Man With Bipolar Disorder And Anxiety Attacks Responds To Chiropractic
Man With Bipolar Disorder And Anxiety Attacks Responds To Chiropractic
Care
The October 20, 2008 issue of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research reports on a case
study of a 52 year-old man with Bipolar Disorder and depression who showed measurable,
significant improvement after getting under chiropractic care.
When this patient was examined by the chiropractor, he reported achy low back pain and mild,
diffuse pain throughout his entire neck. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001
and had chosen not to take medication for the condition. He also reported that he was
unemployed due to the effects of the disorder and had experienced 6 or 7 anxiety attacks in
the previous two weeks as a result.
Before his first adjustment, he filled out the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) that measures
mental and physical status. He scored 57 on his physical status and 16 on the mental status.
The norm for each is 50.
The man reported improvements almost immediately after beginning his care. After his third
adjustment, he reported that his depression was improving, he now only felt "lethargic instead
of suicidal, deep blues."
Six months after beginning care, his SF-36 mental status score had improved from the original
16 points to 49. The physical score stayed essentially the same at 56. His neck disability fell
from 12% to 0% within 2 months and his low back fell from 10% to 4% at the six month
mark. To date, the author states the patient still struggles with occasional bouts of depression,
he has not had an anxiety attack and reports that his depression continues to improve.
He concludes that while the patient "still has difficulty working, his quality of life has
improved."
He says that while "this case illustrates the benefits of chiropractic care for one individual,
there is a need for additional research" regarding the effects of chiropractic care on bipolar
disorder.
Commentary: We can't help but be encouraged to see that correcting vertebral subluxations
has such an effect on improving this patient's overall mental function to the point that his
mental status score improved from 16 points to 49. Everyone, no matter what their mental or
physical state, can benefit from the improved body performance that chiropractic care offers.