Cerebral Palsy
Children with cerebral palsy respond to chiropractic
care
Eighth Annual Vertebral Subluxation Research Conference October
7-8, 2000 in Spartanburg, SC. in the October, 2000 Journal
of Vertebral Subluxation Research.
All four children in the
study were medically diagnosed with cerebral palsy that was
the result of birth trauma from medical deliveries. The children
were placed under a course of chiropractic care. Surface
EMG exams and Thermographic exams were performed to document
their response to care. Their mothers and care-givers monitored
changes in activities-of-daily-living and quality-of-life
factors.
All four children showed a positive response to chiropractic
care. All showed improvement in muscle tone via EMG re-evaluation
and autonomic function via follow-up thermography readings.
Activities-of-daily-living such as mobility, range of motion,
coordination, concentration, behavior, discipline, emotional
states, vigor, feeding and appetite, sleeping patterns, balance
and postural control showed improvement as well.
Cerebral
Palsy less of a handicap with chiropractic. Rubinstein H. The
Chiropractic Journal July 1992.
Dr. Henry Rubinstein began adjusting
96 severely handicapped persons in United Cerebral Palsy-operated
cluster homes. From the article:
He (Dr. Henry) comes to adjust
them and stimulate their immune system to function better,
and it works. My kids are happier and healthier. Even their
skin color and tone is better”- says the nurse guardian
of a foster home with CP and handicapped children.
Chiropractic
and the handicapped child: cerebral palsy. McMullen M, International
Review of Chiropractic September/October 1990.
This paper reviews
the history of cerebral palsy (CP) and typical findings in
a CP patient and discusses management of care. “The child’s quality of life can be
improved with patience and support,” says the author.
Certain
spinal areas are reported to be more frequently involved with
CP – atlanto-occipital (upper neck) subluxations:
cranial base lesions, particularly the sphenobasilar joint,
temporomandibular joint.
Two special children and their parents
are fighting autism and winning! Khorshid K, ICA Review, Fall
2001.
A five year-old-male child who was diagnosed with ataxic
cerebral palsy, autism and developmental delay. He was unable
to crawl or stand up without being held for support. He would
not always respond to his name or to requests made of him.
His physical, social and communication age was that of an
8-month-old, and his self-help and academic age was 12 months.
He did not talk.
After five weeks of chiropractic care he was
able to crawl from one room to the other. Within the next few
months he appeared more aware of his surroundings and showed
more compliance, better coordination and more control over
his limping, starting to walk with braces and support. Craniosacral
therapy was added to his care after about 8 months of visits,
after which he began to take steps on his own.
His parents were
told by MDs that their son would never walk unaided and yet
with continued chiropractic adjustments and exercises he was
soon able to walk in and out of the clinic without wobbling.
His fine and gross motor skills have improved immensely; he
is running in the clinic and he has a range of different sounds
he is making including experimenting with words.
Case study: Treatment of a cerebral palsy patient. Sweat R,
Ammons D Today’s Chiropractic Nov/Dec 1988. P.51-52.
A
40 year old woman diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 2 had
been in severe pain her whole life. M.D.s told her she would
have to “learn to live with it.”
From the article: “The patient began to respond to
[chiropractic] treatment almost immediately, and improvement
continued gradually over about the first 2-3 weeks.” Within
two months of beginning care, “The patient...stated
that this is the first time in her life that she has ever
been free of pain."
Case study: mental retardation/cerebral
palsy. Webster L, Chiropractic Pediatrics. Vol. 1 No. 2 Aug
1994 Pp.15-16.
A six year old male diagnosed with mental retardation,
cerebral palsy (spastic diparesis), pervasive developmental
disorder was developing normally until 30 months of age at
which time he began a progressive deterioration.
The family
history was negative for mental retardation, cerebral palsy
or any neurodegenerative disease. The child was adjusted, atlas
only with an ASL listing. After 4 weeks of chiropractic care
the school teacher asked the mother if the child had been placed
on some powerful drugs as he was behaving better in school.
The mother stated, “No,
we’re trying chiropractic care.”
After 5 months
of care he was able to follow verbal commands and his toilet
accidents decreased. He is able to speak and communicate better.
The
efficacy of upper cervical chiropractic care on children and
adults with cerebral palsy: a preliminary report. Collins,
KF et al. Chiropractic Pediatrics 1994; 1 (1):13-15
Seven patients
were tested – two children and five
adults. They all reported improvements in many areas: muscle
spasticity decreased, sleep patterns improved, decreased
irritability, decreased pain, and decreased incidence of
respiratory and other infections.
One child had four unsuccessful
surgeries to correct strabismus – after
two adjustments, the strabismus was no longer apparent.
The
children were able to hold their heads up for longer periods
and are making more attempts at crawling or standing with support.
There is also improved clarity and volume of speech in patients
with speech and hearing problems. With chiropractic care, there
is overall decrease in muscle activity at all levels and balance
improved with eyes closed.
Cortical blindness, cerebral palsy,
epilepsy and recurring otitis media: A case study in chiropractic
management. Amalu WC, Today’s Chiropractic May/June 1998
pp.16-25.
A 5-year-old boy was referred by his parents because
of recurring middle-ear infections at one-month intervals.
The
child had been diagnosed with cortical blindness (his eyes
and optic nerves were healthy, but his brain (visual cortex)
couldn’t “see” the images coming
from his eyes), cerebral palsy, epilepsy and severe brain
damage, secondary to possible aborted crib death or viral
encephalitis.
His mother reported he had been a very healthy
child but, “Two
days following a well-child checkup with an inoculation,” became “colicky” and
developed a mild upper respiratory infection with fever.
After he fell asleep that day he became cyanotic, gasping
for air and nonresponsive. In the emergency room, he was
cyanotic, in shock and unresponsive. A septic workup found
no infection. A cranial CT-scan showed cerebral edema, comparable
with either an ischemic insult or sepsis. Child began to
have seizures 24 hours later. He was diagnosed as severe
hypoxemic encephalopathy, secondary to possible SIDS or vital
encephalitis.
Child was placed on Phenobarbital ™ for over 1½ years
then on Dilanton ™ . Multiple specialists said he would
never walk, speak, regain his vision or progress in school.
At the time of his first chiropractic visit, he was having
30 grand mal and complex seizures a day and otitis media
once per month.
When first brought to the chiropractor he was
non-ambulatory, uncommunicative and non-responsive with a
constant loud vocal drone and almost constant writhing torsocephalic
motions. His gross motor coordination included reaching out
with his hands and rolling over onto all fours.”
Chiropractic
adjustment of the atlanto-occipital subluxation in a knee-chest
posture was done. After the first adjustment, the mother noted
that he had his first good-night sleep in weeks. After the
2nd adjustment, seizures reduced to 10 a day, vocal drone became
a quiet intermittent moan and he began to clap his hands. During
the next week, patient became more alert, sitting up and looking
around, and responded to sounds. Seizures decreased to 5 per
day. Pupillary reflexes returned to normal, almost all writhing
motions had ceased, ears were clear of effusion.
By the 3rd
week grand mal seizures had stopped. He was sleeping through
the nights. For the first time in his life he vocalized “dada” and
began vowel sounds. Overall, spasticity had deceased in all
extremities. He began showing fine motor skills. He had his
first month free from otitis media in 9 months.
By end of fifth
week was seen by an ophthalmologist who noted a drastic improvement
with recovery of central field vision. Seizures reduced to
3 per day. He was saying more words and had improved fine motor
coordination. By 7-12 weeks, seizures reduced to staring spells
which saying his name brought him out of. Over the next 10
months improvement continued. All epileptic medication was
removed and neurologist declared him non-epileptic. He remained
free from ear infections. His vision improved to the point
where he was prescribed glasses. Vocabulary continued to increase.
He was learning to feed himself and was potty training. He
was able to walk slowly with assistance.
Comments by Dr. Koren:
This appears to be a vaccine related injury, especially since
cerebral edema is a sign of vaccine damage. Also encephalopathy
has been noticed in the medical literature as a possible reaction
to the DTP inoculation. Upon discussion with the author of
this paper it was learned that the medical personnel did not
tell the parents their child was probably vaccine injured.
Copyright
2004 Koren Publications, Inc. & Tedd Koren,
D.C.