Abstract
M.Tech.
Terrett (1994) has a theory that diminished blood flow to the brain causes
some areas to ‘hibernate’ that is, remain alive, but not function, resulting in
diminished mental capacity. He also states that he is sure this is exactly what
happens to many people every day, and that it could be the reason they suffer
from problems such as tiredness, headache, depression, irritability, difficulty
concentrating, poor attention span, visual difficulty, and so forth (Terrett,
1994).
Brain function can be detrimentally affected by occipito-atlanto-axial
subluxations (Eriksen, 2004). Research showed an improved brain stem
evoked response after patients were adjusted. This indicated that the neural
messages were going through their brain stems more quickly or with less
delay (Shambaugh, Pearlman & Hauck, 1991).
The aim of this study was to determine whether spinal manipulative therapy of
the cervical spinal segments have any influence on the attention and higherlevel
cognitive functioning and processing of an individual who has not
received any chiropractic treatment to his/her cervical spine three months
prior to the study.
Any patient presenting to the University of Johannesburg Chiropractic Day
Clinic was considered a potential candidate for the study. The patients were
briefly screened through a case history, pertinent physical examination,
cervical spine examination and soap note (Appendix E, F, G and H) that were
performed at the initial consultation to determine the patients’ suitability for the
study. The participants were invited to sign a consent form. In total forty
participants were invited to take part in the study.
Participants were put into either the adjusting group, or the control group,
according to their gender and age. Participants received spinal manipulative
therapy to all restricted segments in their cervical spines. Participants in the
PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com
iv
control group received detuned ultrasound therapy over the posterior aspect
of their cervical spines. Both groups performed the coding test (Appendix D)
before their first treatment and after their third treatment, as well as a
questionnaire to obtain some personal information and to indicate their
present feelings and emotions (Appendix C).
The results indicate that there was a statistical difference at the ten percent
level of significance in terms of the average number of blocks completed and
the average number of blocks filled in correctly for the adjusting group. There
was also a statistical difference at the ten percent level of significance in
terms of the average number of blocks / symbols changed for the control
group.
The adjusting group worked more effectively and made fewer mistakes than
the control group after the treatment trial was completed. For the chiropractic
profession this opens huge potential with regards to the chiropractic benefits
and improving the functioning of the society.