyright 2004 Koren Publications,
Inc. & Tedd Koren,
D.C.