Asthma And Chiropractic Research Review

Asthma is one of the fastest growing chronic conditions in the United States with over 15 million Americans affected, including four million children. The death rate from asthma has increased more than 66% since 1980, with a record 6,600 annual deaths attributed to asthma.

Americans spend $6.2 billion annually on asthma treatment and over $1 billion on medications. Adults with asthma lose over $850 million in lost wages from work and parents with asthmatic children lose over $1 billion by staying home from work to care for their children. Asthma is the #1 cause of hospitalization for children in the United States.

An estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, with 250,000 annual deaths attributed to the disease. Studies show that almost all of these deaths are avoidable.

A study by Dutch and American researchers found that 75% of children with moderate to severe asthma still have the condition by the time they reach their mid-twenties.

After a decade of decline, both the number of cases and deaths due to asthma are surging. Cases nearly doubled from 1994 to 2009 with the biggest increase among people ages 18-44, according to the American Lung Association.

In 2009, over 6,000 people succumbed to fatal attacks, twice the number who died in 1979. The death rate has risen fastest for African-American.

U. S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Conventional treatment includes the use of bronchodilators, steroids and allergy desensitization shots to ease the symptoms of asthma and although no one would disagree with the appropriate use of medicine in controlling asthma, there is mounting research to suggest that serious problems often result with their usage.

“A focus on bronchodilators as the only therapy is inappropriate. It is symptomatic therapy that has nothing to do with the healing process.”

Dr. Michael Kaliner,

Head of Allergic Disease Section,

National Institute of Health

“People with asthma breathed a sigh of relief with the advent of inhaled steroids in the early 1990s. Thousands of people take high dosages daily in regimes that may last a lifetime. New research indicates that inhaled steroids may have an unsuspecting dark side. A study of nearly 50,000 elderly people in Canada found that prolonged use of inhaled steroids markedly increases a person’s risk of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.”

“Our approach to asthma has been woefully inadequate and misguided, our medications have worsened the condition over the long term, and few of our doctors have developed the kind of comprehensive programs that emphasize healing and prevention.”

Dr. Firshein, Reversing Asthma “

Two recent studies conducted in Canada and New Zealand suggests that asthma patients who rely on inhaled beta-agonist dilators run twice the risk of dying. By opening airways that are normally constricted in an asthma attack, bronchodilators might actually expose the lungs to more of the substances that damage them, hurtling the asthmatic individual down a dangerous spiral.” 

“Subluxations of vertebra occur in all parts of the spine and in all degrees. When the dislocation is so slight as to not affect the spinal cord, it will still produce disturbancesin the spinal nerves passing off from the foramina.”

JAMES WODDERSEE, M.D.

Neurosurgeon

“Nerve dysfunction is stressful to the visceral nerve and other body structures and the lowered tissue resistance modifies the immune response and lessens the overall capability of the immune system.”

                                                                                      SCIENCE

“Abnormalities of central afferent and efferent pathways have been revealed by evoked potential studies in diabetic patients. Central nervous system abnormalities are more frequent in patients with peripheral neuropathy, but evoked potential can be abnormal even in patients without neuropathy.”

                            Clinical Neuroscience

The science of Chiropractic is founded on the premise that a proper nerve supply is essential in controlling and regulating bodily function.

Doctors of Chiropractic detect and correct vertebral subluxations by physically adjusting the spine. This restores the nervous system to an optimum level of function, which maximizes the body’s inherent healing ability.

Chiropractors have never claimed that they can “cure” asthma and other related conditions and not all cases of asthma are caused by spinal stress, but scientific research has demonstratedthat correcting subluxations does restore and improve respiratory and immune function, which improves conditions like asthma.

The Brisbane Asthma Study reported that Chiropractic was the most frequently consulted form of alternative health care and that 29.6% of families with asthmatic children used Chiropractic for asthma treatment. When compared with other forms of alternative health care, Chiropractic received the highest satisfaction rate — 86.5%.

                THE MEDICAL JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA

76.5% of patients with bronchial asthma said they benefited from chiropractic treatment. Peak flow rate and vital capacity increased after the third treatment. 

                    EUROPEAN CHIROPRACTIC UNION

A study, published in the Chiropractic Research Journal, compared the health and wellness of 200 children under Chiropractic care to 200 children under conventional medical care.

The Chiropractic group had fewer ear infections, fewer allergies, fewer cases of tonsillitis and asthma. The health of the children under Chiropractic care was demonstrably superior to the children who had not received it.

Studies that have measured the effect of Chiropractic treatment on the immune system have showed that Chiropractic may influence T and B lymphocytes, NK (Natural Killer) cell numbers, antibody levels, phagocytic activity, and plasma bet-endorphin levels.

A recent study by Dr. Ron Pero, a leading cancer and genetic research specialist, found that chiropractic patients of all ages had a 200% greater "immune competence" than people who had never received Chiropractic care and a 400% greater immune competence than people with serious diseases.