Sleep
Cervical angles in sleep apnea patients:
a retrospective study. Dobson GJ, Blanks RHI, Boone WR, McCoy
HG, J Vertebral Subluxation Research 3(1), Mar, 1999. p.
9-23.
This was a study of 138 patients (ages 16-79) who were
diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnear Syndrome (OSAS) and
were evaluated by x-ray of the cervical spine. These patients
had recurrent episodes of upper throat obstruction or airway
collapse and loud snoring during sleep. This problem causes
sleep disturbances and excessive daytime sleepiness, loss
of oxygen during sleep and may cause heart and lung complications.
There is no known cure.
It was found that the “overwhelming majority” of
OSAS patients had a reversal of the upper cervical (neck)
curve. The more abnormal the cervical curve, the worse their
sleep apnea.
A descriptive report of change in cervical curve
in a sleep apnea patient: the importance of monitoring possible
predisposing factors in the application of chiropractic care.
Kuhn D, J Vertebral Subluxation Research 3(1), Mar, 1999. p.
31-39.
This is the case of a 51 year-old male with Obstructive
Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). Chiropractic and spinal analysis
records over a period of 21 years were reviewed as his condition
developed. The patient’s weight went from 195 to 455
over a period of 18 years and as his weight gained his cervical
spine underwent reversal (kyphosis) and his OSAS symptoms
increased. This finding supports a relationship between weight
gain and OSAS.
The chiropractic management of anxiety: a case
report. Sullivan EC. ACA J of Chiropractic, 1992 (SEP); 29:29-34.
This
is the case of a 42-year-old female patient suffering from
anxiety attacks and agoraphobia since an auto accident. Other
symptoms included nightmares, insomnia, tachycardia, dizziness,
memory loss, difficulty in concentrating, and urinary bladder
urgency. She also reported that a well-controlled peptic ulcer
had exacerbated after the accident. Chiropractic analysis revealed
major vertebral subluxation complex at C5-6, T5-6, and L5-S1
levels. After two months of chiropractic care and counseling
patient reported a sharp reduction in anxiety, an end to agoraphobia
attacks, bladder urgency, insomnia and dizziness and reduced
low back pain.
After an additional four months, patient reported
complete relief from anxiety and ulcer symptoms.
Children and
sleep. Barnes, T Int’l Chiropractors
Assn. Review September/October 2000 pp 28-32.
From the paper:
It has been my experience that many parents
report an improvement in their children’s sleep habits
following an adjustment. Many will comment how well their infants
and toddlers sleep on the way home from the office and that
they tend to sleep better in general after an adjustment. In
a recent literature search linking chiropractic care and sleep,
a total of eight citations were found.
Case report: The effect
of a chiropractic spinal adjustment on toddler sleep pattern
and behavior. Rome PL. Chiropractic Journal of Australia, 1996;26:11-14.
Author’s
abstract:
The interaction of the cervical spine with the nervous
system and the effectiveness of spinal adjustment in the management
of the poor sleeping patterns of a 12-month-old male are
discussed. The history of an often irritable, unsettled infant
is also presented with a brief, but relevant, research review.
Since
birth, this 12 month old boy would wake up 7-8 times a night.
Medication (PanadolÔ) had been given without
success. Following the first adjustment (C 1/2 and T 8/9),
the child slept for seven hours.
A second case is briefly discussed
of a 4-month-old boy with depressed appetite who slept only
30 minutes at a time. After one adjustment he slept for 11
hours. Four months later he had a fall and his poor sleeping
habit returned. After one adjustment, the sleeping returned
to normal; in addition he had a normal appetite.
Kinematic imbalances
due to suboccipital strain in newborns. Biedermann H. J. Manual
Medicine 1992, 6:151-156.
More than 600 babies (to date) have
been treated for suboccipital strain. One hundred thirty-five
infants who were available for follow-up were reviewed in this
case series report. The suboccipital strain’s main symptoms include torticollis,
fever of unknown origin, loss of appetite and other symptoms
of CNS disorders such as swelling of one side of the facial
soft tissues, asymmetric development of the skull and hips,
crying when the mother tried to change the child’s
position, and extreme sensitivity of the neck to palpation.
Most
patients in the series required one to three adjustments
before returning to normal. “Removal of suboccipital
strain is the fastest and most effective way to treat the
symptoms...one session is sufficient in most cases. Manipulation
of the occipito-cervical region leads to the disappearance
of problems....”
The atlas fixation syndrome in the baby
and infant. Gutmann G. Manuelle Medizin 1987 25:5-10, Trans.
Peters RE.
This was an examination of 1,250 infants five days
after birth. Over 25% of the infants were suffering from vomiting,
irritability and sleeplessness. Examination showed that 75%
of these infants had cervical (neck) strain. Treatment frequently
resulted in an immediate relief of the symptoms.
Functional
disorders (fixations) of the spine in children. Lewit K. Manuelle
Therapie, J.A. Barth, Leipzig, 1973. Chap.2.7, pp.50-54.
Functional
disorders in children may manifest themselves as sleep disorders,
loss of appetite, psychic problems, dysmenorrhea and may not
exist as spinal pain. Studies of healthy children revealed
pelvic subluxations in 40% of all school children and cervical
fixation in 15.8%. After manipulative treatments, the problems
rarely recurred.
Relations of disturbances of cranio-sacral
mechanisms to symptomatology of the newborn. Fryman V. Journal
Of The American Osteopathic Association. 1966;65:1059.
In a
group of 1250 unselected babies examined five days post partum,
a group of 211 ‘nervous’ children
were found suffering from vomiting, hyperactivity, tremors
and sleeplessness. Release of ‘strain’ in the
skull resulted in immediate quieting, cessation of crying,
muscular relaxation and sleepiness.
Blocked atlantal nerve syndrome
in infants and small children. Gutman G. ICA Review, 1990;
July:37-42. Originally published in German Manuelle Medizin
(1987) 25:5-10.
From the abstract:
Three case reports are reviewed to illustrate
a syndrome that has so far received far too little attention
and which is caused and perpetuated in babies and infants by
blocked nerve impulses at the atlas. Included in the clinical
picture are lowered resistance to infections, especially to
ear-, nose- and throat infections, two cases of insomnia, two
cases of cranial bone asymmetry and one case each of torticollis,
retarded locomotor development, retarded linguistic development,
conjunctivitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis, earache, extreme neck
sensitivity, incipient scoliosis, delayed hip development
and seizures.
Copyright 2004 Koren Publications, Inc. & Tedd
Koren, D.C.