Case Study -
Upper Cervical Chiropractic
Helps Child's Digestion
Dr. Kirk
Eriksen
Countless Americans struggle with digestive problems every
day, which may include constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. These
unfortunate individuals usually have to resort to taking various medications
and some times risky diagnostic testing and surgeries. However, some patients
may achieve some benefit from chiropractic care indirectly. I would like to
share with you one such case in which a child’s health was apparently improved
while under Orthospinology care.
This case study took place in my
Orthospinology practice in
The patient was adjusted using the Orthospinology procedure
and she experienced a bowel movement the next day without the use of
medication. Over the next two weeks the patient experienced four to six bowel
movements per week with only two adjustments being required to reduce the nerve
interference. Then, the patient experienced a fall which required an adjustment
on two successive visits. During the next 19 days, the patient only had five
bowel movements. After this setback, the subluxation became stabilized and
daily bowel movements returned. Over the
next two months, the patient was monitored with no exacerbation of her symptoms
occurring or the need for further adjustments. It was also noted by the
patient’s grandmother that the child’s energy level had been increased as the
daily bowel movements continued.
At this point, the patient experienced a fall out of a
window in which she fell on her head. The patient had already started
experiencing trouble going to the bathroom since the fall, prior to coming in
my office two days later. After a minor change was made with the adjustment
factors, the patient was adjusted and follow-up visits revealed once again,
daily bowel movements and no further nerve interference.
The title of this
paper may be a bit misleading, as chiropractic care should not be portrayed as
a direct “treatment” of constipation or any other disease or condition, for
that matter. The chiropractor’s focus should be on detecting and correcting the
vertebral subluxation(s) and then monitoring the patient’s health. This may
warrant a medical referral in cases involving conditions that are outside of
the chiropractor’s scope of practice, or if the patient fails to improve within
a given time. However, subluxation-based care is still appropriate even if
concurrent medical care is necessary. Chiropractic care is not a replacement
for medical care; it is a separate and distinct form of health care that is not
offered by any other health care specialist. It is the chiropractor’s
contention that removing neurological stress allows the body to function at a
higher level, although this may vary from patient to patient. Improvement in
various symptoms and conditions may be a positive side benefit from the care.
On a personal note, the editor had mild constipation throughout his life until
receiving specific upper cervical care while in chiropractic school and to the
present.
Kirk
Eriksen, D.C. is the President of the Society of Chiropractic
Orthospinology. He is on the part-time
faculty of
You may contact Dr. Eriksen at his practice in
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© Humber Parkerson
Clinic 2005
September
2005 issue of The Highest Level
