Blood Pressure/ Hypertension
“While results cannot be predicted
for a particular hypertensive patient, a therapeutic trial
of chiropractic co-management would seem to be warranted,
especially when dysfunction is identified in relevant spinal
areas. Proper lifestyle advice and medical care should be
concurrent with a regime of adjusting. The authors advise
close monitoring of blood pressure for all chiropractic patients
on anti-hypertensive medication...the combined effects of
the adjustment and the medication might drive a patient’s
blood pressure below normal.” From Weber M. and Masarsky
C, Eds. Neurological Fitness Vol.2 No.3 April 1993.
The types
and frequencies of nonmusculoskeletal symptoms reported after
chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. Leboeuf -Yde C,
Axen I, Ahlefeldt G, et al. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics Nov/Dec 1999:22(9) 559-64.
“How frequently [do] patients report nonmusculoskeletal
symptomatic improvements and [what are] the types of such
reactions that patients believe to be associated with chiropractic…”
Twenty
consecutive patients from 87 Swedish chiropractors answered
questionnaires on return visits. A total of 1,504 questionnaires
were completed and returned. Twenty-three per cent of patients
reported improvement in nonmusculoskeletal symptoms, including:
- Easier to breathe (98 patients)
- Improved digestive function (92)
- Clearer/better/sharper vision (49)
- Improved circulation (34)
- Less ringing in the ears (10)
- Acne/eczema better (8)
- Dysmenorrhoea better (7)
- Asthma/allergies better (6)
- Sense of smell heightened (3)
- Reduced blood pressure (2)
- Numbness in tongue gone (1)
- Hiccups gone (1)
- Menses function returned (1)
- Cough disappeared (1)
- Double vision disappeared (1)
- Tunnel vision disappeared (1)
- Less nausea (1)
The effect of cranial adjusting on hypertension:
a case report. Connelly DM, Rasmussen SA Chiropractic Technique,
May 1998; 10(2):75-78.
This paper describes the experiences of three
hypertensive patients who underwent chiropractic sacrooccipital
cranial technique.
One was a 73 year-old woman with a blood
pressure of 170/100. Immediately following chiropractic care it
was 120/78 and over the next few months measured 140/72.
The second
patient was a 41 year-old woman with a blood pressure of 170/95.
With cranial care it dropped to an average of 147/90. She was
instructed to remove her dental plate at night and a couple
of times during the day and her blood pressure dropped to 130/90.
The
third patient was a 74 year-old male on blood pressure medication
who presented a blood pressure of 140/100. After a series of adjustments
he was told by his MDs to reduce and eliminate medications. He
presented with a blood pressure of 130/80 on his last visit.
Randomized
clinical trial of chiropractic adjustments and brief massage
treatment for essential hypertension: A pilot study. Plaugher
G, Meker W, Shelsy A, Lotun K, Jansen R.
Conf Proc Chiro Cent
Found 1995; Jul: 366-367.
An effect of sacro occipital technique
on blood pressure. Unger J, Sweat S, Flanagan S, Chudowski
S. Proceedings of the International Conference on Spinal Manipulation.
1993 A/M. P. 87.
A single chiropractic intervention can bring
about a significant reduction in blood pressure in a hypertensive
group of subjects. Not only was the reduction in systolic blood
pressure statistically significant; more important was the clinical
significance of this effect.
Chiropractic management of a hypertensive
patient: a case study. Plaugher G, Bachman TR. Journal of Manipulative
and Physiological Therapeutics accepted for publication 1993.
A
38-year-old male complaining of hypertension of 14 years duration
was suffering from the side effects of medication (Minipress ™ and Corgard ™ ):
bloating sensations, depression, fatigue, and impotency.
Chiropractic
analysis revealed vertebral subluxation complex at levels C6-7,
T3-4, and T7-8.
After three visits, patient’s M.D. stopped the Minipress ™ and
reduced the Corgard ™ After ix adjustments, Corgard ™ was
reduced again. All medications were stopped after seven adjustments.
Medication side effects had abated as well. After 18 months,
patient’s blood pressure remained at normal levels.
Hypertension
and the atlas subluxation complex. Goodman R. Chiropractic:
J of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. Vol
8 No. 2, July 1992. Pp. 30-32.
Six of eight patients under chiropractic
experienced relief of symptoms and lowered blood pressure after
chiropractic care. The blood pressures of two subjects remained
unchanged or increased sometime during the test period.
“Systolic
pressure was lowered by an average of 27mm Hg, and the diastolic
pressure by an average of 13mm Hg. In several subjects, other
symptoms such as low back pain, thoracic tightness, headaches,
and general malaise, diminished following the adjustments.
Those subjects who were not on medication showed the greatest
change."
Hypertension: a case study. McGee D. Chiropractic:
J of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. Vol.7.
No.4, Jan. 1992, Pp. 98-99.
This is the case history of a 46-year-old
woman’s
rapid decrease in blood pressure following 8 weeks of chiropractic
care.
Systemic effects of spinal lesions. Dhami MSI, DeBoer
KF In Principles and Practice of Chiropractic, 2nd edition,
Appleton and Lange, East Norwalk, CT 1992.
The authors list “organic
disorders reported to be related to spinal lesions or affected
by chiropractic manipulation.”
These include: abdominal
discomfort, asthma, Barre-Lieou syndrome, cardiac arrhythmia,
colic, constipation, dysmenorrhea, high blood pressure, low-blood
sugar and hyperinsulinism, migraine, pulmonary diseases, ulcers
and vertebral autonomic dysfunction.
Improvements following
the combination of chiropractic adjustments, diet, and exercise
therapy. GS, Sauer AD, Wahl DR, Kessinger J. Chiropractic:
The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation
1990; 5:37-39.
Four individuals and the effects of chiropractic
adjustments on their cardiac dysfunctions as monitored by ECG
are presented.
A baseline ECG was taken. A treatment plan was
implemented consisting of adjustments combined with exercise
and diet recommendations. At the end of the treatment period,
a follow-up ECG was performed and three of the four patients
showed improvement.
Preliminary study of blood pressure changes
in normotensive subjects undergoing chiropractic care. McKnight
ME, DeBoer KF, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics,1988;
11:261-266.
Seventy-five people were tested after specific chiropractic
cervical adjustments.
Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure
decreased significantly in the adjusted group. No significant
changes occurred in the control group.
In those with the highest
pre-treatment blood pressures, the treatment effect was greatest,
indicating that the effectiveness in hypertensives may be even
more significant.
Effects of chiropractic treatment on blood
pressure and anxiety: a randomized, controlled trial. Yates
RG, Lamping DL, Abram NL, Wright C. Journal of Manipulative
and Physiological Therapeutics, 1988; 11(6):484-8.
In this patient-blinded,
assessor-blinded, placebo-controlled study, the authors state
that the data “lend support
to the hypothesis that chiropractic manipulation of the thoracic
spine significantly reduces blood pressure in patients with
elevated blood pressure.”
Both systolic and diastolic
blood pressure decreased significantly in the adjusted group.
Adjustments were delivered to segments T-1 to T-5 of the 21
patients in the group adjusted. No significant changes occurred
in the placebo or control groups.
The management of hypertensive
disease: a review of spinal manipulation and the efficacy of
conservative therapeusis. Crawford JP, Hickson GS, Wiles MR.
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 1986;
9:27-32
From the abstract:
Hypertension, therefore, may be regarded
as a prime condition warranting specialized care that includes
proper education during the formative years, modification of
dietary habits in conjunction with daily exercise regiment,
and regular spinal maintenance, all of which are covered by
modern chiropractic clinical practice.
Evidence for a possible
anti-hypertensive effect of basic technique apex contact adjusting.
Dulgar G, Hill D, Sirucek A, Davis BP, ACA J of Chiropractic,
1980;14:97-102.
A statistically significant drop in both systolic
and diastolic blood pressure in normotensive (normal blood
pressure) subjects was found under chiropractic care.
The authors
write that spinal care …. “might
offer a drugless means of lowering blood pressure in essential
hypertensive patients.”
The effects of upper cervical
adjustment upon the normal physiology of the heart. Tran AT,
Kirby JD. J Am. Chiropractic Association, 1977; 11/S: 58-62.
Upper
cervical adjustments were found to have a hypotensive effect.
Blood pressure, results in 75 abnormal cases. Hood Robin P.
Digest of Chiropractic Economics. May/June 1974
This is a paper
describing seventy-five patients with abnormal blood pressure
in a two-year study on chiropractic care.
Thirty-eight of the
patients were taking or had been taking prescribed drugs for
hypertension and many still had high blood pressure even on
the drugs.
Chiropractic care involved spinal adjustments using
the Gonstead method of spinal care. The patient’s diet
was also modified to eliminate refined, processed foods,
soft drinks, stomach-sleeping and high pillows.
Results: Before
care the average blood pressure of the 67 hypertensive patients
was 163/93.8. After care it was 130.4/82. Before care the average
blood pressure of the 8 hypotensive patients was 100/67.5,
after care it was 114/76.3
Effect of osteopathic manipulative
therapy on autonomic tone as evidenced by blood pressure changes
and activity on the fibrinolytic system. Fichera AP; Celander
DR. J Am Osteopath Assoc 1969; 68(10): 1036-8
Manipulation lowered
blood pressure.
Effect of osteopathic manipulative therapy on
autonomic tone as evidenced by blood pressure changes and activity
of the fibrinolytic system. Celander E, Koenig AJ, Celander
DR. Journal Of The American Osteopathic Association, May
1968; 67:1037-1038.
Manipulation of cervical and thoracic vertebrae
reduces moderate (140/90) hypertension. The mechanism appears
to be that manipulation of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae
reduces moderate hypertension by causing a decrease in plasma
fibrinogen that appears to favor the parasympathic nervous
system. The blood pressure decreased in 86% of hypertensives.
Manipulative
management of hypertension. Northup TL, Journal of the American
Osteopathic Association 60:973-978, 1961
From the paper:
“After more than 30 years of practice, I know of no
other modality that will as effectively maintain blood pressure
at a safe level as appropriate osteopathic manipulative treatment.” Hypertension
adjustments were made to the upper cervical area and the
lower thoracic area.
Osteopathic cardiology. Wilson PT. Yearbook
of the American Academy of Osteopathy, 1958.
The objectives
of treatment are the restoration of physiologic motion of the
occiput, C7-T2, and T10-12.
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