On May 26, 2014, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health published a case study documenting chiropractic helping a baby with severe and chronic asthma with chiropractic. The author of the study defines asthma as “…a respiratory system dysfunction, essentially an inflammation of the lungs which results in chronic breathing difficulty.”
The study records that about 7 million people between the ages of 5 and 14 have asthma in North America alone. According to the author, asthma in children is considered severe “…when any combination of chronic symptoms, acute severe exacerbations and persistent airflow limitation are present despite the prescription of multiple therapies.”
In this case, a 19-month-old boy was brought to the chiropractor with breathing difficulties even after multiple other types of treatments were used. The baby boy was having constant breathing difficulties with episodes of severe difficulty occurring once or twice a week. He was given a diagnosis of severe asthma about two months before being brought in for chiropractic care.
The boy’s history showed that he first developed breathing difficulties at 9 months of age. He was initially diagnosed with upper respiratory infection and middle ear infection, and was given antibiotics which did not help his breathing. By the age of 12 months, his problem was severe enough that he had to be treated at the hospital ER for for acute respiratory distress.
A chiropractic examination was performed which included muscular, postural, and spinal observations for distortions, as well as positioning. Specific x-rays were taken of the upper neck to obtain exact measurements of the top vertebrae in the neck. From the exam process, it was determined that subluxation was present in the upper-most area of the neck. Specific adjustments were performed on the boy’s neck to correct the subluxation. The boy was seen 18 times over a seven month period with specific adjustments being administered as needed.
The study results report that positive changes were noticed both by the parents and the doctor on the boy’s visits. It was recorded that after 8 days, the boy’s breathing difficulties started to improve. After five weeks of chiropractic care, his wheezing episodes were reduced to only once per week. After 9 weeks of care, the boy’s breathing problems seemed to be completely been corrected as no further episodes of wheezing, coughing, or difficult breathing were reported.
In the study conclusion, the author wrote, “In this case, there is evidence to indicate that chiropractic adjusting of the cervical spine is effective for the reduction of the symptoms of severe chronic asthma in a pediatric case.”
