Tourette Syndrome Helped with Chiropractic - A Case Study

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From the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health comes a case study published on May 6, 2013 documenting the improvement of a case of Tourette Syndrome from chiropractic care. The study authors describe Tourette Syndrome as being characterized by sudden, brief, repetitive involuntary or semivoluntary movements and or sounds.

The Tourette Syndrome Association defines Tourette Syndrome as, "a neurological disorder which becomes evident in early childhood or adolescence before the age of 18 years. Tourette syndrome is defined by multiple motor and vocal tics lasting for more than one year." The authors of this study note that medical treatments can involve behavioral, pharmacologic, or surgical interventions, dependent on the extent to which the disorder incapacitates the person.

In this case a 14 year old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his mother seeking possible relief from the symptoms associated with his Tourette Syndrome.  Due to the severity of his motor tics, migraine headaches and severe fatigue attributed to his prescribed medications, the boy had missed school the two previous days.

The boy's history revealed that he was having 1,000 violent motor tics a day that consisted of whipping his head involuntarily in flexion and extension. He was also getting migraine headaches daily. In an attempt to treat his problems, the boy was taking 6 Ibuprofen pills, 10 mgs of Abilify® (aripiprazole), and 1mg of Orap® (Pimozide) per day.

A chiropractic examination was performed which included palpation of his spine, range of motion, thermal (heat) scans and spinal x-rays. A determination was made that subluxations were present in the boys spine and a specific protocol of spinal correction was initiated.

Upon a re-examination the authors reported measurable changes in the thermal scans, x-rays and other findings. The boy's problems improved significantly going from having 1,000 tics per day to only 30-35 tics per day. Additionally the boy was no longer dependent on Ibuprofen since his first week of chiropractic care. The dosage of Abilify was reduced to 2.5mg daily, and ORAP (Pimozide) was reduced to 0.5 mg daily on medical consent.