Recent research reporting on improvement in a 37-year-old man undergoing chiropractic care reveals that chiropractic may play an important role in managing adults with vestibular schwannoma (a type of benign tumor that affects the nerve that runs from the brain to the ear and controls hearing and balance) and related symptomatology.
The research, reported in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, includes a review of the literature supporting the role of chiropractic in adults suffering from vestibular schwannoma.
“Research is revealing that there is a relationship between abnormalities in the spine, the nervous system and brain” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study. “Basic science research shows that the proper development of the brain relies on proper structure and movement of the spine from an early age.”
Research has shown not only that the brain relies on normal structural integrity and joint movement, but that complex neurochemical communication and pathways involved in helping humans to “feel good” are tied into spinal biomechanics and their related neurological pathways.
According to McCoy “People’s nervous systems need the constant stimulation of movement in order to develop and function properly. Abnormal position or movement of the spinal vertebra can develop from structural shifts. These structural shifts can lead to obstruction of the nerves and it is this obstruction, called vertebral subluxations, that chiropractors correct.”
The man reported on in the study was 37 years old and presented to the chiropractor after an unfavorable outcome following a vestibular schwannoma excision. He suffered from several other complaints including daily migraine headaches and dizziness, nausea and fatigue.
The chiropractor examined the man and found spasms of the spinal muscles, decreased spinal range of motion, abnormal posture and most significantly structural spinal shifts in his cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. As mentioned, these structural shifts can lead to obstruction of the nerves and it is this obstruction, called vertebral subluxations, that chiropractors correct.
After 5 weeks under chiropractic care his quality of life improved, more specifically he noticed improvement in nausea, fatigue, gastric reflux, and total resolution of his dizziness and migraines.
