Improvement in Quality of Life with Multiple Sclerosis from Chiropractic Care

From the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research on December 11, 2014, comes a research case study documenting the improvement in the quality of life of a woman with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The study reported on both the functional and symptomatic improvement noticed by this MS patient.

The study authors begin by explaining that, "Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disorder that affects the white matter of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves." They note that MS affects 250,000 to 350,000 people in the United States with a total of 2.5 million people worldwide.

Most cases of MS appear between the ages of 20 to 40, with those in their 30s being the most common decade for the problem to occur. Women are twice as likely to have MS, and many people relapse over time.

For the study rational the authors commented, "Because MS is a neurologically-based disease and chiropractic deals with the function of the nervous system as it relates to the brain-body connection, investigation into the effects of chiropractic care on MS patients is appropriate."

In this case, a 36-year-old woman went to the chiropractor with a diagnosis of MS by her medical physician. She was suffering with a large variety of symptoms related to her MS including fatigue, difficulty sleeping, low back pain, mid back pain, neck pain, lack of mobility of the cervical spine, headaches, dizziness, loss of concentration, nervousness, tenseness, numbness in arms and feet, burning sensation in feet, irritability, and mood swings.

A chiropractic examination was conducted which included palpation, range of motion, thermal scans, surface EMG scans, and spinal x-rays. It was determined that spinal subluxations were present and chiropractic care was begun.

After the first visit, the woman reported immediate improvement in a number of her symptoms. At the one-month mark, she reported that she had a "... 60% improvement in neck pain, clearer thinking, more alertness, more energy, a feeling of being more relaxed, better ease with standing, lifting, bending and driving, improvements in balance, more confidence and strength during gait, more ease in falling asleep and improved quality of sleep, and more mobility and increased cervical ROM (range of motion)."

The researchers noted that one case study does not mean that all cases will respond with the same improvement. However, this case does add to the body of evidence provided by a prior larger study performed in 2004 showing the link between chiropractic and the improvement of MS. "A retrospective analysis of 44 patients with multiple sclerosis showed that 90% of these patients reported improvement of their symptoms while undergoing a five year course of IUCCA (a specific type of chiropractic adjustment), upper cervical care. Twenty-eight of these patients (70%) showed improvement with or absence of the majority of their symptoms. No further progression of the disease was reported by any of the 44 patients during the care period."