Otitis media usually occurs when the lymph system in the neck fails to drain properly, or the muscle designed to keep bacteria or viruses out of the eustacean tube (connecting the throat to the inner ear) doesn’t work well. It is less common in adults because the eustacean tubes are longer and shaped differently, making for better drainage and less chance for bacteria to invade. Drainage is further enhanced by the fact that adults do not spend as much time lying down as kids do.

Conventional treatment aims to kill the invading bacteria or virus, but this does not attend to the root cause of the otitis media. Chiropractic, on the other hand, looks to restore normal drainage to the ears and the lymphatic system of the neck so that the problem has less chance of taking hold. Another negative of treatment by medical doctors is that the drug of choice is usually amoxicillin, an oral antibiotic which repeated use can lead to drug-resistant bacteria, and which is barely any more potent than the body’s own immune response.

An alternative medical treatment is to relieve the pressure and pain by surgical intervention that involves placing drainage tubes in the ears. To do this, a small opening is made in the eardrum and a tube placed into it to release the buildup of fluid. The body naturally pushes the tube out and closes the hole after a couple of months. Although frequently effective, it again does not address the root cause of the problem, namely the incorrect functioning of the lymphatic system, muscles and nerves.

It is important that you talk to your chiropractor if your child experiences recurrent ear infections. Doctors of chiropractic are experts in diagnosing and treating patients of all ages and will carefully gear their treatment according to the age of the patient. When the normal function of the tissues of the neck are restored, the problem of otitis media very often improves or completely disappears, and the use of antibiotics and surgery can be avoided.

The most obvious signs of ADHD are:

• Inability to pay attention
• Hyperactive behavior
• Impulsive behavior
• Difficulty in concentrating

Between 3 and 5% of children in the United States (around 2 million kids) are thought to have ADHD, and more boys suffer than girls. That equates to at least one child in every class of 25 to 30 children, although many more are labeled as having ADHD who may simply be badly behaved. For this reason, proper diagnosis is recommended so that children are not needlessly treated and perhaps medicated for a condition they do not have.

Research is ongoing into the causes of ADHD, and current thinking suggests it is down to an overactive nervous system, combined with the brain’s failure to properly filter out unnecessary sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions. Chiropractors are not in the business of directly treating ADHD, but they are able to help rectify certain elements that may be stressing the nervous system, such as:

• Removing spinal subluxations that interfere with the nervous system
• Offering dietary advice to eliminate common trigger foods
• Testing for allergens that may stress the nervous system
• Suggesting ways to eliminate or reduce problem chemicals in the home

Conventional medicine tends to treat ADHD with a chemical called methylphenidate, commonly known as Ritalin. Although this is a stimulant that acts to speed up the nervous system, its net effect is to calm the sufferer, possibly because it activates the filtering out process in the brain. The problem is that Ritalin does nothing to cure ADHD; it only hides the symptoms. And when Ritalin is taken for an extended period, it can actually damage the brain’s proper functioning.

It is therefore important to look at less drastic options if your child has ADHD, and one of these is chiropractic treatment to de-stress the nervous system.

When a child suddenly starts bedwetting after weeks or months of staying dry through the night, it could be a sign that something is wrong. One of the reasons for this is the onset of stress. Perhaps some emotional upheaval, such as moving home, arguments or divorce, or the arrival of a new baby. It may also indicate physical or sexual abuse or some medical condition, therefore it should not be ignored and needs to be checked out by a doctor.

Your doctor of chiropractic may well be able to help with bedwetting problems by easing any physical irritation that may be interfering with the nerves that control bladder function. The nerves responsible for this exit the spine low down at the sacrum. In adults, this is a large, fused bone that is not easily injured, but in childhood it is still in five separate pieces, which may become misaligned following an injury such as a fall. If this happens, the nerves controlling the bladder may be disturbed.

Chiropractic can help rectify any such mechanical issues, and research shows that it can be effective in helping children regain bladder control and avoid bedwetting.

Irritation in the upper cervical spinal joint can sometimes produce or worsen asthma, and it is not unusual for people who’ve suffered trauma to this area to develop asthma where none existed, or to experience a deterioration of a pre-existing condition.

A doctor of chiropractic can check whether your asthma is related to upper cervical spine problems, and suggest a course of treatment to help alleviate the symptoms.

Chiropractic and Asthma Research

There are many significant published studies that demonstrate the benefits of chiropractic care for asthma sufferers. The following are a small sample:

An Impairment Rating Analysis Of Asthmatic Children Under Chiropractic Care

A self-reported asthma-related impairment study was conducted on 81 children under chiropractic care.

The intent of this study was to quantify self-reported changes in impairment experienced by the pediatric asthmatic subjects, before and after a two month period under chiropractic care. Practitioners, representing a general range of six different approaches to vertebral subluxation correction, administered a specifically designed asthma impairment questionnaire at the appropriate intervals. Subjects were categorized into two groups; 1–10 years and 11–17 years.

Parents/guardians completed questionnaires for the younger group, while the older subjects self-reported their perceptions of impairment. Significantly lower impairment rating scores (improvement) were reported for 90.1% of subjects 60 days after chiropractic care when compared to the pre-chiropractic scores (p < 0.05) with an effect size of 0.96. As well, there were no significant differences across the age groups based on parent/guardian versus self rated scores. Girls reported higher (less improvement) before and after care compared to boys, although significant decreases in impairment ratings were reported for each gender. This suggested a greater clinical effect for boys which was supported by effect sizes ranging from 1.2 for boys compared to 0.75 for girls. Additionally, 25 of 81 subjects (30.9%) chose to voluntarily decrease their dosage of medication by an average of 66.5% while under chiropractic care. Moreover, information collected from patients revealed that among 24 patients reporting asthma “attacks” in the 30 day period prior to the study, the number of “attacks” decreased significantly by an average of 44.9% (p <.05). Based on the data obtained in this study, it was concluded that chiropractic care, for correction of vertebral subluxation, is a safe nonpharmacologic health care approach which may also be associated with significant decreases in asthma related impairment as well as a decreased incidence of asthmatic “attacks.” The findings suggest that chiropractic care should be further investigated relative to providing the most efficacious care management regimen for pediatric asthmatics.

Asthma Study Shows Chiropractic Benefits

From the November / December 2000 issue of Today’s Chiropractic, comes a study report on Asthma. The article notes that approximately 14 Americans die each day from asthma. Asthma is only one of three diseases that has shown an increasing death rate in recent years, up 58% since 1979. Presently estimates say that 17 million Americans suffer from the disease making it the most common and costly illness in the United States.

today, costing over $13 billion annually. Presently, asthma causes more hospitalizations of children than any other childhood disease.

In the study, 47 patients were observed for a two year period. These patients had all been medically diagnosed with persistent asthma ranging from mild persistent in 11 cases, moderate persistent in 28 cases, to severe persistent in 8 cases. The care rendered consisted of specific chiropractic adjustments. The range of visits was from 14 to 44, with the average being 26 during the study period. Most patients in the study began care at a rate of 3 visits per week with this frequency being reduced after 4 to 8 initial weeks.

The patient results were very good with all 47 of the study patients showing a marked improvement ranging from 87 to 100 percent. Patient observed improvement was measured by both improvement in their symptoms as well as a decrease in their usage of acute asthma attack medication. Even more impressive was that all of the patients in the study reported maintaining their improvement after a two-year follow up.

Asthma Study on Benefits of Chiropractic

Asthma has become a large health concern for children in recent years. Over the past 20 years the incidence of asthma has doubled. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in 1998, approximately 17,299,000 people in the United States, or 6.4% of the population, with cases among very young children up 160%. As reported in the June 16, 1999 issue of JAMA, the CDC also noted that between 1980 and 1994, the number of people self-reporting asthma grew 75%.

In a study conducted in 1996 by the Michigan Chiropractic Council (MCC), a panel of doctors performed an out-come assessment study to test the qualitative and quantitative effectiveness of chiropractic care on children with asthma. The high demand of parents seeking alternative care for pediatric asthma was shown by the overwhelming interest in the study. More than 500 parents called the MCC seeking to get their child involved in the chiropractic study.

The study, which took place during May and June of 1996, examined the chiropractic effectiveness in correcting the cause of asthma in patients from birth to age 17. The average age of the participant was 10 years. “After 30 days of chiropractic health care, patients averaged only one attack, whereas prior to the study they were experiencing more than four attacks,” said MCC Dr. Bob Graham, who directed the study. “Medications, which can be costly, were decreased by nearly 70 percent. Finally, patient satisfaction was rated 8.5 on a scale of 10.” More than 70 chiropractors from 62 cities in Michigan studied more than 80 children suffering from asthma.

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, compared three modes of treatment to determine which was the most effective in improving mobility and reducing neck pain.

183 patients between the ages of 18 to 70, who had reported complaints of neck pain for a minimum two-week period, participated in the study.

Group one received continued routine care by a doctor and were ordered to take pain medication and rest; group two received Chiropractic adjustments, and group three underwent physical therapy, including a supervised exercise regimen.

After seven weeks of treatment, 68.3% of patients who received adjustments reported that they were either “completely recovered,” or had significantly improved as a result of treatment — compared with only 50.8% of the physical therapy group and 35.9% of patients under a physician’s care.

Results show that Chiropractic adjustments are more effective than drug therapy in treating neck pain. In addition, range of motion also improved more among patients in the adjustment and physical therapy groups.

One hundred eighty-three patients who suffered with neck pain for a two-week period participated in the study. The patients, aged 18 to 70-years-old, were divided into three groups. Sixty patients received Chiropractic adjustments; 59 received physiotherapy and 64 were treated by a general practitioner.

After seven weeks, more patients in the Chiropractic group reported “complete recovery” than patients in either of the other groups — 68% recovered in the Chiropractic group; 51% recovered in the physiotherapy group, and only 36% in the general practitioner group recovered.

Six months after the study concluded, researchers found that treatments costs were also significantly lower for patients who received Chiropractic care.

Chiropractic care cost one-third less than the other two treatments — $402; care from the general practitioner cost $1,241 and Physiotherapy cost $1,167.