Hey, I would like to know if anyone has had any experience with chiropractic care for PD. I have always felt this was overrated and that they naturally could see 100 patients and every one of them would need some sort of "adjustment". That said my daughter who is very naive signed me up for an exam out of seeking some relief for my rigidity,etc. So I went. I have never had a fall, serious injury or any neck/back pain or problems. I was told that I have a compressed C3 which I did notice was shifted posteriorly. I was also told/shown a c-spine xray and that the usual curvature of the neck has been compromised, in that my neck is practically a straight line putting adverse pressure on C1, the atlas. I naturally was very interested in this finding since I have never had any problems but also very suspicious. I have had 2 other appointments with them, gotten 2 "adjustments". Here's the funny thing-after the 2nd, one the following day I was dyskinetic like never before, I was not requiring as much sinemet, was going longer in between doses up to 4+ hours vs taking the meds every 2 hrs for YEARS. In order to get settled to where I could go to bed, I had to take a clonazepam that my wife uses for her anxiety. I have not had that occur again, this was 1 week ago. Any ideas, comments?

I don't have PD , but I do have good results for my RSI/TOS/myofasial pain from my chiro - been going regularly since mid 04. I have hypermobility so can get "out" of alignment easily.

They say alignment could be "messed up" at birth for some people.
I really think getting checked out by a very good one just might make a difference for anyone with a movement disorder.

Jim..I see a Chiropractor once a month..Alot of people think Chiropractory care is a bunch of hocus pocus, but it is not in my experience..Pd causes us to have bad posture, and we tend to have one side of the body that works better than the other, and this causes our spine to be out of whack most of the time..After a good Dr does adjustments, and I do mean a good Dr, I feel like my body is straight as an arrow..I stand straighter, and my gait is better..I can feel the difference when I walk..A good Chiropractor can give us exercises to do that strengthen the muscles that hold the spine in place..Its all mechanics..The way I see it is, when you've got pd, you need to get the best possible performance out of what is left, and if an adjustment can give me another 10%,15%, or 20%, then it is to my benefit

It is good to remember that our spine wasnt engineered for us to stand up straight, but engineered to walk on all fours like an animal

I think that we - the rest of us - are the naive ones if we don't recognize that the stress and physically unhealthy demands of modern life wouldn't require some kind of corrective therapy for just about everyone. As for your discovery that you needed less meds after your adjustment, I think it's easy to do a little very basic science here, and say it obviously helps. Repeat the experiment. And thanks for letting us know about this.

I just recently started going to a chiro for neck pain, rigidity and overall stiffness. She has helped my neck stiffness and pain more than anyone. I have had injections, botox, physical therapy, massage therapy, pain meds etc but chiro has worked the best. I too get out of alignment easily because my body is twisted due to a car accident which left one leg 1.5" shorter than the other. I now know by the pain when I am out of alignment, which is alot. Sometimes I can even pop my own neck and that helps.
I have had severe hip pain recently and she ordered an mri to see what was going on-I can't even get in to see my ortho doc until next thursday. She has taken the time and concern to try and help me with my pain. As a result of mri I now know I have severe scoliosis, severe degeneration in low back disc, and 2 compressed nerves. Just wonderfull, as if pd wasn't enough.
I know why you are sceptical, I used to be that way. But once you go and it helps tremendously, you will no longer be unsure.

Libra, sorry to hear of your troubles.

I think there is a wide disparity of expertise iin the chiropractic ranks. I found a great one who practices acupuncture along with other treatments. HE could give me 3-4 days of relief from my dystonia. Thats the only drawback to it, the fact that relief is temporary.

I think its a bad idea to let them adjust your neck though. With PD, there is too much of a chance of injury due to stiff muscles, tremor etc.

Charlie

Jim,
I too see a Chiropractor on a regular basis due to the rigidity in my neck. As the muscles get rigid they tend to actually pull the vertebrae out of alignment. I mentioned this to my doctors on several occasions and they tell me there isn't much they can do about it. So enters the Chiropractor.

I don't know if I'm just lucky, but the Chiropractor that I go to has always managed to help me when I needed it most. I have gone to the same guy for about 20 years. His father had PD and he knows what he is dealing with. Yes, there are quacks out there just like in any other profession. Do your homework first. One reason for less medication is that your in less pain or discomfort there for your stress level is reduced.

GregD

....produces exactly one hit. That is an indicator that the research has not been done which, in turn, raises the question "Why the hell not?" An effective, non-invasive, relatively cheap treatment backed by anecdotal reports of success that the Big Boys wouldn't make a dime off of. Hmmm, you don't suppose there is a connection do you?


1: J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2000 Oct;23(8):573-7.

Upper cervical chiropractic management of a patient with Parkinson's disease: a
case report.

Elster EL.

www.erinelster.com

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the use of upper cervical chiropractic management in
managing a single patient with Parkinson's disease and to describe the clinical
picture of the disease. Clinical Features: A 60-year-old man was diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease at age 53 after a twitch developed in his left fifth finger.
He later developed rigidity in his left leg, body tremor, slurring of speech, and
memory loss among other findings. Intervention and Outcome: This subject was
managed with upper cervical chiropractic care for 9 months. .......Evaluation of Parkinson's symptoms occurred by doctor's observation,
the patient's subjective description of symptoms, and use of the Unified
Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Reevaluations demonstrated a marked improvement
in both subjective and objective findings. CONCLUSION: Upper cervical
chiropractic care aided by cervical radiographs and thermal imaging had a
successful outcome for a patient with Parkinson's disease. Further investigation
into upper cervical injury as a contributing factor to Parkinson's disease should
be considered.


PMID: 11050615 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.chiro.org/research/ABSTRA...rkinsons.shtml

Now that you mention it Charlie, the guy I see now very very rarely touches my neck..I about 10 months he has yanked on it once..The guy I used to see, was adjusting it in 2 or 3 different ways every visit..Side to side, then a straight pull on it, and he didnt know what the hell he was doing either, come to find out