Meniere’s Disease gets its name from the French physician Prosper Meniere who, in 1861, reported that vertigo or dizziness could be associated with an inner ear disorder. Medically the cause is considered to be a build up of fluid in the inner ear that eventually bursts and affects sur­rounding areas of the ear and causes vertigo and other damage to occur. Treatment usually involves reduction of alcohol usage, and restrictions on salt, caffeine and potassium in the diet.

Now, however, a new study has shed some very interesting light on this age-old vertigo prob­lem. Based on a study recently reported in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, there is a good chance that vertigo is actually caused by a vertebral subluxation (a misalignment of the vertebrae).

This study looked at ten individuals who were suffering from vertigo attacks and had been medically diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. X-rays of the cervical region of each patient showed the presence of subluxations in the neck area. Each case had a bone that was out of alignment and was causing interference to the function of their central nervous system. In each case, proce­dures were initiated to correct the subluxations.

Researchers noted that each patient responded differently to their treatment, but in all cases the results were positive. All ten patients reported significant improvement as a result of their Chiropractic care and most had a complete recovery from their Meniere’s Disease condition.

One case in particular brought life-changing results. An 87-year-old woman had been suffer­ing from dizziness and ringing in her ears for the past 45 years. When she had a particularly severe episode of dizziness, she would have to hold onto walls or whatever object was available to help her retain balance. Often this was not enough as she’d suffered numerous falls over the years. Some of these caused broken bones. Following the woman’s adjustment, she reported a complete alleviation of her vertigo and dizziness. Plus, the ringing in her ears was gone the day after her treatment. That was 2 years ago and she has remained free of Meniere’s Disease symp­toms ever since.

Anyone who has suffered from similar symptoms needs to know that there is a good chance that Chiropractic has the solution. Whether the condition is Meniere’s Disease or simply vertigo and nausea, the cause may be a subluxation. This study helped 10 out of 10 cases, causing researchers to conclude that subluxations do indeed play a significant role in Meniere’s Disease. A visit to a chiropractor could help to handle this condition in a hurry.

Source: Kid Chiropractic. “Meniere’s Disease Helped with Chiropractic – Case Series.” June 2008. http://www.kidchiropractic.com/ and the Journal of Vertebral
Subluxation Research. “Upper Cervical Protocol to Reduce Vertebral Subluxation in Ten Subjects with Meniere’s: A Case Series.” June 2008.http://www.jvsr.corn/abstracts/index.asp?id=361

“By stimulating the nervous system, we can improve the function of the whole body,” said Dr. Heidi Haavik-Taylor. “This is something that chiropractors and their patients have known for years, and now we have some scientific evidence to prove it.”

Dr. Haavik-Taylor has been researching the effects of Chiropractic on the nervous system for the past 7 years. Her study included the use of an electroencephalograph (EEG) to measure brain waves before an adjustment and how these waves were altered afterwards. Her work was conducted at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic where she is director of research. Her findings were published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.

The research involved 12 subjects who were documented as having reoccurring neck pain. All of the adjustments involved manipulations of dysfunctional cervical joints. Using a series of EEG evaluations, researchers were able to show that signals are carried by the nervous system to the brain and change the way muscles are con­trolled. “This is the first time that anyone has used EEGs to prove that there are def­inite changes to the way the brain processes information after Chiropractic care.”

Dr. Haavik-Taylor summed up the action in very simple terms. “The process is like rebooting a computer. The signals that these adjustments send to the brain via the nervous system reset muscle behavior patterns.”

People who have enjoyed successful Chiropractic adjustments can certainly relate to the findings of this research. Is it any wonder that people frequently notice imme­diate changes in the way they feel or the way a particular part of their body is func­tioning after an adjustment – and in many cases, notice it immediately? If body sys­tems do indeed reboot along the lines of a computer, changes can happen quickly with marvelous results.

Even the president of the New Zealand Chiropractors Association, Dr. James Burt, was favorably impressed. “Dr. Haavik-Taylor’s work is ground-breaking on an international level by proving that Chiropractic adjustments do alter and benefit the nervous system.”

Source: The New Zealand Chiropractors Association. Media Release. “New Science Behind Chiropractic Care.” November 2007.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0711/S00116.htm

The “Sense of Congress” message they are jointly sponsoring states that the “Secretary of Defense should take immediate steps to appoint doctors of Chiropractic as commissioned officers in the Armed Forces.” The type of bill, a “Sense of Congress,” is used as a statement of recom­mendation from the Congress and goes into the official record. While it does not create or amend a law, it is a strong expression of Congressional opinion and does not require the signa­ture of the President of the United States to implement.

The history of attempting to get chiropractors commissioned in the U.S. Armed Forces goes back to the early 1990s. Congress was lobbied heavily during this time to bring it about and the Defense Authorization Amendment of 1992 was passed with a provision to allow the Secretary of Defense the authority to commission DCs as healthcare officers. Unfortunately, this never hap­pened even though other healthcare providers like medical doctors and dentists do receive com­missions.

The “Sense of Congress” message has now been brought forward as another urging to the Secretary of Defense to implement the actions allowed by the 1992 law. The bill points to the following as some of the important reasons why chiropractors are immediately needed in the mil­itary:

•  Back injuries are the leading cause of lost service time and military disability.
• Combat readiness of military personnel will be improved by offering a non-pharmaceutical approach to health care.
• The cost effectiveness of military healthcare will benefit by taking advantage of conservative, drugless and non-surgical care.
• The widest possible range of healthcare options will be available especially in the area of spine and body structure care.

According to the resolution, the only way that military personnel in the field or on shipboard can access Chiropractic care is through a commissioned Chiropractic officer. For these many stat­ed reasons, the joint resolution of both the House and Senate urges that, “The Secretary of Defense should take immediate steps to establish a career path for doctors of Chiropractic to be appointed as commissioned officers in all branches of the Armed Forces for purposes of providing Chiropractic services to members of the Armed Forces.”

Source: The World Chiropractic Affiance. “Congress to Consider Military DC Bill.” April 2008 http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcY2008/apr/a.htm and the United States Congress. “Concurrent Resolution 75.” April 2008. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:sc75

On a recent Montel Williams Show, he presented some very interesting information about a Chiropractic cervical adjustment he’d experienced only 12 days before. It was obvious to all of his viewers that the Chiropractic work had gone very well and that his life was immediately changed by the results.

Here is what Montel said on the show regarding his condition and his treatment suc­cess:

“I’m not certain because I haven’t done the scientific research on it to know if this can work for everybody else out there, but I want to tell you I suffer from MS. I have extreme neuralgic pain in the lower extremities; I’m in pain 24 hours a day seven days a week, 365 days a year, and then I go to see this doctor (Dr. Patrick Kerr D.C.). I’ve had pain in my feet. I’ve struggled with my balance, so Dr. Erica (Schwartz, an M.D. and patient advocate who appeared on the show) sent me to see (Dr. Kerr) 12 days ago.

“There’s not a person that knows me who will not confirm this, if you just ask them, everybody who sees me. I am walking differently, my pain is less, I have already regained strength in my left leg, my left leg has dropped because I found out that my pelvis was tilted, it’s dropped back down, they are now the same length. It’s the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.”

Dr. Kerr has his practice in New York City. He is a graduate of Life Chiropractic College. “The goal of all Chiropractic care is to reduce pressure on the nerves, thereby allowing the body to function normally – without pain,” Dr. Kerr said during the broad­cast.

It’s going to be most interesting to learn more about Montel’s condition and his con­tinued developments during the next several months. He will likely continue on his path of improvement and recovery from his condition for some time. It will also be interesting to see if the symptoms of his MS continue to abate and if, in reality, he truly had MS or simply a cervical subluxation (partial dislocation of a vertebra in the neck region) that was indeed the cause of his long-term condition

Source: Chiropractic News. Press Release. “Montel Williams Gives Upper Cervical Chiropractic Testimonial.” February 2008. http://msrecovery.com/blog/2008/01/15/montel-williams-gives-upper-cervical-chiropractic-testimonial-chiropractic-news-press-release