Original article
Upper cervical chiropractic care for a 25-year-old woman with myoclonic seizures

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2010.03.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this case report is to describe the chiropractic management using upper cervical techniques of a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME).

Clinical Features

A 25-year-old woman had a history of JME, which was diagnosed at the age of 14 years. Her seizure episodes began shortly after trauma to her cervical spine and the onset of menarche.

Intervention and Outcome

After case history and physical examination, the patient received high-velocity, low-amplitude chiropractic spinal manipulation to her upper cervical spine using the Blair upper cervical chiropractic technique protocol. There was improvement in her seizure episodes and menstrual cycles following 12 weeks of chiropractic care.

Conclusion

This case study demonstrated improvement in a young woman with a seizure disorder after she received upper cervical chiropractic manipulation. This case suggests the need for more rigorous research to examine how upper cervical chiropractic techniques may provide therapeutic benefit to patients with seizure disorders.

Introduction

Current estimates are that 2 million Americans have epilepsy; 125 000 new cases develop each year, with 50% of these cases occurring in children and adolescents. The prevalence of epilepsy in those younger than 18 years is estimated to be 4.7 per 1000.1, 2 Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) accounts for about 10% of all epileptic patients. It is the most common idiopathic generalized epileptic syndrome, having a prevalence of 10 to 20 per 100 000.2, 3

Very few case reports have been published on chiropractic management of JME. The purpose of this article is to describe the chiropractic management of a patient with an 11-year history of JME.

Section snippets

Case report

A 25-year-old female patient had been diagnosed with JME by the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders in 1998, 11 years before presentation for care, and had experienced seizures throughout this time. Her seizures began when she was 14 years of age, when her menstrual cycle began. This time also coincided with a trauma in which she fell out of bed and hit her head on a desk 2 to 3 months before the seizures began. At the time of her first chiropractic visit, she was taking 200 mg of

Discussion

The onset of JME may occur from 6 to 22 years of age. Symptoms include myoclonic jerks, often associated with generalized tonic-clonic seizures and absence seizures.2 There are typically no abnormalities seen on clinical examination or any intellectual deficits associated with JME. It is nonprogressive.2 The etiology of JME is thought to stem from genetics.2, 3, 7 Patients report that certain factors such as sleep deprivation, menses, alcohol, and overall stress can increase their incidence of

Conclusion

This case is interesting and novel because the patient experienced a cessation of her JME seizures following upper cervical chiropractic treatment. The potential relationship between first cervical vertebrae misalignment and JME seizures is not yet known, and there are no studies that have been performed investigating this relationship. Based upon our clinical observations, there might be a correlation between the specific SMT and this patient's relief of symptoms. Future clinical trials need

Funding sources and potential conflicts of interest

Dr. Hubbard is a member of the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Society. Dr Hubbard is a Board member and Past President. Dr. Hubbard is a Certified Advanced Instructor of Blair Upper Cervical technique and receives income from teaching this technique. No outside funding was accepted for this project.

Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge Dr Dana Lawrence for his help in editing and guidance in the writing of this case report.

References (22)

  • JacobsonG.P. et al.

    The Henry Ford Hospital headache disability inventory (HDI)

    Neurology

    (1994)
  • Cited by (2)

    View full text