What Causes Seizures?
If you have ever had a seizure or been diagnosed with Epilepsy you may know that there are truly countless causes of seizures and sometimes there can be no exact cause found. There are two broad categories of seizures, partial and generalized. Seizures are separated into these categories based on where the electrical impulses are coming from in the brain when the seizure begins. With generalized seizures the electrical impulses come from the entire brain, with partial seizures these impulses come from only a certain part of the brain, at least at the onset of the seizure. Seizures can happen only once in a person’s lifetime or they can be recurring which is then usually diagnosed as Epilepsy. Seizures can last a few seconds or up to 15 minutes depending on the severity and type of seizure. This article from The Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan states that 70% of seizures have no known cause. The article goes on to say that 30%-40% of patients receiving medication for Epilepsy continue to have seizures.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help With Seizures?
A recent medical advancement has allowed doctors to implant patients with a device that electrically stimulates the Vagus Nerve which has been found to be linked to seizures. Chiropractic studies have also shown this connection between improper function of the Vagus Nerve and seizures, however they also found that chiropractic adjustments could alleviate the interference and allow the Vagus Nerve to be stimulated naturally without the use of a device. Multiple studies by multiple agencies have shown that removing vertebral subluxations significantly reduces the frequency and severity of seizures in patients that have been diagnosed with Epilepsy. By correcting subluxations, taking stress off of the nerves and brain stem, and allowing nerve function to improve naturally most people can experience a decrease in Epileptic symptoms. Below are some excerpts from articles that highlight how substantially chiropractic adjustments can affect the occurrence of seizures.
“In a 2001 study, published in the Journal Of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, researchers looked at 17 children who had received unsuccessful management with anticonvulsive medications. All 17 patients subsequently received chiropractic care of the upper neck to correct vertebral subluxations, the term chiropractors use to describe abnormal spinal function that results in nerve interference and imbalanced brain function. 88% of the patients (15 out of 17) experienced significant reduction in the frequency and severity of their epileptic seizures. The author concluded that “chiropractic care may represent a non pharmaceutical approach for pediatric epileptic patients”.” West Edmonton Family Chiropractic Studio
“A 24 year old woman who was having multiple seizures day and night, some of which were so severe she would vomit stopped having seizures after chiropractic care. The seizures had begun after a diving accident 17 years earlier. Multiple medications did not help. After one adjustment the seizures stopped and this person was still seizure free after 2 months when this paper was published.” Princeton Chiropractic Wellness Center
