By Dr. Daniel Clements D.C.
Since the very first adjustment from D.D. Palmer who corrected a young man’s hearing lost, chiropractic has been thought to have some impact on keeping the integrity of the inner ear and it’s many important functions. There has been some skepticism that this phenomenon has never been reported in present research. However, many case studies have mentioned astonishing effects of a cervical adjustments decreasing ear infections and allowing children to use less antibiotics to treat the infections. Most ear infections have been treated in the past with antibiotics, however not all the infections were due to a bacterial infection; some are viral infections were antibiotics are ineffective. Many different variables determine if a child will obtain an ear infection such as, lymphatic flow, angle of eustachian tube, and nerve flow to the ear.
Ear problems in children are very prevalent in the United States today; there are 10 million new cases every day where otitis media infections are the most common illness effecting babies and young children.[1] This accounts for more then 35 percent of all pediatric visits making it the number one reason for a pediatric visit. The statistics show that nearly 50 percent of all children will have at least one middle ear infection before they’re one year old and 70 percent will have had at least one episode of earache by age 3. The symptoms that a child will demonstrate during such an event include ear pain, fever, and irritability.[2] If the middle ear infection is recurrent enough surgery is prescribed most of the time for a myringotomy or tympanostomy (tubes).
Children will be exposed to many different types of bacteria and viruses throughout their childhood. When a middle ear infection comes on with the child most parents will immediately take their little one to the family doctor or pediatrician where he/she will give them a course of antibiotics for treatment. However, if the culprit of the middle ear infection is not bacteria but some kind of virus, then the antibiotics will not be an effective treatment for the child. This may answer the question of why some children develop chronic ear infections. In addition, not all bacteria can be treated with antibiotics and some may need many different rounds of antibiotics so the child can regain homeostasis. If the child is infected in the middle ear with bacteria that can be effectively treated with antibiotics, the antibiotics may leave behind a residual fluid that may be retained inside the ear due to impaired drainage from the middle ear cavity. This fluid may become an excellent source of fuel for the next coming bacterium to infect and thrive in. “Research and statistics is now showing that repeated use of antibiotics is contributing to future infections by creating drug-resistant infections.”[3] Previous ENT research has shown that children with chronic ear infections also have restrictions of the natural lymphatic drainage from the middle ear.[4] To include, the anatomy of a pediatric patient is different of that of an adult in the middle ear. The eustachian tubes are somewhat more horizontal making drainage of fluid more difficult then that of an adult. On the other side, some chiropractors believe that the birthing process of a child has a link to recurrent ear infections. Through the birthing process the cervical vertebrae can become misaligned disrupting nerve function, which in turn can affect the eustachian tube causing fluid buildup in the middle ear.
Conservative treatment through chiropractor care has demonstrated high effectiveness in treating middle ear infections caused by either bacteria or viruses. With that said, earaches are the most common reason for children under the age of five years presenting to the chiropractor’s office.[5] A survey was conducted in 1992 stating that children with an earache attending the chiropractor will usually respond within about three visits.[6] Many of these children being treated have had recurrent middle ear infections and many courses of ineffective antibiotic treatments. Also, in an article in the Ladies Home Journal the statement is made that, “Chiropractic care is thought to prevent recurrent infections by correcting misalignments (called subluxations) and allowing normal fluid drainage from the middle ear." More importantly the article continue to state that 6 months after the chiropractic care was administered to the children in the study, 80 percent had not suffered a recurrence of another ear infection.
Dr. Joan M. Fallon, D.C, conducted study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics where she indicates a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. In the study, “332 children with chronic ear infections participated in the study. Each child, ranging in age from 27 days to 5 years, was given a series of chiropractic adjustments. The results show that close to 80% of the children did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits. The six-month period included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks.[7]” (Jane Sheppard). Dr. Fallon uses primarily upper-cervical manipulation on the children with otitis media focusing on the occiput and atlas “Adjusting the occiput, in particular, will get the middle ear to drain. Depending on how chronic it's been and on where they are in their cycle of antibiotics, children generally need to get through one bout of fluid and fight it off themselves."[8] Dr. Fallon has two large pediatric groups that refer her patients and they are mostly referred in the winter season when ear infections are more prevalent. She comments, “Once they fight it themselves, my kids tend to do very well and stay away from ear infections completely. Unless there are environmental factors like smoking in the house, an abnormally shaped Eustachian tube, or something like that, they do very well."[9] Even though this is only one study it makes a fairly important statement that chiropractic care has its role with ear infections.
The Treatment of ear infections by means of chiropractic care is performed by decreasing the amount of irritation of small nerves (free nerve endings) in the spine, so the body is able to combat the infection with its own immune system. Dr. Peter Fysh D.C. states, “When these nerve endings are irritated, an abnormal tension is produced in the small muscles of the neck. This muscle tension can place pressure on the lymphatic drainage ducts resulting in inadequate drainage from inside the ear, thus preventing the body from being able to naturally correct the problem.” He further concludes that the identification of such a problem is made by detecting increased tension in the neck and paraspinals, with more of the tension being on the side of the earache most of the time. In addition, the chiropractor also looks for any vertebral subluxations in the cervical spine that may have been caused by a number of things such as; birth trauma, active play, falls, etc. Dr. Fysh states that the treatment is “swift” seeing resolution quickly after only 3 visits. He admits that caution should be taken if the child is not progressing with the chiropractic care that antibiotics then be administered.
Treating children through chiropractic care can make a big impact on the many pediatric patients that are suffering from middle ear infections saving them from unneeded antibiotic therapy. To conclude, chiropractic adjustments have a significant impact on the body’s immune system by increasing it and allowing less foreign antigens to attack and prevail.
If you have any questions on this topic please contact our office at 714-614-3195 or go to our website at www.twinschiropractic.com
[1] ACA, Chiropractic Approach to Ear Infections
[2] ACA, Chiropractic Approach to Ear Infections
[3] Fallon and Edelman, Chiropractic Adjustments for Chronic Ear Infections, Ladies Home Journal, 1998 edition of Alternative Therapies
[4] Pulek J, et al: Eustachian tube lymphatics. Ann. Oto., 84:483, 1975.
[5] Fysh P: Kids Need Chiropractic Too -- What For? Dynamic Chiropractic, Dec 4, 1992.
[6] Fysh P: Pediatric Patient Survey. National Conference on Chiropractic & Pediatrics, Colorado, November 1992.
[7] Fallon JM. The Role of the Chiropractic Adjustment in the Care and Treatment of 332 Children with Otitis Media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997; Volume 2, No. 2:167-183.
[8] Fallon JM. The Role of the Chiropractic Adjustment in the Care and Treatment of 332 Children with Otitis Media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997; Volume 2, No. 2:167-183.
[9] Fallon JM. The Role of the Chiropractic Adjustment in the Care and Treatment of 332 Children with Otitis Media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997; Volume 2, No. 2:167-183.
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