Chiropractic management of an 81-year-old man with Parkinson disease signs and symptoms

Joesph Bova; Adam Sergent

doi:10.1016/j.jcm.2014.06.002

Chiropractic management of an 81-year-old man with Parkinson disease signs and symptoms

J Chiropr Med. 2014 Jun;13(2):116-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2014.06.002.

Authors

Joesph Bova¹, Adam Sergent²

Affiliations

¹ Private Practice, Private Practice, Latham NY.
² Assistant Professor, Faculty Clinician, Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida, Port Orange, FL.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this case report is to describe the chiropractic management of a patient with Parkinson disease.

Clinical features: An 81-year-old male with a 12-year history of Parkinson disease sought chiropractic care. He had a stooped posture and a shuffling gait. He was not able to ambulate comfortably without the guidance of his walker. The patient had a resting tremor, most notably in his right hand. Outcome measures were documented using the Parkinson's Disease Questionaire-39 (PDQ-39) and patient subjective reports.

Intervention and outcome: The patient was treated with blue-lensed glasses, vibration stimulation therapy, spinal manipulation, and eye-movement exercises. Within the first week of treatment, there was a reduction in symptoms, improvement in ambulation, and tremor.

Conclusion: For this particular patient, the use of alternative treatment procedures appeared to help his Parkinson disease signs and symptoms.

Keywords: Chiropractic; Gait disorder; Parkinson disease; Tremor.