More than you know? | Donald M. Petersen Jr.

More than You Know?

The results of a Swedish study¹ (please see "Unexpected Positive Nonmusculoskeletal Side Effects" in this issue) demonstrate that 23 percent of chiropractic patients experience nonmusculoskeletal benefits from spinal manipulation.

The most common nonmusculoskeletal benefits the patients reported were:

easier to breathe;

improved digestive function;

clearer/better/sharper vision;

better circulation;

changes in heart rhythm/blood pressure; and

less ringing in the ears/improved hearing.

Are you asking your patients about the nonmusculoskeletal effects your adjustments might be having? The patients in this study told of improvements that some might find hard to believe:

asthma/allergy better (6 patients);

sense of smell heightened (3 patients);

cough disappeared (1 patient);

less nausea (1 patient);

reduced blood pressure (2 patients);

double vision disappeared (1 patient);

tunnel vision disappeared (1 patient);

less acute dysmenorrhoea (7 patients);

menses function again (1 patient);

acne/eczema better (8 patients);

numbness in tongue gone (1 patient);

hiccups gone (1 patient);

and more.

Of additional interest was that the positive reactions increased with the number of areas adjusted:

One area adjusted: 15% experience positive reactions.
Two areas adjusted: 22% experience positive reactions.
Three areas adjusted: 32% experience positive reactions.
Four areas adjusted: 35% experience positive reactions.

This gives rise to the question about the benefits of an adjustment beyond functional mobility. If over one-third of the patients adjusted in four spinal areas experience additional nonmusculoskeletal benefits, should every patient be adjusted in four areas?

While this probably is not something the insurance companies are going to pay for, is this something you should provide your patients, especially the ones with unexplained problems like those listed above? Is there a place in the proper practice of chiropractic for a limited course of four-area adjusting with careful follow-up reporting?

Of course the findings of this study are not sufficient to demonstrate that the adjustments caused these benefits, but it does support what DCs have been reporting since the first adjustment almost 105 years ago: that other improvements happen beyond the musculoskeletal. So, what do we do with this information? You should ask your patients to report any improvement in function, spinal or nonmusculoskeletal, and document them. You could keep a chart on your wall (without names) to show what additional benefits your patients are reporting. Again, this is no guarantee that other patients will experience the same benefits, but it does document what has been reported.

Ultimately, being aware of these (as yet unproven) phenomena may open your practice to areas you may not have considered before. You may discover clinical relationships that could be the basis for further research.

It is an observation of chiropractic benefits that are probably already occurring in your practice without being reported to you. It is a chance to further improve the health of your patients and further demonstrate and appreciate all that happens when you give an adjustment.

Reference

1. Leboeuf-Yde C, Axen I, Ahlefeldt G, Lidefelt P, Rosenbaum A, Thurnherr T. The types of improved nonmusculoskeletal symptoms reported after chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 199;22:559-64.