From the March 2010 issue of the scientific publication, The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine comes a case study documenting the improvement with chiropractic of a 5-year-old boy with the primary symptoms of a complete lack of bowel and bladder control. The young boy in this case was born with spinal defects that caused nerve system problems, for which he underwent prior surgery.
The history as reported by the parents was that their son had never had voluntary control over his bowel and bladder function since birth. The boy wore absorbent underpants day and night, and his father was concerned about the implications of starting kindergarten without the ability to control either his bowel or bladder functions. The boy was able to run and play normally and had no other obvious complaints of pain.
Chiropractic care was initiated with a series of adjustments. According to the report, after 2 visits the boy began showing improved bladder and bowel control. After only 5 chiropractic visits, the young boy was able to control his bowel and bladder during the day and at night and was able to discontinue wearing absorbent underpants. Unfortunately, at this point the boy’s mother lost her employment and discontinued his care.
The case noted that the boy continued to maintain his bowel and bladder control for another 6 months when he began to have some problems again. The boy’s mother brought him back for chiropractic care. Within a short period of time the boy again started to show improvement and within 4 additional visits he was able to once again discontinue wearing absorbent underwear and wear normal underpants.
In his discussion of this case, the author of this study noted that there are several mechanisms that are related to either bowel or urinary control problems. One of these mechanisms is neurological in nature which would explain how chiropractic had an effect on this young boy’s problems. In his conclusion, the author wrote, “For this patient, chiropractic care was successful in establishing satisfactory bladder and bowel control.”
