New Research on Unexplained Vomiting in Children
“Numerous case studies and some clinical studies are revealing that there is a relationship between abnormalities in the spine, the nervous system and the various problems children suffer from.” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study. “These types of structural shifts in the spine can obstruct the nerves and alter function. By removing the structural shifts, chiropractic helps improve nerve supply, range of motion and function.”
According to researchers the nervous system controls and coordinates all functions of the body and structural shifts in the spine can occur that obstruct the nerves and interfere with their function.
The case series research reported on included a 9-year-old male regularly active in year-round sports. He seemed healthy until one day he began vomiting and having an overall sick feeling. The other child in this case series was a 7-year-old male with complaints of vomiting and hearing loss. He was experiencing episodes of vomiting after eating and he also had hearing loss in the left ear confirmed via diagnostic testing.
The chiropractor examined both and found structural shifts throughout their spines. The 9-year-old had structural shifts in his neck and upper back and the 7-year-old had structural shifts in his neck, upper back, lower back, and pelvis. X-rays and other testing confirmed these findings. These structural shifts can lead to obstruction of the nerves and it is this obstruction, called vertebral subluxations, that chiropractors correct. Both children also had what is called pseudosubluxations in their necks which is thought to be a normal variation of the spine most often found in the cervical spine of children.
Following chiropractic care the 9 year old had complete resolution of his symptoms the next day. When he woke up, he reported he did not feel sick and was not vomiting. The 7 year old also had complete resolution of his vomiting. Both children showed improvement in their structural spinal shifts including improvement in their pseudosubluxations. This is the first report in the scientific literature of improvements in pseudosubluxations following chiropractic care.
The study’s author called for additional research to investigate the clinical implications of chiropractic in this population.
