CARMICHAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A Chicago-area study of 50 individuals with misaligned Atlas vertebrae
(located high in the neck) documents reduced blood pressure following
one specialized chiropractic adjustment and continued results after
eight weeks. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of the benefits of
chiropractic, points out that these results, as published in the March
2, 2007 online issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension, are
two times greater than provided by a blood-pressure drug.
According to lead author George Bakris, M.D., director of the
Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center and lead
chiropractic clinician Marshall Dickholtz, D.C., unlike other vertebrae,
which interlock one to the next, the Atlas (also known as C-1) relies
solely upon soft tissue (muscles and ligaments) to maintain alignment.
It is uniquely vulnerable to displacement which can occur without pain
and often goes undetected and untreated.
Individuals enrolled in the study displayed high blood pressure and
misaligned C-1. Data from the assessment was used by the chiropractor to
plan the specific adjustment of the misalignment. Half of the patients
received an individualized case-specific adjustment while the other half
received a "sham intervention,"
designed to be indistinguishable to the patients from an authentic
alignment. Eight weeks after undergoing procedures, 25 patients with
early-stage high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure
than another 25 early-stage hypertensive patients who underwent the sham
adjustment.
Compared to the sham-treated patients, those who received the customized
procedure saw an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood
pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm
Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure
number). None of the patients took blood pressure medicine during the
eight-week study.
"This study confirms the value of a specific
chiropractic adjustment using the protocols from the National Upper
Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) in significantly lowering
blood pressure in patients with a misaligned C-1,"
states Gerard W. Clum, D.C. president of Life Chiropractic College West,
Hayward, California, and spokesperson for the Foundation. "These
findings are significant because they further demonstrate to patients
the benefits of chiropractic find a chiropractor care for conditions beyond back pain, neck
pain or headache."
Dr. Clum also points out that among other assessments x-rays were used
to document the presence of a C-1 misalignment and the effectiveness of
the adjustive procedure to realign the Atlas vertebra in study subjects.
Participants were fully assessed immediately again after the alignment,
as well as at the end of eight weeks.
About F4CP
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress is a 501c6 corporation that
represents a cross section chiropractor of the chiropractic and vendor communities
with the goal of increasing the public's
awareness of the benefits of chiropractic. www.f4cp.org.
(located high in the neck) documents reduced blood pressure following
one specialized chiropractic adjustment and continued results after
eight weeks. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of the benefits of
chiropractic, points out that these results, as published in the March
2, 2007 online issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension, are
two times greater than provided by a blood-pressure drug.
According to lead author George Bakris, M.D., director of the
Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center and lead
chiropractic clinician Marshall Dickholtz, D.C., unlike other vertebrae,
which interlock one to the next, the Atlas (also known as C-1) relies
solely upon soft tissue (muscles and ligaments) to maintain alignment.
It is uniquely vulnerable to displacement which can occur without pain
and often goes undetected and untreated.
Individuals enrolled in the study displayed high blood pressure and
misaligned C-1. Data from the assessment was used by the chiropractor to
plan the specific adjustment of the misalignment. Half of the patients
received an individualized case-specific adjustment while the other half
received a "sham intervention,"
designed to be indistinguishable to the patients from an authentic
alignment. Eight weeks after undergoing procedures, 25 patients with
early-stage high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure
than another 25 early-stage hypertensive patients who underwent the sham
adjustment.
Compared to the sham-treated patients, those who received the customized
procedure saw an average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood
pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm
Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure
number). None of the patients took blood pressure medicine during the
eight-week study.
"This study confirms the value of a specific
chiropractic adjustment using the protocols from the National Upper
Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) in significantly lowering
blood pressure in patients with a misaligned C-1,"
states Gerard W. Clum, D.C. president of Life Chiropractic College West,
Hayward, California, and spokesperson for the Foundation. "These
findings are significant because they further demonstrate to patients
the benefits of chiropractic find a chiropractor care for conditions beyond back pain, neck
pain or headache."
Dr. Clum also points out that among other assessments x-rays were used
to document the presence of a C-1 misalignment and the effectiveness of
the adjustive procedure to realign the Atlas vertebra in study subjects.
Participants were fully assessed immediately again after the alignment,
as well as at the end of eight weeks.
About F4CP
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress is a 501c6 corporation that
represents a cross section chiropractor of the chiropractic and vendor communities
with the goal of increasing the public's
awareness of the benefits of chiropractic. www.f4cp.org.