FROM:
Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research 2004 (Aug); 23 (8): 1–9 ~ FULL TEXT
Erin L. Elster, D.C.
Introduction
While the link between head trauma and the later development of Parkinson’s disease (PD) or Multiple Sclerosis (MS) remains controversial, many PD and MS researchers have confirmed the connection. [ 1-12 ] Several researchers have reported a strong association between head trauma and the subsequent development of PD in retrospective case-controlled studies and have found this association to be stronger than that of other environmental agents long suspected as risk factors for PD. [1-5] On average, these studies found that head trauma occurred two to three decades prior to PD onset. [ 1-2,5 ] One recently published study, performed at the Mayo Clinic and headed by Dr. J.H. Bower, investigated the association between head trauma and PD in more detail. [ 1 ] By reviewing the complete medical records of both cases and controls, the study team was able to objectively determine prior occurrence of head trauma without introducing recall bias. Study results suggest that head trauma is associated with the later development of PD, even when study limitations were taken into consideration.
In a discussion regarding the possible role of trauma in the development of MS, Dr. Charles Poser [ 9-11 ] notes that “in some patients with MS, certain kinds of trauma (to the brain and/or spinal cord, including whiplash injuries) may act as a trigger at some time for the appearance of new or recurrent symptoms.” Poser goes on to suggest that trauma to the central nervous system may alter the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), which many researchers consider to be a critical step in the formation of MS lesions. He cites research conducted on monkeys demonstrating that mild trauma inflicted on the central nervous system, including whiplash injury, results in a breakdown of the BBB. He also cites several researchers who observed the correlation between trauma and the formation or exacerbation of MS lesions. He further notes that the “relationship (between cervical spondylosis and MS) has been well documented by MRI in many patients with MS, revealing a close anatomical correspondence between compression of the cervical spinal cord by spondylosis or herniated discs … and intraspinal plaques at the same level.”
In 1996, a British court awarded damages to a plaintiff based on the rapid onset of MS closely following a motor vehicle
accident. [ 12 ] The presiding judge stated that he was “satisfied that (the plaintiff) did sustain a whiplash injury….and that the symptoms he later displayed indicated that MS had developed in the very area which had been affected by the trauma.” Experts testified that hundreds of MS cases diagnosed subsequent to auto accidents existed; too many, they claimed, to be caused by chance.
While links between trauma and the later development of MS and PD have been established, researchers have yet to define
an exact mechanism to explain the onset of MS and PD following trauma, nor have they isolated an objective method
for measuring and/or diagnosing the kind of trauma-induced injuries that appear to precipitate MS and PD. This paper serves
to address the above issues through the summary of case histories, diagnostic test results, and treatment responses of 81 MS
and PD patients, 78 of whom recalled head or neck trauma prior to disease onset. These patients were examined and cared for in the author’s private practice over a five-year period in a nonexperimental environment without control subjects. This paper does not purport to be a controlled research study, but rather serves to provide a foundation for future research.
Case reports of two of the 81 cases (1 MS case and 1 PD case) were published in indexed, peer-reviewed journals. [ 13-14 ]
Other reports documenting successful treatment of patients with similar diagnoses using upper cervical chiropractic care are limited primarily to Palmer’s upper cervical research conducted seventy years ago, which was never published in a peer-reviewed, indexed fashion. [ 15-16 ] Patients with other neurological conditions such as Migraine headaches and Tourette Syndrome also responded favorably to IUCCA upper cervical chiropractic intervention. [ 17-18 ] In both cases, patients reported substantial traumas to the head or neck prior to the onset of symptoms and diagnoses.
The Abstract
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 Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (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.
KEY INDEXING TERMS: upper cervical spine, chiropractic, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, trauma
