Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe chiropractic management of a 5-year-old boy with urinary and bowel incontinence.
Clinical features: A 5-year-old boy presented with the primary symptoms of a complete lack of bowel and bladder control with prior surgical correction for lumbar meningocele, spinal lipoma, and tethered spinal cord. Examination revealed spinal and pelvic dysfunction.
Intervention and outcome: Chiropractic treatment methods included using the Activator adjusting instrument and shortwave diathermy to the lumbar spine and sacrum. A total of 5 treatments were initially provided over a period of 4 weeks. After the initial treatment period, he was able to maintain satisfactory control of his bladder and bowel, day and night, for a period of approximately 6 months. A second course of treatments was initiated approximately 6 months later because of a recurrence of bladder and bowel incontinence. Four additional treatments were provided over a period of 4 weeks. This second course of treatment reestablished satisfactory control of bladder and bowel function.
Conclusion: For this patient, chiropractic care was successful in establishing satisfactory bladder and bowel control.
Keywords: Fecal incontinence; Manipulation, Chiropractic; Meningocele; Spina dysraphism; Urinary incontinence.