This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I've been researching. My neck cracks uncontrollably...since I was diagnosed in 07. Neuros told me it was normal, which it CLEARLY is not. So I researched and found this website. "www.ms-cure.com"
of course thats my new thing now. Chiro took xrays and it showed severe c1 and c2 misalignment to the right and loss of neck curve. All my symtoms are on the right side of my body. I've been going for a month now and no change really. He said it'll take months to stay in proper position because it's been out of alignment for so damn long. blah blah blah long story but I'm hopeful.
Any thoughts or ideas on the spine thing?

it's a long story but i'm not into the chiropractic thing. it may be fine for tough necks, which mine is not. my nerves are clearly pinched somewhere, since my hands go to sleep when i lie down, but i have a family risk of stroke and what with the arteries involved, no thanks! i'm not going to go against the odds by having anyone adjusting my spine in any kind of sudden movement. my 2 cents

Di, my neck cracks a lot too and is stiff most days. My first question to you is do you have any cervical lesions? I have 2 cervical lesions and one on T1 so I guess I've always assumed that that had something to do with it. My right side is affected also and even though my cervical lesions have improved, I still often have a stiff neck. Before I was dxed, my doctor started giving me chiropractic adjustments after I complained about a severely stiff neck. He told me that I had alignment problems. I never felt any relief and to the contrary I think it made it worse. It was probably because I had a nasty cervical lesion at the time so I don't know if my experience counts but like jimmylegs I am now wary. I do however get semi-regular therapeutic massages for my neck that seem to help. Maybe others have had different experiences with chiropractors.

Jimmylegs and Scoobyjude -

My chiropractor does not adjust me with the twisting and cracking, pushing and shoving. He uses a "pen-like" device (CAT - Chiropractic Adjustment Tool) which re-aligns the spine. Obviously, for anyone who has bone density issues and or nerve compression problems you do not want someone putting pressure on you. I am fortunate because the mother of my chiropractor has MS. She is now into her seventies and is doing quite well. Evidently she was in a wheel chair and using a walker after she had her first exacerbation when she was in her mid-fifties. My chiropractor has many MS patients in many different phases or conditions - as I said I feel fortunate to have him on my side. I also see him for acupuncture. Oh, and I have a cervical neck lesion also.

Like anything else with MS, the patient needs to have trust and confidence with the medication and the medicator. We all seem to be different.

Sharon

Hi Sharon
I tried a course of chiropracty about 6 years ago but it flared up my MS - I immediately got worse and the chiropractor thought it was better to stop the treatments.
I have lesions on brain and spinal lesions afaik.

Sharon,
I think that I would be much more inclined to see a chiropractor like yours that has experience with MS patients and doesn't do the typical adjustments. I think part of the problem with my general doctor was that they overlooked all the typical MS symptoms and told me it was all alignment and muscle problems. I think I might still be a little wary if I had an active exacerbation but I will have to see if I can find such a chiropractor in my area. Maybe I can ask my neuro if he knows of any. My neck is really my main, daily complaint . The others kind of come and go. I'm willing to try anything reasonable to help it. Thanks for the info.

Scoobyjude -

Goodluck with finding a chiro - I think you might be able to do a google search for doctors in your area by entering MS and chiropractor.

My chiro was the doctor who suspected my MS. Other doctors sent me to physical therapy for my leg weakness; my primary care said my symptoms were stress related and I needed to slow down - she was quite surprised when I told her that I was diagnosed with MS. Funny thing was, I would tell docs that I had a brother with MS - you would have thought they would have made some kind of association!!

The chiro will not cure you, but he should be able to help relieve pain and stiffness.

For most of my adult life I have had a very stiff neck, with very limited rotation, which I think is being made worse by my more general lack of ability to move and flex and loosen up. If it is very quiet and I turn my head I can hear a horrible gritty sound, as if I have coarse sand between my vertebrae.

You sometimes hear that spinal misalignment is the " cause" of MS and that chiropractic is the "cure", and I'm always very wary of such sweeping claims. However, I think it's entirely plausible that misalignment could cause physical damage to the nerves and therefore inflammation, immune response, etc. etc. so it's certainly worth investigating.

Just a word of caution: sometimes with MS your muscles can react extremely badly to sudden, sharp movements – violently and involuntarily fighting back – the competing forces of your muscles reacting against the practitioner can cause real damage, so be sure you can remain floppy in the hands of a stranger! (Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say!).

_________________
Dom

TwistedHelix -

Like so many other things out there, chiro has been touted as a cure for MS. Obviously, this is not so. I do think that the spinal misalignment is a problem for people with MS. We ordinarily have a weak side to our bodies, so when walking or even sitting we compensate for the weak side. After awhile we start leaning to one side - this is spinal misalignment - a cause of pinched nerves, and muscle contractures. I use Pilates, chiro, massage, strength training and Feldenkrais Movement to keep my bone skeleton in a straight line - it is a lot of work, but well worth all the effort.

Again, I caution anyone starting with a chiro - make sure you know if they have dealt with MS - ask for patient referrals - talk with your State Chiro Board. Unfortunately, not all chiros are what they are "cracked up to be".

Sharon