Recent research reported in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research on a woman with amenorrhea, which is when monthly periods stop for unknown reasons. The research reveals that chiropractic may play an important role in managing these patients. The literature included supports the role of chiropractic in those suffering from related health challenges and calls for more research in this area.
Research is revealing that minor disturbances to spinal alignment and function may be a factor in a number of disorders. These disturbances lead to nerve interference and can result in a host of disorders such as amenorrhea and related reproductive disorders. Other chiropractic researchers have reported on similar results and reviews of the scientific research reveal other studies that have shown a similar connection.
“It makes a lot of sense when you think about it” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study, “If you damage or compress or otherwise interfere with the neurological structures in the spine this can have far reaching implications on the functioning of the body. Through research reports like Stofer’s we are finding that correcting the misalignments or abnormal motion associated with these spinal problems reduces the nerve interference and people improve. In this case, it was a woman experiencing amenorrhea”.
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 26-year-old female in this study had been experiencing amenorrhea for several years. She also had a work-related accident which resulted in rib pain and low back pain.
The chiropractor examined her and found tight muscles and structural shifts in her neck, ribs, low back, and pelvis. These structural shifts can lead to obstruction of the nerves and it is this obstruction, called vertebral subluxations, that chiropractors correct.
Following chiropractic adjustments, she experienced marked improvement in her symptoms. Her amenorrhea resolved and her menstrual cycles began again. She also had improvement in her rib pain and low back pain.
The study’s author called for additional research to investigate the clinical implications of chiropractic in this population.
