Asthmatic Patients Benefit from Chiropractic
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by episodes or attacks of impaired breathing. Symptoms are caused by inflammation and narrowing of small airways and may include shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and chest pain. Disease severity ranges from mild with occasional symptoms to severe with persistent symptoms that impact quality of life. However, even people with mild disease may suffer severe attacks. Common attack triggers include airway irritants (e.g., tobacco smoke and air pollution), allergens, respiratory infections, stress, and exercise.
Although little is understood about preventing asthma from developing, the means for controlling and preventing symptoms are well established. Treatment includes the use of medication for short-term relief; daily use of preventive medication to avert attacks; monitoring of early symptoms; avoiding factors that trigger attacks; and removing risks (e.g., tobacco smoke or mold) from the home, school, and work environments. Nevertheless, morbidity, direct health care costs, indirect costs such as lost productivity, and mortality due to asthma continue to pose a high burden.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information of the U.S. National Library of Medicine reports that at the end of a 12-week intervention phase using Chiropractic treatment, asthmatic patients showed improvement, including objective lung function tests and patient-rated day and nighttime symptoms. Of the patient-rated measures, a reduction of approximately 20% in beta bronchodilator use was seen. The quality of life scores improved by 10% to 28%, with the activity scale showing the most change. Asthma severity ratings showed a reduction of 39%, and there was an overall improvement rating corresponding from 50% to 75%.
In another study of impairment rating analysis of asthmatic children under Chiropractic care, reported in the National Institutes of Health by researchers Graham RL, and Pistolese RA, the self-reported impairment study on 81 children aged one to 17 before and after a two month period of Chiropractic care showed a significant improvement for 90.1% of subjects after 60 days of Chiropractic treatment. Girls reported less improvement after care compared to boys, however significant decreases in impairment ratings were reported for both sexes.
These case studies are not unusual in Chiropractic. There are many similar reports on file in chiropractic offices throughout the country. The sad part is that there are possibly millions of asthmatic children in the world who are destined to a life dependent upon medication, and who may never have the chance to see if Chiropractic spinal adjustments can help their asthma and provide a better quality of life.
If you or a member of your family suffers from asthma, call our office and schedule a thorough examination. Positive clinical changes have been seen in a number of subjects leading to the conclusion that spinal manipulative therapy may be sought as an adjunct to medical management
