Published in the August 1, 2016, issue of the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research is a documented case study of a patient being helped with epileptic seizures. The study defines epilepsy by stating, “Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked epileptic seizures.”
In describing the mechanism of seizures, the authors of the study note that seizures are an abnormal and unregulated electrical discharge that occurs within the gray matter of the brain and interrupts normal brain function. They report that between 8 and 10 percent of the population will experience a single seizure some time in their lives with 3 percent developing into epilepsy.
Seizures are generally treated medically with a variety of drugs. However, about 30 percent of those treated are not contained or adequately managed by the medications. Those that can gain some control with their medication are relegated to accepting any side effects while taking that medication for the rest of their lives. For this reason, many patients have sought alternative types of care such as chiropractic.
In this case, a 23-year-old woman suffering from grand-mal seizures went to the chiropractor. She had been suffering from seizures since the age of 21. Since getting seizures, the frequency has increased from two per month to twice weekly. Her history noted that within the first year of her epilepsy diagnosis, she had lost fifty pounds and developed depression, anxiety, migraines, allergies, severe fatigue and memory loss. She was then given medications for these ailments as well. Even after being prescribed a high dose of epilepsy medication, she was still having 2 seizures per week.
A chiropractic examination was performed including a physical examination, postural analysis, palpation, and spinal x-rays. The diagnosis reached from her examination was temporal lobe epilepsy, abnormal posture, and chronic subluxations in the cervical, thoracic, and pelvic areas.
Chiropractic care was started at the rate of three visits per week, and included specific adjustments of the detected subluxations. Within two months of chiropractic care, the patient reported a complete alleviation of her anxiety and depression. She also reported feeling overall improvement and started to take herself off her medications. Her improvement continued over the next several months. By her six-month evaluation, the woman was off all medications and was free of any seizures.