AJCC Jan 2000 |
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The
Chiropractic Analysis and Care of a 6 month old male with Colic – A
Case Study by
Jennifer Brandon Peet, D.C. Background
Colic may be defined as repeated episodes of excessive crying
that cannot be explained. Crying ranges from fussiness to agonized
screaming. This condition affects both sexes, but is more common in
boys. Symptoms are usually seen to five
months old and is more common in a first child.
As many as 22.5% of all newborns suffer from colic, this
uncontrollable crying commonly lasts for months, more than three hours a
day, more than three days a week for three weeks or more, usually in the
afternoon and evening hours. Although 47 percent of infantile colic
cases have disappeared by
the age of three months, in some babies it may last as long as 12
months.
Countless studies on colic, since first described in 1894, have
determined what it is not caused by: trapped air or constrictions in the
intestines; gastrointestinal transit time; intestinal hormones;
intestinal microflora; method of delivery (vaginal, Cesarean section or
vacuum extraction); use of pudendal block; epidural analgesia; general
anesthesia; or intravenous oxytocin.
Traditional medical treatment includes dicyclomine hydrochloride,
atropine, skopyl, phenobarbital, merperidine, homatropine, and merbentyl
have not been any more effective than a placebo and in some cases have
had serious side effects.
When doses of dimethicone were compared to chiropractic
adjustments in a randomized, controlled clinical trial on colic in
Denmark, it was concluded that spinal manipulation has a positive
short-term effect on infantile colic.
In 1989, a prospective, uncontrolled study of 316 infants
suffering from infantile colic and selected according to well-defined
criteria shows a satisfactory result of spinal manipulative therapy in
94% of the cases.1
Another study published in 1999 found that by trial days 4 to 7,
hours of crying were reduced by 1 hour in the dimethicone group compared
with 2.4 hours in the chiropractic adjustment group (P = .04). On days 8
through 11, crying was reduced by 1 hour for the dimethicone group,
whereas crying in the chiropractic adjustment group was reduced by 2.7
hours (P = .004). From trial day 5 onward, the chiropractic adjustment
group did significantly better that the dimethicone group. The study
concluded that spinal adjustment is effective in relieving infantile
colic.2 CASE
STUDY
This case study discusses a six-month-old male infant who was
brought into the author’s chiropractic office by his mother. She
stated that her son had been diagnosed with colic since six weeks of age
and had not had any results with traditional medical care. He continued
to cry incessantly, would not sleep more than three hours at a time and
commonly spit up after nursing.
The infant was analyzed for vertebral subluxations on the first
visit. The mother
decided to place her son under corrective chiropractic care. METHODS
Chiropractic Biophysics® (CBP®) spinal analysis methods and
adjusting procedures
were performed.
Results: After two weeks of chiropractic care, the infant reduced
his day time
crying to short 10-15 minute episodes from his previous one to two hour
episodes, and stopped spitting up after nursing. Two weeks later, he
starting sleeping six hours at night and was able to nap two times a
day. CONCLUSIONS
Chiropractic care in this specific case, significantly decreased
the patient’s symptoms of colic. The infant appeared more comfortable
and content while awake and was able to fall asleep without screaming.
The reduction of the subluxation complexes located in his cervical, and
thoracic spines as indicated by postural abnormalities and spinal
radiographs, directly correlated with the patient’s symptomatic
improvements. CHIROPRACTIC
CARE
This infant was analyzed for vertebral subluxations using the
spinal postural examination developed by Don Harrison D.C.3 The patient
was further examined
utilizing the CBP® x-ray procedures of the cervical spine. The postural
findings along with the x-ray measurements were used to determine the
course and adjustment procedure for corrective care. Spinal adjustments using
Chiropractic Biophysics Technique were initiated on the patients first
visit. Vertebral subluxations were located in the cervical and thoracic
spines.
The patient was placed on an appropriate care plan to
reduce/correct his vertebral
subluxations. He was adjusted six times the first two weeks, four times
the next two weeks and two times a month after that. Eight weeks after the initial adjustment, his vertebral
subluxations had greatly reduced, his symptoms were mild to nonexistent
so he was released to wellness care. Conclusions:
Chiropractic care in this specific case, significantly decreased
the patient’s
symptoms of colic in the first two weeks of spinal adjustments. After
six weeks of chiropractic adjustments, he was mostly asymptomatic.
The reduction of the subluxation complexes located in his
cervical, and thoracic spines as indicated by postural abnormalities and
radiographs, directly correlated with the patient’s symptomatic
improvements. 1.
Klougart N, Nilsson N, Jacobsen J. Infantile colic treated by
chiropractors: a prospective study of 316 cases. J Manipulative Physiol
Ther 1989 Aug;12(4):281-8. 2.
Wiberg JM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. The short-term effect of spinal
manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic: a randomized
controlled clinical trial with a blinded observer. J Manipulative
Physiol Ther 1999 Oct;22(8):517-22. 3.
Harrison, D.D. Chiropractic: Physics of Spinal Correction, CBP®
Technique. |