Question
Dear Doctor Wiese,

Yesterday, my husband and I consulted with a chiropractor about taking care of our 1 year old son who has a seizure disorder, holds his head back all the time, and has very low muscle tone. The chiropractor really felt that she could help our son, and I was hopeful myself. However, my husband does not agree with chirorpactors, and he fears that "forcing" the bones to go where they belong will somehow harm our son. He said that it will cause our son neck pain in the future, and he will regret it. Is this at all true? What are the REAL risks involved? I need to convince my husband that this is the right thing to do, because the medicines our son is on have done nothing, and he has not learned how to hold his head up, sit up, crawl, or walk yet. I fear he never will as long as his neck is out of place.  

Answer
Jennifer-

It is very doubtful that chiropractic care for your son will ever cause him harm, or problems as he gets older.  I realize my position may appear biased to your husband, but since I have no vested interest (other than alruistic) in whether or not you take your son for care maybe your husband will give my answer more credibility.

There are risks, however, associated with chiropractic care.  In fact, there are risks associated with ANY treatment, of any kind.  What is important to realize is what is that the "risk-to-benefit ratio" of chiropractic care is many times better than, say, aspirin (which is responsible for hundreds of deaths per year).  Your chiropractor should have explained (or needs to) all risks involved in care, depending on the procedures she is planning on performing.  Which brings me to my next point:

Is this chiropractor telling you she can help with seizure disorder?  Muscle tone and other related postural problems?  While it is likely that your son will benefit from chiropractic care, this benefit will be based in the changes to his spine, NOT changes to his primary neurological disease process.  Secondary changes within his spine have resulted from the state of his nervous system, and these will undoubtedly benefit from chiropractic care.  But his seizure disorder most likely will not.

There are a few chiropractors that eschew the benefits of chiropractic care for seizure disorder, although most neurologists will tell you the reasoning behind this has no basis in neurophysiological fact.  Of course, over the 12 years I have been practicing I have heard stories about children being helped with seizures, but it's important for you to realize these are just stories, and solid research on this subject doesn't exist.

If he were my child, this is how I would proceed:  take him to a chiropractor, because he will probably be much better off for it.  Watch his seizure episodes closely, and if he changes for the better - great, I stand corrected.  Chiropractic care, when performed correctly, by a professional, is safer than thousands of other treatments.  It DOES have limitations, however, in what it can provide for any particular patient.  If you haven't seen decent results within a month or two, chances are you won't - at least with that particular chiropractor.

I hope this helps you, and if you have any other questions or need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.  Have a nice Labor Day.