Arnold-Chiari Malformation

Effects of upper cervical subluxation concomitant with a mild Arnold-Chiari malformation: a case study. Smith, JL. Chiropractic Research Journal, Vol. 1V, No.2, Fall 1997. Note: Arnold-Chiari (A-C) malformation is a variable congenital defect of the brainstem originally described in 1894.

From the abstract: A 39 year old woman had complaints of intermittent bouts of fatigue, dizziness, facial numbness, ataxia, headaches, difficulty speaking, and diffuse arthralgias during the last two years. She had already undergone extensive medical testing which revealed a mild Arnold-Chiara Type 1 malformation. Upon further investigation, it was decided that the A-C malformation was an incidental finding, unrelated to her symptoms.

Medical, no solution or explanation of her symptoms could be found.

Using the Grostic method of upper cervical analysis, we measured an occipito-atlanto-axial subluxation.

We managed the patient using Grostic procedure of hand adjusting for the upper cervical region. Following the first and subsequent upper cervical adjustments, she experienced significant relief of her symptoms. She has not felt the need to seek medical intervention since beginning chiropractic care.

The patient had an array of diffuse symptoms, most of which could be explained neurologically by the effects of an upper cervical subluxation. Because she had the Arnold-Chiari malformation all her life, it was considered an incidental finding, so the onset of her symptoms during the past two years was difficult to medically understand.