Recent research reported in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic, described a 10-year-old male suffering from enuresis and shoulder pain. This report includes a review of the literature supporting the role of chiropractic in children suffering from bedwetting and calls for more research in this area.
“Numerous case studies and some clinical studies are revealing that there is a relationship between abnormalities in the spine, the nervous system and the various problems children suffer from like bedwetting” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study. “These types of structural shifts in the spine can obstruct the nerves involved in bladder function. By removing the structural shifts, chiropractic helps improve nerve supply, range of motion and function.”
In the case of bedwetting, known medically as enuresis, all sorts of strategies are used to try and stop the child from wetting the bed, however uncovering the cause of the bed wetting which may be structural spinal shifts causing nerve obstruction may be a better strategy.
According to researchers the nervous system controls and coordinates all functions of the body and structural shifts in the spine can occur that obstruct the nerves and interfere with their function. By removing the structural shifts, chiropractic improves nerve supply and function.
The 10-year-old male reported on in the study had enuresis since the age of two. He had not had more than two consecutive dry nights since the age of three. He also had shoulder pain from a skateboarding accident.
The chiropractor examined him and found structural shifts in his neck, midback, low back, and pelvis. Decreased range of motion was noted in his neck, midback, low back, and pelvis. X-rays and other testing confirmed these findings. These structural shifts can lead to obstruction of the nerves and it is this obstruction, called vertebral subluxations, that chiropractors correct.
Following chiropractic care, he experienced improvement in the enuresis and shoulder pain. He only had two wet nights in a three-month period.
The study’s author called for additional research to investigate the clinical implications of chiropractic in this population.
To learn more about this study and chiropractic research visit, Vertebral Subluxation Research.