This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

hi does anyone here have trauma associated with the acute onset of their first attack? mine was a good crack on the head in a snowboard accident, on top of pre-existing subacute degeneration of the spinal cord due to chronic cobalamin deficiency.

i am mostly recovered except for pain in my neck at c7/c8, and corresponding sensory problems in my hands.

i would like to know if anyone has looked into chiropractic treatment when you know you already have spinal cord damage?

hum, i've been looking it up. might be a good thing to pursue. i guess if they can treat people with ms lesions they may as well treat people with other kinds of lesions/injuries hehe

http://www.erinelster.com/pdfs/jvsr%20ms%20article.pdf

Abstract— This article reviews the upper cervical chiropractic management of a single patient with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This 47-year-old female first experienced symptoms of MS at age 44, when she noticed cognitive problems and loss of bladder control. After viewing multiple lesions on MRI (MS plaques), her neurologist diagnosed her with MS. Two years later, she noticed additional symptoms of leg weakness and paresthesias in her arms and legs. Her symptoms progressively worsened without remission, so her neurologist categorized her as having chronic progressive MS and recommended drug therapy (Avonex). Upon initial examination of this patient, evidence of an upper cervical subluxation was found using precise upper cervical radiographs and paraspinal digital
infrared imaging. The patient’s medical history included one possible mechanism (a fall approximately ten years prior), which could have caused her upper cervical subluxation. The patient was placed on a specially designed knee-chest table for adjustment, which was delivered by hand to the first cervical vertebra according to radiographic
findings. Monitoring of the patient’s progress was through doctor’s observation, patient’s subjective description of symptoms, thermographic scans, neurologist’s evaluation and MRI. The patient was managed with upper cervical chiropractic care for two years.After four months of upper cervical chiropractic care, all MS symptoms were absent.
A follow-up MRI showed no new lesions as well as a reduction in intensity of the original lesions. After a year passed in which the patient remained asymptomatic, another follow-up MRI was performed. Once again, the MRI
showed no new lesions and a continued reduction in intensity of the original lesions. Two years after upper cervical chiropractic care began, all MS symptoms remained absent.This case report revealed that this specific upper cervical procedure (thermal imaging, cervical radiographs, and knee-chest adjustments) was associated with a successful
outcome for a patient with Multiple Sclerosis. Post MRI’s, post thermographic scans, and the patient’s neurologist’s evaluation all suggested the intervention of upper cervical chiropractic care may have stimulated a reversal in the progression of Multiple Sclerosis.

Interesting article jimmylegs - thanks.

Yes I did have trauma prior to my ms symptoms starting. I had a fall and have some damage at L5/S1 - my lumbar and sacral spine. My foot is the problem and I seriously thought about seeing a chiropractor, but have wondered if that would be money well spent.

Perhaps I'll look into it - trouble is how does anyone find a top class chiropractor?

J.

Jaded wrote:Perhaps I'll look into it - trouble is how does anyone find a top class chiropractor?

Not that i follow this train of thought, especially for me, but if you look for it, you will find on the net a few people who believe that MS is actually some kind of spine misalighnment. and some chiropractors who say they can fix it. I remember seeing a video of some girls' walking supposedly change over a few days, after an adjustment by a chiro.

here's another 'peer reviewed' article. dont ya think sometimes these things would be better off being reviewed by a few non peers? just a thought. they don't appear to have a control group that also reports almost 100% incidence of spinal trauma over the previous THIRTY YEARS... but since they seem to have decent outcomes anyway, even if it was placebo effect... i am still interested in the possibility that i could have a leftover pinched nerve in my neck from that snowboarding crash... will keep looking into it.

Eighty-One Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease Undergoing Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care to Correct Vertebral Subluxation: A Retrospective Analysis
Erin L. Elster, D.C. Bio
[August 2, 2004, pp 1-9]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Objective: The objective of this article is threefold: to examine the role of head and neck trauma as a contributing factor to the onset of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD); to explore the diagnosis and treatment of trauma-induced injury to the upper cervical spine through the use of protocol developed by the International Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (IUCCA); and to investigate the potential for improving and arresting MS and PD through the correction of traumainduced upper cervical injury. Data from 81 MS and PD patients who recalled prior trauma, presented with upper cervical injuries, and received care according to the above protocol are
reviewed.

Clinical Features: Each patient was examined and cared for in the author’s private practice in an uncontrolled, non-randomized environment over a five-year period. Of the 81 MS and PD patients, 78 recalled that they had experienced at least one head or neck trauma prior to the onset of the disease. In order of frequency, patients reported that they were involved in auto accidents (39 patients); sporting accidents, such as skiing, horseback riding, cycling, and football (29 patients); or falls on icy sidewalks or down stairs (16 patients). The duration between the traumatic event and disease onset varied from two months to 30 years.

Intervention and Outcome: Two diagnostic tests, paraspinal digital infrared imaging and laser-aligned radiography, were performed according to IUCCA protocol. These tests objectively identify trauma-induced upper cervical subluxations (misalignment of the upper cervical spine from the neural canal) and resulting neuropathophysiology. Upper cervical subluxations were found in all 81 cases. After administering treatment to correct their upper cervical injuries, 40 of 44 (91%) MS cases and 34 of 37 (92%) PD cases showed symptomatic improvement and no further disease progression during the care period.

Conclusion: A causal link between trauma-induced upper cervical injury and disease onset for both MS and PD appears to exist. Correcting the injury to the upper cervical spine through the use of IUCCA protocol may arrest and reverse the progression of both MS and PD. Further study in a controlled, experimental environment with a larger sample size is recommended.

We did a news story on this development a while ago:

http://www.thisisms.com/article147.html

Be careful with chiros-- if they don't know what they are doing, they can do a world of damage.

Arron, yes, I would suggest going either to a good, old fashioned physiotherapist or even an osteopath before considering a chiropractor!

I was went to an osteopath when my hand first gave out. After several sessions, he said to me that he didn't think he could do any more and that I should get my GP to refer me to a neurologist. I saw the book he had laid out on his desk and I was horrified. I was totally in denial at that time that I could have MS, but he realised what was wrong and didn't want to take any more money from me. It was only relapsing remitting at that time and so my hand obviously recovered in a few weeks. If I had been seeing someone less reputable, they would have claimed that their work had got my hand better.

I hated this osteopath for years, but now I think he was the best person I saw without realising it.

Sarah

interesting! thanks aaron and sarah. you know, i actually was looking at orthopedic stuff today. i went to a couple physio sessions but they weren't very helpful. my cousin here works at a rehab/ortho hospital and they might be able to get me a soft collar for a little traction. we'll see. i would certainly be very careful if i were to select a chiro as i have a friend who seems to be in pretty bad shape after treatment... is it because of the treatment? i don't know.

Just a comment--a friend who is a physical therapist says she has noted that many MSers she has seen have had torticollis. Maybe it doesn't have be a major trauma.

If MS has some relation to chiro work, i would think that there would be statistical data showing a possible link between those that have ms, and those that went to a chiro preceeding it. I think a similar study was done with health insurance data and the relation between MS and Gout (ie high uric acid)

oh i've never had chiro work done, was just considering it as a treatment in case i have a pinched nerve in my neck. but i'm going to my coz's work tomorrow to see if i can get a collar for now.

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i thought you had to have at least 9 cranial lesions to be diagnosed with ms. maybe i misremember what my neuro said. so did your wife have any spinal lesions? doesn't sound like it or she might have noticed something other than speech issues... she doesn't have l'hermitte's sign or anything right? are her cranial lesions scattered little tiny ones, less than a centimetre? that's what mine are like, but my actual disability is all related to the honkin holes in my spinal cord.