Respiratory Function, Breathing Ability, Bronchitis, Pneumonia
Adjustive osteopathic manipulative treatment
in the elderly hospitalized with pneumonia: a pilot study.
Noll DR, Shores J, Bryman PN, Masterson EV. Journal Of The
American Osteopathic Association 1999; 99(3): 143-6
This was
a study of twenty-one individuals with acute pneumonia. Eleven
of them were given “specific osteopathic manipulative
treatment for somatic dysfunction.” All twenty-one
received medical treatment as well (antibiotics etc.).
The study
found that those getting the manipulative treatments recovered
more quickly from pneumonia. As the authors wrote:
Although
the mean duration of leukocytosis, intravenous antibiotic treatment,
and length of stay were shorter for the treatment group, these
measures did not reach statistical significance. However, the
mean duration of antibiotic use did reach statistical significance…3.1
days (versus) 0.8 days.
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)
Specific upper cervical chiropractic care and lung function.
, R Abstracts from the 13th annual upper cervical spine conference,
Nov 16-17, 1996 Life College, Marietta, Georgia. Pub in Chiropractic
Research Journal, Vol. 1V, No.1, Spring 1997 p.27 (also Kessinger
R; Changes in pulmonary function associated with upper cervical
specific chiropractic care J Vertebral Subluxation Research
1997; 1(3):43-9.
From the abstract:
This was a study of 58 patients to determine
whether the upper cervical knee chest adjustment as developed
by Dr. B.J. Palmer, influenced pulmonary function. FEV-1
and FVC were measured before care and two weeks after care
on a computerized auto spiro spirometer.
Of the 58 patients,
33 (57%) were considered to have “abnormal” lung
function before care. The rest were within normal range.
The abnormal group showed the greatest increases in FEV and
FVC over the two-week study. Forty-two percent of the abnormal
patient population actually tested within normal limits after
the two-week study. The “normal” subject population
also showed predictable increases in lung function, but not
as dramatic as the abnormal group.
Chiropractic adjustments
of the cervicothoracic spine for the treatment of bronchitis
with complications of atelectasis. Hart, D.L. Libich, E,
Ficher R. International Review of Chiropractic, 1991; Mar:31-33.
This
is the case study of a ten-month-old female with atelectasis.
The symptoms included rhinorrhea (runny nose), pyrexia (fever),
tussis (cough) and dyspnea (difficulty breathing). She had
symptoms of bronchitis since 6 months of age. The child had
been on repeated doses of antibiotics. In addition she began
to develop otitis media. More antibiotics were prescribed
and she was placed in an oxygen tent and monitored for four
days. After discharge her symptoms soon returned.
Chiropractic
was begun as “a last resort.” Her
condition subsided over a period of four weeks during which
four upper thoracic and mid to lower cervical spinal adjustments
were delivered.
A follow-up interview nine months later found
the patient in good health.
Somatic Dyspnea and the orthopedics
of respiration. Masarsky CS, Weber M Chiropractic Technique,
1991; 3:26-29
Author’s Abstract:
Several brief cases are presented
in which the symptom of dyspnea was alleviated or abolished
following the correction of vertebral subluxation complex
or other somatic dysfunctions. In discussing such cases,
the term “somatic dyspnea” is
suggested to denote air hunger or shortness of breath related
to somatic dysfunction. Somatic dyspnea is a condition, which
may accompany other causes of dyspnea (lung pathology, psychogenic
or “functional” causes etc., or can exist alone.
In our chiropractic practice, most somatic dyspnea is seen
as a secondary condition in patients presenting primarily
with orthopedic complaints. When the symptom is secondary,
the patient will often not mention it until an examination
procedure reproduces it or treatment causes it to improve
or disappear. The response to manipulative therapy is sometimes
so dramatic and rapid that a strong linkage between the dyspnea
and the primary presenting complaint is suggested.
Chiropractic
management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Masarsky
CS, Weber M. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics,
1988; 11:505-510.
A 53-year-old man with 20 years of chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease was treated with chiropractic,
nutritional advice and exercises. Improvements were noted
in forced vital capacity, coughing, fatigue and ease of breathing.
Lung
function in relation to thoracic spinal mobility and kyphosis.
Mellin G, Harjula R. Scand. J. Rehab. Med., 1987; 19:89-02.
Mobility
of the thoracic spine is shown to directly affect respiratory
function.
Chiropractic and lung volumes - a retrospective
study. Masarsky CS, Weber M. ACA Journal, Sept 1986; 20:65-68.
Lung
vital capacity was found greater after chiropractic adjustment.
Somatic
dysfunction associated with pulmonary disease. Beal MC, Morlock
JW, Journal Of The American Osteopathic Association, Vol.
84 No. 2 Oct. 1984.
A review of osteopathic literature on
respiratory disease revealed that the majority of those with
lung disease had changes in the spinal area T2-7. In this
study, all 40 patients with lung disease had abnormalities
of T2-7.
The physiologic response of the nose to osteopathic
manipulative treatment: preliminary report. Kaluza CL, Sherbin
M, May 1983, Journal Of The American Osteopathic Association,
Vol. 82 No.9
The work of breathing was lessened after an
osteopathic manipulative treatment.
Relation of faulty respiration
to posture, with clinical implications. Lewit K. Journal
Of The American Osteopathic Association, 1980, 79:525-529.
The
relation of faulty respiration and posture of the spine and
pelvis is considered.
A comparison of the effect of chiropractic
treatment on respiratory function in patients with respiratory
distress symptoms and patients without. Hviid C. Bulletin
of the European Chiropractic Union, 1978; 26:17-34.
It is
suggested that there is a change of the peak flow rate and
the vital capacity in patients with obstructive lung disease
after chiropractic care.
Treatment of visceral disorders by
manipulative therapy. Miller WD. In: Goldstein M, Ed. The
Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy. Bethesda:
Dept. HEW. 1975:295-301.
Patients with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease were treated with osteopathic manipulation.
92% of the patients stated they were able to walk greater
distances, had fewer colds, experienced less coughing, and
had less dyspnea than before treatment. 95% of patients with
bronchial asthma said they benefited from chiropractic care.
Peak flow rate and vital capacity increased after the third
treatment.
Chiropractic management of chronic bronchitis.
Rosenbaum LP J Australian Chiropractor’s Assn. Dec
1976;10(3):16-19
This paper discusses areas that patients
with bronchitis tend to need adjusting: C1, C2 and C3; T1
and T2, ribs. Other techniques are also discussed
The influence of osteopathic manipulative therapy in the
management of patients with chronic obstructive lung disease.
Howell RK, Allen TW, Kappler RE. J IS Osteopathic Association
1975; 74(8): 757-60.
This was a 9-month study on the effects
of spinal manipulative therapy as a treatment for obstructive
pulmonary disorders.
There was a progressive decline in the
severity of the condition. The average reduction in severity
was approximately 10.7%. All of the patients were noted as having
costo-transverse dysfunction at the level of T3, as well as
T2 being noted in patients with asthma. Joint motion between
T3/T4 was restricted. Local tissue was edematous and tender
to palpation.
Somatic dysfunction as a predictor of coronary
artery disease. Beal MC, Kleiber GE. Journal of the American
Osteopathic Association. Vol 85 No. 5. P. 302-307.
From the
abstract:
Ninety-nine patients who were scheduled for cardiac
catherization tests were examined for palpatory evidence of
somatic dysfunction on the day preceding angiography. The palpatory
examination was carried out without knowledge of the patient’s
history. Somatic dysfunction was found on the left side from
T1 to T5 in 70 patients who were found to have coronary artery
disease. The efficiency of the palpatory test was 79% for
the detection of patients both with and without coronary
artery disease.
The osteopathic treatment for lobar pneumonia.
Facto LL, The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association
Vol. 46, No. 7 March, 1947.
From an osteopathic viewpoint, vertebral
and rib lesions are important etiological factors in lobar
pneumonia.
The osteopathic treatment produces favorable results
because it aids and assists the normal physiological reaction
of the body to overcome the infectious process. It increases
the production of antitoxins and antibodies, stimulates the
production of a greater number of leukocytes, and accelerates
the action of the endocrine glands and the sympathetic nervous
system which is so important in helping to defend the body
when it is attacked either from within or without.
Copyright 2004 Koren Publications,
Inc. & Tedd Koren,
D.C.
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