The March 15, 2012 issue of the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research documents a case of a patient being helped with fibromyalgia through chiropractic care. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine website, "Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety."

The authors of the study begin by reporting that fibromyalgia is the most common cause of widespread pain, and is more common in women, who are 10 to 20 times more likely to have fibromyalgia than men. The authors also report that it is estimated that there are between 3 to 6 million people believed to be currently suffering with the disease.

In this case, a 64-year-old woman went to the chiropractor suffering from fibromyalgia which had been medically diagnosed six years earlier. In addition to the fibromyalgia, the woman was also suffering with a large variety of health problems that included sleep apnea, loss of coordination, glaucoma, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, depression, photophobia (sensitivity to light), indigestion, changes in her bowel habits, frequent urination, sinusitis, allergies, shoulder pain, mid back pain, low back pain, high cholesterol, hypertension, and neck pain.

The woman in this case study was on a number of medications, and her health issues were severely affecting her daily activities. It was noted in the history that as a teenager, she did injure herself by falling off a horse. There were no other reported traumas or accidents.

A chiropractic examination was performed which included palpation, posture analysis, thermal readings, and x-rays. The results of the exam were that subluxations were present causing nervous system interference. A course of specific chiropractic adjustments was initiated to correct the subluxations found.

After several weeks of care, the study reports that the woman stated that her neck and shoulder pain had improved, her middle back pain had also improved, as well as her eyesight. After 3 months of care, she reported that she was 80% better. Follow up x-rays showed a considerable improvement in the curve in her neck, which was completely straight on the initial x-ray. The study authors also documented that the woman reported having a much better mental outlook, much more energy, her general strength had improved, and she was able to stand and walk for longer periods of time with no pain.

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Above is the headline from a March 27, 2012 Reuters article reporting on a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, from Paris, which ranked the health standards of its 34 members in a report, "Health at a Glance 2011 - OECD Indicators." The OECD report, released in November 2011, compared a number of health statistics of various countries including the United States.

In the Reuters story, the statistics comparing the United States were featured and brought to light some of the glaring shortfalls of the U.S. healthcare system. Not surprisingly, the U.S. spends more than any other nation in the study at a current level of $2.6 trillion dollars in 2011. This equates to $8,402 for every man, woman and child in this nation. This amount represents 17.9 percent of U.S. annual gross domestic product, and is growing at a faster rate than the other nations in the study.

For the staggering amount of money spent on healthcare in the U.S., many of the health indicators in the OECD report place the U.S. far down the list when compared to other nations. Some of the highlighted indicators for the U.S. healthcare system are as follows:

• The U.S. is first in obesity with 34 percent of the population being considered obese. Additionally, since 1990, this number has increased from 23 percent in 1990 and up from 15% in 1980. The U.S. also ranked second worst in obesity for children ages 5 -17.
• The U.S. ranks 28th in life expectancy with an average of 78.2 years as of 2011. In contrast Japan ranks number one where the life expectancy is 83 years.
• The U.S. ranks 31st in infant mortality rates with 6.5 deaths per 1000 live births. In this area, the U.S. also showed a very slow improvement over the previous 40 years showing only a 2.6 percent improvement which was the third worst improvement in this area among the nations in the study.
• The U.S. ranks second in the prevalence of diabetes. The OECD report showed that 10.8 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 29 and 70 suffers from either type 1 or 2 diabetes.

One very interesting fact brought out by the OECD report is that, in spite of the facts of the study, Americans rate their own health as highest among the people in the nations studied. The study showed that over 90 percent of Americans consider themselves to be in good health compared to an average of 69.1 percent for all nations in the OECD study.

The OECD report also compared the health care insurance coverage of the nations in the study. The U.S. ranked fourth lowest in coverage of their population with only 81.3 percent of the population being covered by health care insurance provided either by private or government programs. Most of the nations in the study, totaling 20, offer complete governmental coverage for their citizens. The U.S. ranks the lowest in governmental coverage with only 26.4 percent of the population being covered by public insurance. The next lowest country for governmental insurance coverage for its citizens is Chile which covers 73.5 percent of their citizens. The U.S. also ranked highest for out of pocket health care expenditures.

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The Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research, March 12, 2012 edition published a case study showing chiropractic helping in a case of a patient with seizures, blood pressure irregularities, severe gait issues, a lazy eye, and severe fatigue. The authors of the study classified these problems as "neurovascular symptoms" in their discussions of this case.

This is the case of a 75-year-old woman who went to the chiropractor with complaints of unsteady and uncoordinated movement, which the authors termed "gait ataxia", and with laziness in the left eye (strabismus). The authors also report that the woman's energy levels were very low to where she would feel exhausted after only walking across a room. Her seizures would occur if she was exhausted, or if she bent over in a forward position. When having a seizure, the woman felt a hot sensation in her chest, lost the ability to speak, and developed a migraine headache.

A previous medical visit to the hospital did not yield any findings even after MRI and CAT scans were taken. She was then told to get physical therapy and was given anxiety medications. A return visit to her family doctor led to a referral to a neurologist, who also prescribed anxiety medication. The woman's history revealed multiple medical referrals and tests, none of which helped her problem, and in some instances actually made her condition worse.

A chiropractic examination and x-rays were performed and a determination of the presence of subluxation was made. Specific adjustments were begun to correct her subluxation. After just the first adjustment, the woman's posture was noticeably improved, and her neck range of motion increased. She also reported that her energy level had increased allowing her to do ironing for two hours, an activity she was unable to do prior to the adjustment.

As her care continued, the woman saw improvements in her walking, her balance, and her vision improved to where her one lazy eye began to track more normally. She also noted that she had not had a seizure since the beginning of her chiropractic care. Her health continued to improve to the point where she was nearly free of all her previous symptoms.

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Above is a headline from a news article that appeared on NaturalNews.com on April 4, 2012. The article cites new information showing that a recent outbreak in Whooping cough was higher among vaccinated children than among unvaccinated children. The Natural News article was based on a similar article on April 2, 2012 published by Reuters news.

The new information is based on a study led by Dr. David Witt, an infectious disease specialist at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael, California. In early 2010, a large outbreak of Whooping cough started appearing in the records of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. Dr. Witt noted that the outbreak was the largest seen in 50 years and he expected that the incidences of the disease would be led largely by unvaccinated children. However, the statistics showed a vastly different reality.

"We started dissecting the data. What was very surprising was the majority of cases were in fully vaccinated children. That's what started catching our attention," said Witt. The Reuters article reported that out of the132 cases of Whooping cough in children under the age of 18, 81 percent were up to date on recommended Whooping cough shots and only eight percent had never been vaccinated. The remaining 11 percent had not received the complete series but had received at least one shot.

In spite of the factual evidence, the Natural News article reports that several other media outlets completely ignored the study and have issued news articles announcing the outbreak and then urging people to rush out and get vaccinated. Mike Adams, author of the article and editor of NaturalNews.com commented in his article, "Despite the fact that the Whooping cough vaccines actually cause an increase in the risk of being infected with Whooping cough, every time a Whooping cough outbreak occurs, there's a mad rush of everybody screaming, "Vaccinate! Vaccinate! Vaccinate!"

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A case study reporting on the improvement of Meniere's Disease was published in the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research, March 29, 2012 edition. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine website, "Meniere's disease is an inner ear disorder that affects balance and hearing." The study authors add that, "Meniere’s disease causes bouts of vertigo or severe imbalance; usually unilateral hearing loss, or distorted hearing; buzzing or tinnitus in the ear; sometimes an associated sensation of fullness in the ear."

In this case, a 52-year-old man went to the chiropractor having been previously diagnosed two years earlier with Meniere's by his otorhinolaryngologist. His symptoms included ringing in the ears, dizziness, low frequency hearing loss, tension headaches and other musculoskeletal complaints.

The patient had sought specific forms of chiropractic care in the past which helped his problems greatly. The study authors noted that his problems returned some time later after working on his car with his neck extremely turned to one side causing him to feel a strain in his neck. It was after the return of his health issues that he sought chiropractic care from the authors of this study, who documented his results.

A chiropractic examination including x-rays was performed and a vertebral subluxation in his upper neck was determined to be present. The authors describe this by saying, "A vertebral subluxation is the misalignment of a vertebra, or vertebrae, capable of causing neurological detriment sufficient to result in harmful effects, while an adjustment is the reduction of vertebral misalignment factors to remove the neurological insult."

After the determination of a vertebral subluxation of the top bone in the neck (atlas) was made, a specific course of chiropractic corrective care was initiated to correct it. Follow-up examination procedures and x-rays were performed to document the changes to the spine and nervous system.

The patient reported that he was 60% improved after his fifth visit. After 2 months of care, the patient would only experience symptoms of his Meniere's if he had done something such as a physical trauma, traveling long distances, or twisting his neck beyond normal limits during a specific activity. In these cases, an adjustment was needed, and the man quickly returned to normal.

The study authors wrote in their conclusion, "The positive response observed in this case suggests that tinnitus, vertigo, auricular pressure, migraine tension headaches and Meniere’s may be linked to atlas subluxation."

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From the April 9, 2012 issue of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, comes a documented case study of a woman who regained a normal menstrual cycle after years of irregular and painful cycles. Additionally she had not had a menstrual cycle for 3 months (known as secondary amenorrhea) prior to starting chiropractic care.

According to the study authors, "Secondary amenorrhea is defined as cessation of menses for a minimum of three months or more in women who have experienced previous menses." They also note that secondary amenorrhea has a prevalence of approximately 3.3% in women of child-bearing age.

In this case, a 39-year-old woman went to a chiropractic college health center with primary complaints of severe lower and mid back pain, pain down the leg and headaches. Upon taking a history, it was discovered that for the past three months she also suffered from amenorrhea, which is defined as the absence of a menstrual cycle. Additionally, she had a long history of painful and irregular menstrual cycles.

A chiropractic examination was performed including range of motion, palpation, and spinal x-rays. The conclusion of the examination was that multiple vertebral subluxations were present in various areas of the woman's spine. Vertebral subluxations are areas of the spine that are malpositioned causing interference to nerve system function.

Care was initiated in the form of specific chiropractic adjustments to correct the woman's subluxations. After the first adjustment, the woman reported a decrease in back pain and a feeling of a "tingling in the spine". After the second visit, she reported the onset of her menstrual cycle- the first in 3 months. Over the course of the next 8 months, the woman experienced 7 menstrual cycles.

According to the study authors, the woman also reported an improvement in her back pains, headaches, fewer anxiety attacks, asthma attacks, congestion, as well as improved sleep, and increased levels of energy.