In the study published February 8 in Chiropractic Journal of Australia, the official journal of the Australian Chiropractic Association, investigator provides evidence and highlights the value of chiropractic intervention in improving neuromuscular functions and resolving cervicogenic headache in a patient with neurofibromatosis, especially when the problems cannot be effectively solved by pharmacological or other conservative means. The study also found chiropractic may be a viable option as conservative management of musculoskeletal dysfunction resulting from neurofibromatosis.
"This study emphasizes the importance of chiropractic and neuromuscular skeletal dysfunction in neurofibromatosis," says lead investigator Dr Benjamin Cheong, member of CDAHK and clinical researcher at New York Medical Group (NYMG). "Chiropractic treatment aimed to reduce pain, muscle hypertonicity and restore spinal mobility."
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 affects 1 in 3000 people worldwide and causes tumors to form around nerves including in the brain and spinal cord. The tumors can also grow inside the body which can lead to cancer, blindness, deafness and chronic pain. Without a cure, most patients relied on constant medical procedures to remove the tumors which continue to grow and press up against nerves. But the chronic pain may not resolve after surgery.
The study also found chiropractic may be a viable option as conservative management of musculoskeletal dysfunction resulting from neurofibromatosis.
Researchers concluded that the chiropractic treatment reduced headache score from 8 to 0 on a scale of 10. The patients' disability indexes also reduced from 84 % to 8%. Additional x ray findings showed that the neck curve was restored from 3° to 20°. With the increased demand of patients’ need (35-39), chiropractors focus on the underlying cause of headache and neck pain which can be either in the soft tissues or neurologic in nature. The treatments address the root cause of headache rather than just masking the short-term symptoms.