A Patient’s Perspective – March 2004 (Parkinson’s disease)

I continue to be amazed at what I read in the research. The cervical spine, in particular the upper cervical spine is mentioned in most of the research (chiropractic and medical) I have located.  It is such a vital area which is the main communication pathway between your body and brain and yet apart from obvious injuries like fractures or other pathologies it is rarely analyzed in detail. Why do some medical researchers not see the importance of this area in the conditions they are investigating? Why are charitable foundations which are set up to support research into a particular medical condition or disease not interested including upper cervical chiropractic in the investigation and funding process? Why is research into pharmaceutical outcomes favored over alternative and complementary approaches? I would have thought that patients’ interests are what are most important and therefore any and all possible solutions to disease eradication should be researched?   Scientific researchers should be given freedom to investigate any and all options rather than having them focus on pharmaceutical or surgical solutions.

In this issue I have provided some research information on the condition Parkinson’s disease. I chose this one because I have a friend who is struggling with the disease at the moment. There is some interesting research and case studies which would seem to point once again to the cervical spine as being a culprit. I did once convince my friend to visit an upper cervical chiropractor. He had an amazing response to the treatment as you can see by his communication to me soon after his first atlas adjustment.

“DEAR GREG

WE SAW [the chiropractor] TODAY. HE TOOK 3 X RAYS AND ZAPPED US TWICE!.

ALREADY BOTH OF US CAN MOVE OUR HEADS TWICE AS FAR!! MY NECK WAS ABOUT 8 DEGREES OFF CENTRE.

WE ARE THRILLED AND GO BACK TOMORROW FOR MORE X RAYS AND ZAPS.

THANKS FOR YOUR SUGGESTION AND CARE I OWE YOU A FEW BEERS!!! LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL SOON”

To look at my friend you could see his head was very noticeably tilted to one side and his head was quite forward. His trapezius muscles are extremely tight, the sternocleidomastoid is under tension on one side, and the scalenes seem very tight and bulky (scar tissue?). Apart from the Parkinson’s symptoms he also has tinnitus, deafness, tingling & pins and needles and pain in the neck and shoulders. In other words he appears to have a massive atlas subluxation which, as you can see from the above communication was evident on x-rays. He would need ongoing treatment for a lengthy period.

Sadly he did not continue with this treatment (AO upper cervical chiropractic) as he was basically told by his doctors that neck problems could not be a cause of Parkinson’s disease. I could not persuade him or his wife to keep up the treatment and was told in no uncertain terms that Parkinson’s disease was a problem with the brain and there is no way the neck could be involved. I beg to differ and in this edition of my newsletter I will explain my opinions and conclusions. My friend is lost to the medical profession having now graduated firstly to a motorized scooter and more recently to a nursing home periodically! This is a tragedy and I feel for my dear friends; however I am no match for the medical system and the misleading information spread about chiropractors.

I hope you enjoy my newsletters and as always feel free to provide me with any feedback and suggestions to info@upcspine.com. Remember I am a patient and not a medical practitioner; however I am entitled to my own opinion. People are free to disagree with me. My newsletters are provided as an informational source only, and are not a medical opinion. Therefore you should do further research for yourself and make your own decisions. Continue reading →

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