Case Study #8: My low back is constantly aching!

Case Study #8: "My low back is constantly aching!" 

In our case study today, we have a 37 year old African American man named Jon who came to us with a history of low back pain, bilateral sciatica and occasional headaches. Interestingly, he also mentioned that through an MRI when he was 22, an incidental finding of Arnold-Chiari Malformation 1 was noticed. This is a semi-rare conditiion where part of the Cerebellum slides through the foramen magnum (big hole in the bottom of the skull where the brain stem and spinal cord exits from the brain) and lodges in the upper cervical area. He was otherwise in good physical condition. His low back X-Rays were largely unremarkable: alignment was good, disc spacing, the lordotic curve in the lateral view was maintained. There didn't seem to be a reason for his continual LBP. Incidentally, Jon has sought and received chiropractic care for years with other doctors and quite enjoyed the relief he got. BUT, no chiropractor would touch his neck or even X-Ray the area because of the Arnold-Chiari 1 issue. Here now, Jon's cervical films:

Note total loss of normal lordosis in this lateral view of Jon's cervical spine.

Jon's open mouth view revealed pinching of the C1-C2 interspace but the region was otherwise intact.

We've seen Jon a few times already and I am adjusting his cervical spine, below the C1-C2 complex with excellent results already. He has responded well and I am confident we can irradicate the troublesome sciatic and LB issues by working on the entire spine in this case.

Moral to the story: barring absolute contraindications, the entire spine should be evaluated and treated by a chiropractor as needed. With AC-1 malformations, the literature is admittedly split on whether or not chiropractic manipulation should or should not be performed. In Jon's case, the manipulative reductions are very gentle and below the upper cervical area. The results have been astounding.

Dr. Haberstroh is a Boston and Somerville Chiropractor.