Chiropractic and Asthma

Three case studies reported in the September 2005 issue of the British scientific journal, Clinical Chiropractic, highlighted the success of chiropractic care on patients with long term asthma.  The study performed  at the University Of Surrey Chiropractic clinic, reported that asthma is the most common chronic disease in the United Kingdom, with nearly 3.5 million people affected, including 1.3 million children.

These studies document three separate cases of individuals who had suffered with asthma for years. The first was a 28-year-old athletic male who had been suffering from asthma since childhood.  The study notes that his symptoms were most prevalent when exercising and at night. He was using an inhaler daily in the morning and at night before going to bed.  The report then notes that he began a program of chiropractic care.  The study reported that a few weeks into his care he felt so good that one night he forgot to use his inhaler. He reported that he suffered no ill-effects and reported he had a “great night's sleep”.  From that point forward he reportedly did not use his inhaler at night, and was extremely pleased with the results achieved from chiropractic care.

The next case was a 56-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with asthma 5 years previously. She reported that her main symptoms were chest tightness and coughing.  After just 2 weeks of chiropractic care, she reported feeling “much better within herself”. She reported that she found it much easier to breathe with less coughing. Additionally she also reported feeling less tired, and had also noticed that her dry skin had apparently also shown dramatic improvement.  “I knew this treatment was having an effect as I could feel the changes happening.”

The third case in this report was of a 26-year-old woman, who had suffered with asthma since childhood.  In her case she played rugby competitively for a ladies’ team and she reported that she was always having to stop during the game to use her inhaler.  She would also awaken each night wheezing and have to use her inhaler. In her case, after starting chiropractic, she reported being able to play a whole game of rugby without needing her inhaler once, and was sleeping through the night uninterrupted.

The report noted that "the mechanism by which chiropractic is thought to affect asthma is based upon the proposition that spinal adjustment can modify autonomic nervous system".