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Parkinson's Patient Improves Under Chiropractic Care

The October 2000 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
reports on a case where a 60 year-old man with Parkinson’s disease responded very favorably to chiropractic care.

The man first experienced symptoms of Parkinson’s at the age of 53 when he noticed a twitch in one of his fingers. Upon the diagnosis of Parkinson’s he was put on a regimen of various medications. Every six months he was reevaluated and his medication increased as his symptoms worsened over the next 7 years.

During his initial chiropractic examination, the patient recalled 6 specific incidences of substantial trauma he experienced before the onset of his Parkinson’s. It should be noted that while medical research has established a strong connection between spinal trauma and many neurological conditions [including Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, migraines, vertigo, amyotroophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and ADD/ADHD], it has not been able to identify the actual mechanism at work.

The author of this study feels the missing link may be damage that occurs to the spinal cord and/or brainstem from trauma to the cervical spine such as this patient experienced.

The patient’s improvement was measured by the doctor’s observations, the patient’s subjective description of his symptoms and by using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The UPDRS is a questionnaire that rates the severity of 44 common Parkinson’s symptoms.

After 3 months of chiropractic care, comparison between his initial and final UPDRS evaluations showed an improvement of 43%. Over the next 6 months of wellness / maintenance care, he retained his previous improvements and continued to improve in strength, energy and muscle and joint flexibility.

Commentary: According to the author, 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson’s disease. If they all began chiropractic care, and only 1% improved, that would mean 15,000 people better off than they were. Everyone, regardless of what disease they have or don’t have, needs to be under chiropractic care. It’s the best way for you and your family to get and stay as healthy as possible.

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