Chiropractic Care Benefits Adults with ADHD

Chiropractic Care Benefits Adults with ADHD

(1/14/2008, New York). Dr. Yannick Pauli – President of the Swiss Chiropractic Pediatric Association – has authored a study that concludes that chiropractic care can benefit adults with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The study entitled — Improvement in Attention in Patients Undergoing Network Spinal Analysis: a Case Series Using Objective Measures of Attention — was published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research.

Pauli monitored nine adults (four men and five women with an average age of 40 years) who displayed various symptoms of ADHD. Each underwent care known as Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) twice a week for two months. “NSA is a holistic approach to wellness and body awareness,” explained Dr. Josh Handt, a NYC-based chiropractor. “The study group received gentle adjustments and low-force touch to the spine that eliminated inner and outer tensions, thereby promoting overall health. The patients were also educated about their bodies. Simply by improving their diet, exercising and adopting a positive mental approach to life, they learned that they themselves could enhance in their overall health and well-being,” added Handt.

The degree of each patient’s ADHD disorder was established using the Test of Variable of Attention (TOVA). This test was done once before the study began, one month into chiropractic adjustments, and again after the two-month study. “TOVA is a 22-minute continuous, interactive computer test that measures the response times of its participants to changing visuals on the screen,” said Handt. “This test does not trigger a learning effect; therefore, re-testing does not alter the test scores’ overall outcome, making TOVA a reliable means of repeatedly measuring an individual’s extent of ADHD,” Handt clarified.

After two months of chiropractic care, those in the study group experienced a significant improvement in their TOVA scores as well as a normalizing of their ADHD symptoms.

“The NSA approach not only enabled these individuals suffering from ADHD to take charge of their own health, but it measurably improved the range and scope of their attention span and reaction time as well as their motor control, memory and alertness,” noted Handt.

“Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one thing, while ignoring other things,” writes Dr. Pauli. “Spinal adjustments can benefit individuals with this disorder, because there is a neurological correlation between spinal subluxation and an impaired functioning of parts of the brain, especially the vermal region of the cerebellum, which regulates attention and other cognitive responses,” continued Pauli.

“These findings offer hope to all those — children and adults — suffering from ADHD, a disease that can have devastating consequences on their lives, ranging from a rise in accidents to poor performances in school and work. The results are clinically significant and offer proof as to the positive impact that chiropractic care has on the performance of the human body — including proper brain function. Even the subtlest spinal adjustments carry tremendous physical, psychological and neurological benefits,” summarized Handt.

“And, paired with lifestyle changes, we can all significantly improve our health,” Handt concluded.