The Effects of the Chiropractic Adjustment

Recently there has been a growing attack on chiropractic and children launched by foes of our profession and some misguided practitioners.

The reason and rational as to why children can benefit from chiropractic care is simple:

Life is a process. Health is a process. Disease is a process. Healing is a process and Wellness is a process that encompasses both Health and Disease.

The pathological process of disease can be broken down into two phases.
1- A silent, asymptomatic, dis-ease, vertical phase.
2- An expressive, symptomatic, disease, horizontal phase.
With time the silent phase becomes symptomatic. So the fact that one does not present symptoms does not in anyway revealed one’s state of health. In other words one needs not to be sick to get well !

Since chiropractic addresses the neurological interference caused by vertebral subluxation, it is easy to see that anything that gives more freedom to the nervous system must have a positive impact on the capacity of the body to heal, adapt and recover.

Chiropractic does not claim to be a treatment, a cure or a panacea for symptoms, sickness and disease.

What chiropractic states it can do, is to give the human being a greater adaptability, healing and recovery by clearing the nervous system of interferences caused by vertebral subluxations.

Whatever symptomatic alleviation and results follows happen to be positive effects of the adjustments.

Obviously chiropractic would not have grown to become the largest drugless healing profession in the world if people did not get positive improvements.

This is the evidence that clinically the chiropractic adjustment has a positive impact on human physiology. So why wait until people have become a pathological mess to offer them chiropractic when they can benefit from the onset of life.

Giving a child the opportunity to grow up with greater adaptability and healing power is truly the gift of love and life.

So remember that one need not to be sick to get well.

Here is a series of cases that demonstrates the positive impact of chiropractic on the physiology of children. Keep in mind that those are few cases taken from a mostly wellness chiropractic office seeing over 140 children per week regularly. Since most of them were asymptomatic to start with and are remaining well there are only a small pool to draw from that were symptomatic.

Jamie Lee Clark , I year old, D.O.B.: 2/15/93
Medical Diagnosis: Gastroenterologist diagnosis : Post-viral enteritis, c. difficile enteritis, colitis secondary to antibiotic usage, allergic colitis, gastroesophageal reflux with esophagitis, gastric and/or duodenal ulcer disease, duodenitis secondary to congenital or autoimmune phenomenon, Club feet requiring surgery.
Medication: Amoxicilin, Zantac, Reglan, Tylenol, Ambesol
Chiropractic Results: Off all medication after first visit 8/4/93. Immediate improvement within 24 hours. Complete resolution within 3 weeks of care. Six month later the child is in radiant health, has had no need for medical care and has been free of medication and over-the-counter drug. Club feet straightened out without surgery within 1 1/2 month of care.
Presenting Subluxation Findings: Occiput/C1 with an Atlas ASRP, Sacrum base posterior.
Original Adjustments: Left occiput ridge meningeal contact for 30 seconds, double notch sacral meningeal contact for 1 minute, structural manual adjustment of Atlas ASRP. Left Temporoparietal suture adjustment.

John Plantier, age 11, D.O.B.: 3/20/83
Medical Diagnosis: Chronic asthma.
Medication: Theolair, Alupent
Chiropractic Results: Off asthma medication after first visit 3/11/88. Child is now a multidiscipline athlete with aspiration to become an Olympic athlete. Six years later the child is still free of asthma and medication.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Occiput/C1 with an Atlas ASR.
Original Adjustment: Structural manual adjustment of Atlas.

Ryan Stephano, age 15, D.O.B.: 4/21/78
Medical Diagnosis: Epileptic seizures due to birth trauma.
Medication: Antibiotics, Mebaral, Depakene, Klonopin, Phenobarbital, Dilantin.
Chiropractic results: Marked decrease of number and frequency of seizures since onset of care 1/11/89. Decrease medication intake to one drug with 1/3 the dosage.
Able to recover from flu, cold, respiratory infection without medication or antibiotics and without seizure. Marked improvement in school. 5 years later the child has been seizure for few years on reduced dose of medication.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Occiput/C1 with Atlas ASR, C5/C6 posterior, D4/D5 posterior.
Original Adjustment: Right occiput ridge meningeal contact for 15 second, C5/C6 structural manual adjustment in extension, D5/D6 structural manual adjustment in extension, Atlas structural manual adjustment ASR.

Tim and Patrick Roger, age 9 and 6.
Medical Diagnosis: Chronic ear infections.
Medication: Multiple course of Ceclor antibiotic, Nebulizer.
Chiropractic result: Both children have been free of medication and over-the-counter drugs for the past three years since the onset of care on 1/30/91.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Tim, C2/C3 entire segment right, D12/L1 posterior. Patrick, Occiput/C1 with occiput posterior, Sacrum inferior on the right.
Original Adjustment: Tim, Structural manual adjustment of Axis in right lateral flexion and right rotation, D12/L1 in extension. Patrick, meningeal contact on right occiput ridge for 20 second, structural manual adjustment of sacrum in side posture, and occiput in extension suppine.

Lea Toigo, age 7 1/2, D.O.B.: 3/28/86
Chiropractic Result: Has been under chiropractic care since birth. Has never had the need to seek medical care. Has never taken a single medication or over-the-counter drug to date.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Atlas ASLA, D3/D4 PI.
Original Adjustment: Structural manual adjustment of D3/D4 in extension prone and Atlas in suppine position.

Selena Schreiber, age 17, D.O.B.: 7/4/77
Physical problem: Headaches, acne and “coca cola bottle” eye glasses for nearsightedness.
Chiropractic result: Within three months of care was symptom free and no longer needed glasses. Results remained consistent for two years until last visit in 92 prior to moving to North Carolina.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Axis posterior, Di/D2 PIR, D12/L1 PI.
Original Adjustment: Meningeal contact on sacrum double notch, structural manual adjustment of D1/D2 in lateral flexion and extension, D12/L1 in extension and axis in extension suppine with a spinous contact.

Amy Schreiber, age 23, D.O.B. 5/10/71
Physical problem: Anorexia
Chiropractic Result: Complete resolution following the first adjustment. Follow-up for two years and problem never returned.
Presenting Vertebral subluxation: Occiput/C1 with atlas ASLP, C5/C6 PI.
Original adjustment: Meningeal contact on occiput ridge medially close to the EOP for 60 second, double notch contact on the sacrum for 20 second, axis spinous contact for 20 second. Structural manual adjustment of Atlas in extension and rotation, C5/C6 in extension in suppine position.

Storjohann Family, 4 children, Age 1,2,3,5
Chiropractic result: All children have been under regular chiropractic care since birth and have not had yet the need for medication or over-the-counter drugs.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Each child was checked soon after birth and then weekly thereafter. Adjustment were only given if and when subluxations were present. Those children were adjusted in one or two places on an average of 21 days intervals.

Amanda Erickson, age 3, D.O.B.: 1/13/91
Physical problem: Child has been bent to one side like a croissant since birth.
Chiropractic result: Within onset of care on 4/17/91 the child body returned to normal and has been in radiant health ever since. Child is free of over-the-counter drug or medication for the last 3 1/2 years.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: C2/C3 with Axis entire segment right. L5/S1 PIL.
Original Adjustment: Meningeal contact on right occiput ridge for 30 second. Structural manual adjustment of L5/S1 in side posture in lateral flexion and extension and of axis in lateral flexion in suppine position.

Frank and Amylyn Masterson, age 11 and 13, D.O.B.: 9/24/82 and 9/15/80
Chiropractic result: Since began care on 9/27/89 have not yet had the need for medical care, over-the-counter drug or medication.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Frank, Co/C1 with atlas ASRA, D9/D10 PI. Amylyn, C5/C6 PI, L5/S1 with sacrum base posterior.
Original Adjustment: Frank, D9/D10 in extension suppine and Co/C1 in lateral flexion and extension suppine. Amylyn, L5/S1 in extension prone and C5/C6 in extension suppine.

Tanya and Boo Burnier, age 11 and 9, D.O.B.: 3/8/83 and 9/7/84
Chiropractic result: Have been under regular chiropractic wellness care since the day they arrived in the U.S. on 9/7/84 and have not yet had the need for medical care, medication or over-the-counter drug except in 1994 for Tanya as she contracted Lyme disease.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: Both children were checked and adjusted if needed on a regular basis for the last 9 years.

Frank Hart, age 9, D.O.B.: 9/30/85
Medical diagnosis: Chronic asthma
Medication: Nasalcron.
Chiropractic result: Off his medication at onset of care. Clear of symptoms since first adjustment on 12/15/93.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: C0/C1 with atlas ASRP
Original Adjustment: Atlas in lateral flexion and rotation suppine.

Ed Los, age 4 month, D.O.B.: 1/6/91
Physical condition: Uncontrolled crying and screaming since birth during all waking hours for months on.
Chiropractic result: Immediate resolution of behavior following the first adjustment on 5/1/91. To date 2/10/94 the child is a normal healthy baby.
Presenting Vertebral Subluxation: C0/C1 with occiput posterior on the right.
Original Adjustment: Right occiput ridge meningeal contact for 20 second, double notch meningeal contact on sacrum for 30 second, structural adjustment of occiput in extension and right rotation.

About the author: Arno Burnier D.C. attended Renee Descartes University from 1971 until 1973. He graduated from Sherman College of Chiropractic in 1977. He is the creator and author of the ABC conference, which demonstrates the connection between modern obstetrical procedures and neurospinal damages and promotes a chiropractic philosophy of life regarding the birth process. He is an international guest lecturer on health, healing and wellness at seminars , conventions and graduations. He was chosen as one of America’s 27 best chiropractor by Self Magazine out of a pool of 65000. He practiced in Yardley, Pa from 1978 to 1997.