The Atlas Vertebra
November 13, 2008 by DrLauren
Filed under ADD/ADHD, ADHD, ADHD, Anxiety, Asthma, Autism, Autism, Chiropractic, Depression, Ear Infections, Ear Infections, Hypertension, Immunity, In General, Insomnia, Learning Difficulties, Pain
IS YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT?
| Many years of clinical research points to the fact that most of the problem associated with spinal misalignment and its consequences can be associated with the atlas vertebra, the top cervical bone in the neck.This single bone can effect the alignment of the entire spine.
The spine is like a chain—when the first link is twisted and turned, each link down to the last turns—thereby disrupting the rest of the chain.Consider the atlas the first and therefore the most important link in that chain. The human body is balanced when the head is positioned in the center of the feet. When the atlas is misaligned it causes the head to tilt. The spine then shifts to support the weight of the head, thereby creating biomechanical and postural stresses and strains. When the atlas bone is properly aligned, that is in the neutral position, the rest of the spinal vertebra come into better alignment allowing the body to heal itself. The delicate and complex connections of the nervous system allow communication between the systems of the body. . |
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| The atlas vertebra weighs a mere two ounces and the human head weighs 9 to 17 pounds. The name ATLAS came from the comparison of the Greek mythology figure, Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders.
The atlas is located directly under the head, connecting the head to the rest of the spine.The atlas supports the weight of the head most efficiently in the orthogonal, or neutral position.Trauma in one form or another is the primary cause of misalignment. When the atlas vertebra is subjected to stresses and strains, it may be pushed out of proper alignment.Trauma may include the birthing process, car accidents (no matter how minor and regardless of immediate symptoms), slips and falls, blows to the head, or sports related injuries. Repetitive micro traumas, such as bad sleeping habits, poor posture, incorrect lifting and carrying can also cause misalignment. . |
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| Once the atlas is moved out of the neutral position the body will compensate to maintain its center of gravity. It does this by keeping the head directly over the center of the feet. To maintain this level position of the head, the rest of the spine is thrown out of alignment. The body alters its structure in such a way that the muscles contract to cause one leg to appear shorter.In most cases one leg is not actually shorter than the other, but is drawn short due to the body’s compensation for the displaced atlas.
The resulting misalignment may cause nerve pressure and inflammation causing a disruption of the normal functioning of the nervous system. This one dysfunction may play a role in a multitude of symptoms and pain in different areas of the body. Besides directly impacting the neck, we can see other effects such as decreased curves in the neck, scoliosis, and changes in the alignment in the shoulders and pelvis. These changes in the alignment affect the structural integrity of the skeletal system AND proper function of the nervous system. When either system is compromised, a host of other problems can occur ranging from headaches and neck pain to behavioral problems and learning difficulties or even poor digestion. . |
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Chiropractic and ADHD
A publication of the World Chiropractic Alliance
by George Burroughs, D.C.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects millions of Americans — adults as well as children. By definition, ADHD is a neurologically based disorder and should, therefore, be treated by the experts in functional neurological disorders: doctors of chiropractic.
The drug Ritalin has not been tested for longterm side-effects or for any withdrawal-related complications, yet it is routinely given to individuals diagnosed with ADHD.
At best, Ritalin is simply masking the underlying neurological dysfunction associated with ADHD without doing anything to help ascertain a cure. Unfortunately, at its worst, the drug may be destroying the lives of millions of children. I find neither extreme appealing.
How can chiropractic help?
Probably the best way to begin helping an individual with ADHD, or his or her parents, is by educating them about chiropractic. Rather than treating the symptoms of ADHD, chiropractic treats the underlying cause of ADHD.
It is important to understand that “subluxations” are structural misalignments that cause neurological dysfunctions. The purpose of chiropractic is to identify and eliminate subluxations.
Symptoms give clue
Of course, there is no one specific subluxation that leads to the neurological manifestation of ADHD. However, the symptoms related to ADHD (hyperactivity, inability to pay attention, impulsivity) seem to indicate a disturbance with brain stem function. This concept is actually supported by the manufacturer of Ritalin, who admits that although “how” Ritalin works is not completely understood, it does appear to affect the brain stem.
I find this correlation between brain stem dysfunction and ADHD extremely interesting for chiropractic because a subluxation to the upper cervical (C1-C3) area can be the cause of brain stem dysfunction. Therefore, although every segment of the spine should always be assessed, chiropractors must pay special attention to the upper cervical region when treating individuals with ADHD.
Upper cervical subluxations can affect brain stem function through direct pressure. A second, and in my opinion more common, manner in which upper cervical subluxations can affect brain stem function is through altered proprioceptive input to the brain stem from the C1-C3 vertebrae and the related soft-tissue structures.
Proprioceptive “input” from the upper cervical area is required by the brain stem before a variety of neurological “outputs” or functions can be performed. Like a computer, the quality of the upper cervical “input” will determine the quality of the “output”. Therefore, if the input to the brain stem is altered (as is the case with an upper cervical subluxation), the output from the brain stem will also be altered.
In my opinion, ADHD is simply one example of altered brain stem “output”. The key to correction, therefore, lies not in treating the ADHD, but in treating the altered sensory input that caused the ADHD. Although somewhat confusing, understanding this is paramount to understanding how chiropractic “works” in cases involving ADHD.
Although proprioceptive information from the upper cervical area is the most important spinal-related source of sensory input to the brain stem, it is not the only source. Proprioceptive, or more accurately, “position sense” information is also sent directly to the brain stem from the vestibular and visual areas. Once in the brain stem, the sensory input from all three areas (upper cervical, vestibular, and visual) is utilized to determine many brain stem functions, including activity (or hyperactivity) levels.
Correcting subluxations, regardless of their location, is a vital contribution that only chiropractors can offer to children with ADHD. These children, along with their parents and teachers, need to be educated about the dangers of Ritalin and also about the healing power of chiropractic. Ultimately, all children should be able to experience the joy of a well-adjusted body.
(Dr. George Burroughs is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Life College, with a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Albany. He assisted in the development of neuro-synergy, a chiropractic technique originated by Guy Schenker, D.C., that focuses on functional neurological disorders such as learning disabilities, ADHD, and scoliosis. Dr. Burroughs has a private practice in Mobile, Ala.)
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FDA Changes Label Rules on ADHD Stimulants
On June 29, 2005 the Wall Street Journal Online published a remarkable article by Jennifer Corbett Dooren titled “FDA Wants Label Changes For Some ADHD Drugs.”
In the article, Dooren notes that the FDA is requiring new labeling changes for stimulant drugs used to treat ADHD. Most, it appears, are variations on methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, etc.). The drugs have produced side-effects including, according to the FDA, events “such as visual hallucinations, suicidal ideation, psychotic behavior, as well as aggression or violent behavior.”
The article adds: “Meanwhile, the FDA is seeking the panel’s advice on what information it should provide to the public about the ADHD drugs that are widely used in children while it’s collecting information on the number of types of psychiatric events possibly associated with ADHD drugs along with possible cardiovascular risks.
“The agency is concerned with possible cardiovascular events in people using the drugs. Earlier this year Health Canada ordered Adderall off the market after reports of sudden death in 20 patients, including 12 reports of stroke.”
While these drugs clearly help some severely afflicted individuals, they also are increasingly being found to have adverse effects. At the same time some are being implicated as possible causes for liver cancer, scientists report that incidents of liver cancer in children have roughly doubled over the past two decades.
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Early Use of ADHD Drug Alters Brain
An article published on WebMD boldly stated that Ritalin use in preteen children may lead to depression later in life. Ritalin and cocaine have different effects on humans. But their effects on the brain are very similar. When given to preteen rats, both drugs cause long-term changes in behavior.
One of the changes seems good. Early exposure to Ritalin makes rats less responsive to the rewarding effects of cocaine. But that’s not all good. It might mean that the drug short-circuits the brain’s reward system. That would make it difficult to experience pleasure — a “hallmark symptom of depression,” Carlezon and colleagues note.
The other change seems all bad. Early exposure to Ritalin increases rats’ depressive-like responses in a stress test. “These experiments suggest that preadolescent exposure to [Ritalin] in rats causes numerous complex behavioral adaptations, each of which endures into adulthood,” Carlezon and colleagues conclude. “This work highlights the importance of a more thorough understanding of the enduring neurobiological effects of juvenile exposure to psychotropic drugs.”
These “knowledgeable” doctors out there writing prescriptions left and right for ADHD have no idea what these drugs are doing to the brain and nervous system. Call me crazy, but this really bothers me. Since when did it become okay to make humans, especially CHILDREN, the lab-rats and test subjects for such dangerous chemical drugs?
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Psychostimulants
Commercially available psychostimulants include:
** methylphenidate (Ritalin, Methylin, Metadate)
** D-amphetamine (Dexedrine, Dextrostat, Spansule)
** D,L-amphetamine (Adderall)
** magnesium pemoline (Cylert, PemADD)
These sympathomimetic compounds are structurally dissimilar but share a phenylethylamine backbone with endogenous catecholamines (eg, dopamine and norepinephrine). The mechanism of action of psychostimulants is thought to be re-uptake blockade of catecholamines into presynaptic nerve endings, thereby preventing their degradation by monoamine oxidase. In addition, amphetamine compounds appear to cause retrograde release of catecholamines through the transporter as well as other actions on the vesicular storage of catecholamines.[11]
The mechanisms are “thought to” block natural occuring reactions in the body. Although … they aren’t really sure …
Table 2. Psychostimulants Used in the Treatment of ADHD
Psychostimulant efficacy. An extensive body of literature has clearly documented the short-term efficacy of methylphenidate treatment, mostly in latency-age Caucasian boys.[12] The literature describing the efficacy of stimulants on girls, ethnic minorities, and patients of other ages is more limited. Recently, a controlled study of stimulants in girls with ADHD documented substantial improvement of ADHD, matching that seen in boys.[13] While most studies have examined only short-term response, there are a growing number of long-term studies documenting the persistence of stimulant-associated improvements.[10,14-16]
Because our children are the lab-rats for these studies, without parental knowledge.
The few studies of stimulants in adolescents reported rates of response highly consistent with those seen in latency-age children.[17-25] In addition, the few studies on preschoolers appear to indicate that young children respond almost as well to stimulant therapy; however, there is a suggestion that ADHD preschoolers may be somewhat more treatment refractory.[25-30] The literature clearly documents that treatment with stimulants improves not only abnormal behaviors associated with ADHD but also self-esteem and cognitive, social, and family function. This finding supports the importance of treating ADHD patients beyond school or work hours to include evenings, weekends, and vacations. Recent controlled clinical trials documented the efficacy of methylphenidate, Adderall, and pemoline in adults with ADHD.[31-33] These trials documented a highly clinically and statistically significant separation from placebo, and the magnitude of the effects was consistent with trials of latency age children.
Stimulants have been demonstrated to improve cognitive function in children with ADHD as measured by tests of vigilance, impulsivity, reaction time, short-term memory, and learning of verbal and nonverbal material.[34-36] These stimulant-associated improvements also have been demonstrated in a simulated classroom paradigm.[37,38] However, it appears that the primary deficits in ADHD are those of regulation of cognitive function and executive deficits,[39,40] cognitive deficits that are not as amenable to measurement by objective tests. In individual children, the more prominent behavioral effects of stimulants have been more useful in clinically monitoring stimulant treatment than the cognitive tests per se.
While originally it was thought that cognition and behavior were responsive to different doses of stimulants,[41] recent studies indicate that both behavior and cognitive performance improve with stimulant treatment in a dose-dependent fashion.[35,42-48] Also, despite previous concerns, doses that improve behavior rarely constrict attention or cause “overfocusing.”[49,50]
Psychostimulant safety. Common side effects of psychostimulants include appetite suppression and sleep disturbances. Usually, sleep disturbances can be alleviated by lowering late afternoon doses or adding clonidine or other medications.[51,52]
Just what your child needs … more drugs to cover up the effects of more drugs. These completely foreign substances to the human body MUST be making them healthier …
Occasionally, mild increases in pulse and blood pressure of unclear clinical significance have been observed.[53]
“Unclear clinical significance?” Apparently, a rise in pulse and blood pressure in children is not really clinically significant … we guess. However, if your child presented with high blood pressure and increased pulse as a main complaint in a doctor’s office, would it be clinically significant then? Maybe there are more drugs you can take for this “unclear” side effect!
Stimulant-associated toxic psychosis appears to be rare but resembles a toxic phenomenon (eg, visual hallucinosis) and not a schizotypal-like exacerbation of psychotic symptoms.
Since it is rare … why not overlook this minor detail that your child may be able to sit in a chair for a longer period … but now they see the flowers on your wallpaper dancing around the room.
Administration of pemoline has been associated with hypersensitivity reactions involving the liver accompanied by elevations in liver function tests (SGOT and SGPT) after several months of treatment.
Could this be because your body does not know what to do with these foreign substances and it therefore starts sending important organs into a state of dysfunction? This is probably “unclear” as well.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends monitoring liver function every 2 weeks;
What better way to make money than to require bi-monthly visits to your physician?
however, it is also advisable to educate parents about the warning symptoms of hepatitis. Such symptoms include stomach pain, gastrointestinal distress, and discoloration of urine (darker) or stool (lighter).
While stimulants are potentially abusable, a study has shown that the most commonly abused substance in ADHD adolescents and adults is marijuana and not stimulants.[54]
Let’s see … your child is taking stimulants on a daily basis anyway, but since they are prescribed, it is okay to use that drug and therefore not considered abusive. However, if your child is smoking dope everyday, and it is not prescribed … this is the only problem in this picture.
Another study suggests that stimulant treatment substantially reduces the risk for substance abuse generated by ADHD cognitive and behavioral impairments.[55] However, appropriate education and monitoring is crucial to the safe prescription of psychostimulants in adolescents and adults.
While ADHD appears to be a major factor in the impairment attributed to Tourette’s syndrome,[56] it is unclear whether the presence of tics has a general impact on the course of ADHD. Our group examined this issue in an ongoing prospective study of ADHD boys.[57] We found that ADHD boys had more tic disorders at baseline and follow-up than controls. However, tic disorders had little impact on the psychosocial functioning of ADHD boys, and stimulant treatment was not associated with increased rates, severity, or persistence of tic disorders. Recent studies have demonstrated that stimulants are effective in many children with ADHD and tic disorders.[58-60] Nonetheless, it seems prudent to weigh the risks and benefits of individual cases and to conduct appropriate discussions with the patient and family about the risks and benefits of the use of stimulants in individuals with ADHD and tics.
Concerns about the effects of long-term administration of stimulants on growth persist. Stimulants routinely produce anorexia and weight loss, but their effect on growth in height is much less certain. Initial reports suggested that there was a persistent stimulant-associated decrease in growth in height in children[61,62]; however, other reports have failed to substantiate this claim.[63,64] Moreover, several studies showed that ultimate height appears to be unaffected if treatment is discontinued in adolescence.[65] A recent study suggested that deficits in growth in height may be transient maturational delays associated with ADHD rather than with the medication for ADHD.[66] If confirmed, this finding would not support the common practice of drug holidays in ADHD children. However, it seems prudent to initiate drug holidays or alternative treatment in children suspected of stimulant-associated growth deficits. This recommendation should be carefully weighed against the risk for exacerbation of symptoms due to drug discontinuation. A transient behavioral deterioration can occur upon the abrupt discontinuation of stimulant medications in some children. The prevalence of this phenomenon and the etiology are unclear. Rebound phenomena can also occur in some children between doses, creating an uneven, often disturbing clinical course. In those cases, consideration should be given to alternative treatments.
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Medical Treatment for ADHD
Pharmacologic Treatment for ADHD
Psychostimulants D-amphetamineD, L-amphetamine (DEXADRINE, ADDERALL)
Magnesium pemoline (CYLERT, PEMADD)Methylphenidate (RITALIN, METHYLIN, METADATE)Antidepressants BupropionTricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
- Desipramine
- Imipramine
- Nortriptyline
Noradrenergic specific reuptake inhibitors Atomoxetine (STRATTERA) Monoamine oxidase inhibitors MAO-AMAO-BMoclobemide Phenelzine
Tranylcypromine
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) CitalopramFluoxetineFluvoxamine Paroxetine
Sertraline
Venlafaxine (possesses both SSRI and TCA properties)
Alpha-2 noradrenergic agonists ClonidineGuanfacine Cholinergic agents Nicotine Antipsychotic drugs* *Although found to be mildly effective in improving behavioral symptoms in hyperactive children, the usefulness of antipsychotics in the treatment of ADHD is limited.
Source: Medscape.com
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1 in 25 U.S. Children On Medication For ADHD
Sadly, this is true. Don’t believe it? Talk to Richard Scheffler, Distinguished Professor of Health Economics & Public Policy at UC Berkeley and director of the campus’s Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare. Can you believe it? How could 1 in 25 U.S. children be on a potent psychiatric medication? The United States undeniably leads the world in diagnosing and treating ADHD with medication totaling more than $2.4 BILLION … in 2003. You can guarantee this spending has increased in the last 5 years. We fill approximately 83% of the world’s prescriptions for ADHD.
This report is very disturbing. There is no objective test for ADHD. It is a compilation of symptoms that are viewed as abnormal including distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsiveness and other symptoms. If you are a parent, think about this logically — How could we go from ZERO children being treated with these medications when you were a child to 1 in 25 being treated now? Either we have some new major health crises that was not present in previous generations or there is a problem with over-diagnosing and over-treating unacceptable behaviors.
A few more interesting statistics:
–Between 1993 and 2003 use of ADHD medications increased by 274%.
–Monthly prescriptions for Ritalin, the standard treatment, increased from 4000 in 1994 to 359,000 in 2004. (This is just for Ritalin!)
What are the long-term effects of treating all these millions of children with potent psychiatric drugs? No one knows since long-term studies have never been done on these medications.
Stimulant medications should be the last resort for our children–not the first thing given when there are problems. I think the report on the wide spread ‘drugging’ of our children is a travesty. There is a lot of blame to go around for this. I advise you to not medicate your children without seeking a full evaluation and carefully considering all the options available.
Check out the positive research supporting the use of chiropractic adjustments in helping ADHD and other behaviorial problems.
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5 Year Old ADHD Boy Helped by Chiropractic
In the October 2004 issue of the peer-reviewed research publication, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), comes a case study of a child with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), who was helped with chiropractic.
The case was of a 5 year old boy who had been diagnosed with ADHD at age 2. The child’s pediatrician prescribed methylphenidate (Ritalin), Adderall, and Haldol for the next 3 years. The combination of drugs was unsuccessful in helping the child.
At age 5 the child was brought to a chiropractor to see if chiropractic care would help. The history taken at that time noted that during the childs birth, there were complications during his delivery process. The results of this trauma and complications resulted in a 4-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. The childs mother reported no other incidence of trauma.
The chiropractic examination and x-rays showed noticeable spinal distortion including a reversal of the normal neck curve indicative of subluxations. Chiropractic care was begun and the child’s progress was monitored.
According to his mother, positive changes in her son’s general behavior were noticed around the twelfth visit. By the 27th visit the patient had experienced considerable improvement.
The child was brought by the mother to the medical doctor for a follow up visit and questioned the usage of the Ritalin. The medical doctor reviewed and examined the child and based on that assessment and his clinical experience, the MD felt that the young boy was no longer exhibiting symptoms associated with ADHD. He then took the boy off the medications that he had been taking for 3 years.
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Behavioral Changes and Chiropractic Care
November 9, 2008 by DrLauren
Filed under ADD/ADHD, ADHD, ADHD, Learning Difficulties, Learning Difficulties
A documented case study published in the October 4, 2006 issue of the peer reviewed publication, the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (JVSR), describes the results of chiropractic care on an 8-year-old boy with many learning and behavioral disorders. Additionally, his mother reported that the boy also suffered from, severe headaches, neck pain, constant blood shot eyes, stomach pains, an inability to sit still, incoordination, behavioral problems and learning difficulties. She noted that the child’s medical doctor had no explanation for these problems.
It was noted that the majority of the boy’s problems started after a fall he had 18 months earlier. The mother also noted that her son had normal development, activity and learning skills until the accident. Finally the mother brought the boy to a chiropractor. The chiropractor performed an examination and x-rays. It was noted that there was a restriction in neck movement and tenderness over certain neck vertebrae. After review of all the findings it was determined that vertebral subluxations were present.
Care was initiated for corrections of subluxations with visits initially starting at once per week for the first two months. However, as documented in this case, positive changes started occurring quickly. After the third adjustment the boy’s mother brought in the spelling tests the child had taken. The tests prior to care showed severe problems as the child could only get two or three correct out of ten. After the second adjustment, the child scored a 100% and his tests continued to show drastic improvement. His teacher even noted that the boy was able to, “sit still and concentrate without disturbing the other children.”
The child continued to receive reports from school commenting on his academic improvement as well as his social interactivity. The authors of the case study noted that there were many possible explanations for the results seen in this case. However, they noted that other than the usage of over the counter medications reported by the mother, the young boy did not take any prescribed medication. The only change that directly correlated with the improvement in this young boy was the introduction of chiropractic care.
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ADHD Drug Alters the Brain in Young Children
A December 13, 2003 article on WebMD, featured research showing that early use of the commonly prescribed ADHD drug, Ritalin, can lead to depression later in life. This evidence is based on new studies performed on rats. The article does note that it is an open question as to whether what passes for depression in lab rats has anything to do with depression in humans, but the evidence of the effect on the brain, according to this study was clear.
The findings come from a research team led by William A. Carlezon Jr., PhD, director of the behavioral genetics laboratory at McLean Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. The study appeared in the December 15, 2003 issue of Biological Psychiatry.
In a news release Carlezon was quoted as saying, “Rats exposed to Ritalin as juveniles showed large increases in learned-helplessness behavior during adulthood, suggesting a tendency toward depression. These rats also showed abnormally high levels of activity in familiar environments. This might reflect basic alterations in the way rats pay attention to their surroundings.”
The article stated that there are some close similarities between Ritalin and Cocaine. According to the article, although Ritalin and Cocaine have different effects on humans, their effects on the brain are very similar. The article noted that when given to preteen rats, both drugs cause long-term changes in behavior. Carlezon and colleagues explained that the drug short-circuits the brain’s reward system. That would make it difficult to experience pleasure — a “hallmark symptom of depression.”
“These experiments suggest that preadolescent exposure to Ritalin in rats causes numerous complex behavioral adaptations, each of which endures into adulthood,” Carlezon and colleagues conclude. “This work highlights the importance of a more thorough understanding of the enduring neurobiological effects of juvenile exposure to psychotropic drugs.”
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Hyperactive Child and Chiropractic
Much controversy surrounds using medications to control hyperactive children. Drugs designed to control these children are dangerous, unpredictable and are not getting to the cause of the child’s problem. One question that should be asked is this. Why are so many more children today being diagnosed with ADHD over just a decade or two ago? Are their really that many more problem children today over a few years ago?
Many contemporary researchers and authors are suggesting that the rise in diagnosis of ADHD is due to several factors. These factors include dietary factors, long term adverse results of medications and immunizations, and neurological factors from interference to the nervous system. All of these suggestions negate the use of chemicals to correct the fundamental malfunction. In other words, many experts are suggesting other means of dealing with the problem rather than drugging the child.
Diet is an important component in children who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Sugar seems to be identified by many as a main contributing factor. Many breakfast cereals contain high concentrations of sugar, as well as other preservatives.
Chiropractors have long maintained that neurology plays a strong part in hyperactive children. The medical approach often consists of drugs to affect the function of the nervous system. The chiropractic approach is removal of interference from the nervous system to allow proper function. Chiropractors recognize this interference comes from factors such as diet and subluxations. It is the subluxation aspect of interference to the nervous system that chiropractic is most concerned with in a hyperactive child. Chiropractors work to remove subluxations, thereby eliminating interference to the nervous system and allowing the hyperactive child to neurologically function normally. With this approach, as well as attention to diet and other toxins, chiropractic has offered many families and alternative to potent and dangerous drugs for the hyperactive child.
(Article taken from acatoday.org)
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Chiropractic For Boy With Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, Depression & Insomnia
From the July 12, 2003 issue of the peer reviewed, “Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, comes a case study of a very ill nine year old boy. According to the case study, this child was suffering from a multitude of problems including, asthma and upper respiratory infections since infancy; headaches since age 6; Tourette Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression and insomnia since age 7; and neck pain since age 8. It was noted in this child’s history that he had been delivered by forceps delivery. His mother described her son as being “constantly sick since birth.”
There has been much discussion about forceps delivery causing a variety of health problems in children. In the December 2nd, 1999 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, was a report that showed that the forceps delivery death rate was more than twice that for vaginal delivery. This situation along with other trauma the young boy had experienced offered some possible explanation for the findings of subluxations in this child. During the patient’s initial examination, evidence of a subluxation stemming from the upper cervical spine was found. Chiropractic care was then administered to correct and stabilize the patient’s upper neck subluxations.
Following six weeks of chiropractic care, all six conditions were absent and remained absent five months later at the conclusion of care. In a follow up seven months later, no asthma attacks, headaches, neck pain, insomnia, behavioral trouble, or tics had occurred. He had not suffered any infections, nor had he used any medications other than his half-dose of Wellbutrin. His mother reported that her son’s only “problem” was becoming accustomed to being a “normal” child who was required to complete chores, walk home from school by himself, or complete school work during allotted time.
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More Kids Receiving Psychiatric Drugs
November 9, 2008 by DrLauren
Filed under ADD/ADHD, ADHD, ADHD, Depression
In the January 14, 2003 issue of the Washington Post is a news story that reported the results of a study done at the University of Maryland in Baltimore on the drastic increase in psychiatric drug use in children. The study, which evaluated 900,000 children on Medicaid in a Midwest state, showed that more than 6 percent of children were taking drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin and Risperdal.
This means that the number of American children being treated with psychiatric drugs has grown sharply in the past 15 years, tripling from 1987 to 1996 with no sign of slowing. The authors of the study said they fear that cost-saving techniques by insurance companies, marketing by the pharmaceutical industry and increased demands on parents and doctors may be driving the increase.
In response to the study, Michael Jellinek, chief of child psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “There are fewer options other than medication.” He noted that insurers have increased their profits by decreasing the use of psychotherapy, which is more expensive than drugs in the short term. He continued, “The insurance system gave an incentive for medications and a disincentive for therapy.”
Julie Zito, lead author and researcher at the University of Maryland, points out, “Other than zonking you, we don’t know that behavioral management by drug control is the way to learn to behave properly. If we are using drugs to control behavior, that doesn’t change the underlying problem if someone doesn’t know how to get along with their peers.”
“The medicine may help the symptoms but not address issues of self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and family relationships, all of which are part of recovery,” said Jellinek, who analyzed Zito’s study. He continued, “You can get a lot of benefit from behavioral treatments. If someone is getting medicines for obsessive-compulsive disorder, I would like to see them be given a trial of behavioral therapy to see if that helps them and maybe decrease the medication.”
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Ritalin Discouraged by Colorado Board of Education
“The Colorado Board of Education passes a resolution discouraging teachers from recommending behavioral drugs such as Ritalin.” This headline was from a story reported in the New York Times in the November 25th, 1999 edition. This resolution is the first of its kind in the US and although it carries no legal weight it does send a strong message that teachers and other school personnel should use discipline and instruction instead of drugs to overcome behavioral problems in the classroom.
The article reported that proponents of the resolution were motivated by evidence that suggests that dozens of violent crimes, including the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado, had been committed by young students who were on these psychotropic drugs. Brenda Welburn, executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education said, “I agree that too often the first answer for children with some behavioral problem is to reach for medication. Some of the numbers we are seeing for medication of children are staggering.”
Some of those statistics include the fact that by 1996 children in the United States were consuming 90 percent of the Ritalin in the world. This number is even more dramatic with the fact that between 10 and 12 percent of all schoolboys were taking this addictive drug.
The International Chiropractors Association responded with a letter of support to the Colorado Board of Education by President Robert Hoffman, D.C.. The opening of the letter set the tone, “The International Chiropractors Association supports your recent action and urges the Colorado State Board of Education to stand by its courageous and urgently needed call to action. Our nation is awash in chemicals with far too little thought or attention given to the long-term implications of the mass administration of very powerful drugs.”
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Ritalin Linked to Chromosomal Changes
The February 28, 2005 Medical News Today reported on a new study that linked methylphenidate, the most widely prescribed of a class of amphetamine-like drugs used to treat ADHD, with chromosome abnormalities, occurrences associated with increased risks of cancer and other adverse health effects. Methylphenidate is the generic name for a group of drugs that includes Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate CD and others.
The article noted that researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), said they undertook the study because, even though methylphenidate has been approved for human use for more than 50 years, “there are surprisingly few studies” in either animals or human beings “on the potential for serious side effects,” such as causing mutations and cancer.
In this Texas study researchers drew blood from children diagnosed with ADHD before they started taking methylphenidate in order to measure the level of chromosomal abnormalities. Then three months after the children had begun taking methylphenidate, the researchers drew the children’s blood again and tested it a second time, then compared it to the levels before the drug was taken. All of the children in the admittedly small study showed an increase in chromosomal damage within three weeks.
Lead author Randa A. El-Zein, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology at M.D. Anderson who performed the blood studies using several techniques, noted, “A higher frequency of aberrations is reported to be associated with an increased risk of cancer down the line.” El-Zein continued, “It was pretty surprising that all of the children taking methylphenidate showed an increase in chromosome abnormalities in a relatively short period of time.”
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Ritalin Usages Increases in Small Children
In the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is an article that reports on the increased usage of psychotropic medications (Ritalin, etc.) on preschool children. On average the study quoted in JAMA shows a three fold increase in the usage of these medications on children from the ages of 2 – 4 years old.
Probably the most alarming part of these statistics is that these medications were not tested for children this young. As the study concluded, “Conclusions in all 3 data sources, psychotropic medications prescribed for preschoolers increased dramatically between 1991 and 1995. The predominance of medications with off-label (unlabeled) indications calls for prospective community-based, multidimensional outcome studies.” In case the wording appeared vague, the term “off label” means that these medications are being used in a way that they were not intended for and not tested for.
A related story comes from the Associated Press speaking about how the long term use of Ritalin caused the death of a 14 year old Michigan boy. An Oakland County medical examiner said that the young boy, who collapsed at his home on March 21st, died of a heart attack, the likely cause of which was 10 years of taking Ritalin. This means the child was started on the medication at the age of 4.
This disturbing trend has not gone unnoticed as CNN reported that, “Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a new federal program that cautions parents about giving preschool children Ritalin and other psychiatric drugs meant to treat attention-deficit disorders.” Mrs. Clinton said that from 1991 to 1995, use of Ritalin among U.S. preschoolers increased 150 percent and antidepressants like Prozac went up more than 200 percent. She commented, “Some of these young people have problems that are symptoms of nothing more than childhood or adolescence.”
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The Medicated Child – FRONTLINE
November 9, 2008 by DrLauren
Filed under ADD/ADHD, ADHD, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Learning Difficulties, Learning Difficulties
In recent years, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of children being diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders and prescribed medications that are just beginning to be tested in children. The drugs can cause serious side effects, and virtually nothing is known about their long-term impact. “It’s really to some extent an experiment, trying medications in these children of this age,” child psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Bacon tells FRONTLINE. “It’s a gamble. And I tell parents there’s no way to know what’s going to work.”
In The Medicated Child, FRONTLINE producer Marcela Gaviria confronts psychiatrists, researchers and government regulators about the risks, benefits and many questions surrounding prescription drugs for troubled children. The biggest current controversy surrounds the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder was long believed to exist only in adults. But in the mid-1990s, bipolar in children began to be diagnosed at much higher rates, sometimes in kids as young as 4 years old. “The rates of bipolar diagnoses in children have increased markedly in many communities over the last five to seven years,” says Dr. Steven Hyman, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. “I think the real question is, are those diagnoses right? And in truth, I don’t think we yet know the answer.”
Like many of the 1 million children now diagnosed with bipolar, 5-year-old Jacob Solomon was initially believed to suffer from an attention deficit disorder. His parents reluctantly started him on Ritalin, but over the next five years, Jacob would be put on one drug after another. “It all started to feel out of control,” Jacob’s father, Ron, told FRONTLINE. “Nobody ever said we can work with this through therapy and things like that. Everywhere we looked it was, ‘Take meds, take meds, take meds.’”
Over the years, Jacob’s multiple medications have helped improve his mood, but they’ve also left him with a severe tic in his neck which doctors are having trouble fully explaining. “We’re dealing with developing minds and brains, and medications have a whole different impact in the young developing child than they do in an adult,” says Dr. Marianne Wamboldt, the chief of psychiatry at Denver Children’s Hospital. “We don’t understand that impact very well. That’s where we’re still in the Dark Ages.”
DJ Koontz was diagnosed with bipolar at 4 years old, after his temper tantrums became more frequent and explosive. He was recently prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs. “It is a little worrisome to me because he is so young,” says DJ’s mother, Christine. “If he didn’t take it, though, I don’t know if we could function as a family. It’s almost a do-or-die situation over here.” DJ’s medicines seem to be helping him in the short run, but the longer-term outlook is still uncertain. “What’s not really clear is whether many of the kids who are called bipolar have anything that’s related to this very well-studied disorder in adults,” says Dr. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health. “It’s not clear that people with that adult illness started with what we’re now calling bipolar in children. Nor is it clear that the kids who have this disorder are going to grow up to have what we used to call manic-depressive illness in adulthood.”
While some urge caution when it comes to bipolar in children, FRONTLINE talks with others who argue that we should intervene with drug treatments at even younger ages for children genetically predisposed to the disorder. “The theory is that if you get in early, before the first full mood episode, then perhaps we can delay the onset to full mania,” says Dr. Kiki Chang of Stanford University. “And if that’s the case, perhaps finding the right medication early on can protect a brain so that these children never do progress to full bipolar disorder.”
To watch the full program on PBS click here.
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Study Finds Risks of Ritalin in Preschool Kids
An October 19, 2006 Associated Press (AP) story reporting on a new long term government study showed 30% of preschool children suffered severe adverse reactions after taking Ritalin. The study, published in the November 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, calls into question the efficacy and usage of these types of drugs.
In an Associated Press story of October 19, 2006 on this report, it was noted that the drug isn’t approved for use in children under age 6. In spite of this Ritalin is widely used in younger children and the article noted that according to the study, preschoolers are more likely than older children to develop side effects.
This report is concerned with the overuse of Ritalin in children not diagnosed as “severe”. Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, cautioned, “We’re not talking about fidgety 3-year-olds.” He noted that the study focused on severe cases, “cases that included hanging from ceiling fans, jumping off slides or playing with fire.”
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the watchdog group Public Citizen added, “I hope publication of this does not lead to more over prescribing,” he said . “The safety isn’t adequately established, the efficacy even less.”
Usage of this drug had physical effects found in the study. During the 70-week study, preschoolers on methylphenidate, or generic Ritalin, grew about half an inch less and gained about 2 pounds less than expected. In this study, 11% of the183 preschoolers who participated discontinued drug use due to adverse events.
It should be noted that according to the AP article, previous studies found that approximately 1 in 100 preschoolers had been prescribed Ritalin, even though this drug has only been approved for use in children aged 6 and older. They noted that usage in younger children is considered “off-label” but is not illegal
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Controversy on Medical Treatment for ADHD
The Chiropractic Journal
by Dr. Christopher Kent
Controversy surrounds the medical treatment, indeed the very existence, of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Psychiatrist Peter Breggin wrote, “Hyperactivity is the most frequent justification for drugging children. The difficult-to-control male child is certainly not a new phenomenon, but attempts to give him a medical diagnosis are the product of modern psychology and psychiatry. At first psychiatrists called hyperactivity a brain disease. When no brain disease could be found, they changed it to ‘minimal brain disease’ (MBD). When no minimal brain disease could be found the profession transformed the concept into ‘minimal brain dysfunction.’ When no minimal brain dysfunction could be demonstrated, the label became attention deficit disorder. Now it’s just assumed to be a real disease, regardless of the failure to prove it so. Biochemical imbalance is the code word, but there’s no more evidence for that than there is for actual brain disease.” [1]
The use of psychotropic drugs in children has exploded in recent years [2]. The number of prescriptions written for methylphenidate (Ritalin) has increased by a factor of five since 1991. The production of Adderall and Dexedrine, also used to treat ADHD, has risen 2,000% in nine years. The increased use of these drugs in the U.S. is at variance with the rest of the world. According to the U.N., the U.S. produces and consumes 85% of the world’s production of methylphenidate. (3)
The use of Class II controlled substances to alter the behavior of children is disconcerting to many parents and chiropractors, as is the issue of whether ADD/ADHD can be properly considered a disease.
While chiropractors do not “treat” ADD/ADHD, the effects of chiropractic care on children diagnosed with learning disorders and hyperactivity have been described in a growing body of scholarly publications.
A study published in 1975, compared chiropractic care with drug treatment in children with learning and behavioral impairments due to neurological dysfunction. It was reported that chiropractic care “was more effective for the wide range of symptoms common in the neurological dysfunction syndrome in which thirteen symptom or problem areas were considered.” The author also reported that chiropractic care was 24% more effective than commonly used medications. [4]
Giesen at al conducted a study involving seven subjects. All subjects were of school age and had clinical findings evidencing vertebral subluxation complex. Following chiropractic care, 57% showed an improvement in chiropractic radiographic findings; 71.4% showed a reduction in overt behavior activity; 57% showed improvement in level of autonomic activity, and 57% showed improvement in parental ratings of hyperactivity. [5]
In addition to these small studies, case reports have been published which describe improvement of objective and subjective findings in children with ADD/ADHD and related disorders. [6-14].
More research exploring the relationship of subluxation correction to brain function is needed. Yet, the dramatic changes that have been reported in children medically diagnosed with ADD/ADHD following chiropractic care must not be ignored. Every child with a vertebral subluxation needs chiropractic care, regardless of whether or not symptoms are present. By correcting nerve interference, function is improved, with greater expression of human potential. Many report terminating drug therapy, and seeing the personality, will, and soul of the child unfolding.
As Maria Montessori wrote, “It is easy to substitute our will for that of the child by means of suggestion or coercion; but when we have done this we have robbed him of his greatest right, the right to construct his own personality.” [1]
REFERENCES
1. Breggin PR: “Toxic Psychiatry.” St. Martin’s Press. New York. 1991. Chapters 12 and 13
2. Zito JM, Safer DJ, dosReis S, et al: “Trends in the prescribing of psychotropic medications to preschoolers.” JAMA 2000;283:1025
3. Statistics confirm rise in childhood ADHD and medication use. http://www.education-world.com
4. Walton EV: “The effects of chiropractic treatment on students with learning and behavioral impairments due to neurological dysfunction.” International Review of Chiropractic 1975;29:4-5:24-26
5. Giesen JM, Center DB, Leach RA: “An evaluation of chiropractic manipulation as a treatment for hyperactivity in children.” JMPT 1989;12:353-363
6. Arme J: “Effects of biomechanical insult correction on attention deficit disorder.” Journal of Chiropractic Case Reports, 1993:1(1)
7. Hospers LA: “EEG and CEEG studies before and after upper cervical or SOT category 2 adjustment in children after head trauma, in epilepsy, and in ‘hyperactivity.’” Proceedings of the National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics (ICA) 1992;84-139
8. Barnes TA: “A multifaceted approach to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a case report.” International Review of Chiropractic Jan/Feb 1995; pp. 41-43
9. Phillips CJ: “Case study: the effect of utilizing spinal manipulation and craniosacral therapy as the treatment approach for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” Proceedings of the National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics (ICA), 1991:57-74
10. Langley C: “Epileptic seizures, Nocturnal enuresis, ADD.” Chiropractic Pediatrics April 1995, Vol. 1, No. 1
11. Thomas MD, Wood J: “Upper cervical adjustments may improve mental function.” J Man Med 1992;6:215
12. Araghi HG: “Oral apraxia: a case study in chiropractic in chiropractic management.” Proceedings of the National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics (ICA), 1994, beginning p. 34
13. Manuelle JD, Fysch PA: “Acquired verbal aphasia in a seven-year-old female: case report.” J Clin Chiropr Ped 1996;1:89
14. Peet JB: “Adjusting the hyperactive/ADD pediatric patient.” Chiro Pediatr 1997;2(4):12
(Dr. Christopher Kent, president of the Council on Chiropractic Practice, is a 1973 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic. The WCA’s “Chiropractic Researcher of the Year” in 1994, and recipient of that honor from the ICA in 1991, he was also named ICA “Chiropractor of the Year” in 1998. Dr. Kent is director of research and a co-founder of Chiropractic Leadership Alliance. With Dr. Patrick Gentempo, Jr., Dr. Kent produces a monthly audio series, “On Purpose,” covering current events in science, politics, and philosophy of vital interest to the practicing chiropractor.)
© Copyright 1986-2003 The Chiropractic Journal
(Reprinted with permission from The Chiropractic Journal)
by Dr. Christopher Kent
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