Type 1 Diabetes Improves with Chiropractic
Over 3 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This disorder is considered an auto-immune condition where the immune system destroys the insulin producing Beta cells of the pancreas. A new case study showed how chiropractic adjustments dramatically improved a 4 year old child’s ability to manage type 1 diabetes (1).
A large UK study has revealed that type 1 diabetes has increased 5-fold in children less than 5 years of age between the years of 1985 and 2004. During those same years there was a doubling in children under 15 years of age being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (2). Studies in other European countries and the US have shown similar results.
According to the American Diabetes Association: “Although the cause of type 1 diabetes isn’t known, it is likely that genetic and environmental factors work together to trigger the immune system to destroy the insulin producing cells. Relatives of people with type 1 diabetes are at a 10 to 15% greater risk for developing the disease (3).”
Environmental Risk Factors For Type 1
The most common risk factors associated with these genetic mutations include exposure to environmental toxins and other stressors (4, 5). The list of toxins includes pesticides, herbicides, and household cleaning agents. Additionally, food allergens such as pasteurized cow’s milk, gluten and processed soy, peanuts, & eggs are thought to be possible triggers.
Low maternal and infant vitamin D3 levels and less than 6 months of breast feeding appear to be very serious risk factors as well (6, 7). Birth trauma affecting the upper cervical spine has been hypothesized as a risk factor by some experts (8).
Chiropractic Case Study:
A recent case study published in the November 2011 edition of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal, & Family Health documenting a case of a 4 year old child who had terrific results stabilizing her blood sugar through chiropractic care (1). The child’s mother described her as being a very healthy baby who was not vaccinated at all and was breastfed for a full 12 months.
She was officially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 2 years of age. The patient had a great aunt with type 1 diabetes so she had the genetic abnormalities present. The family ate a healthy, whole food based diet and avoided processed foods and other environmental toxins.
Understanding Neuroendoimmunology
The nervous, endocrine and immune system are hardwired and work together to create optimal responses for the body to adapt and heal appropriately. The new study of neuroendoimmunology looks closely at this intimate relationship between bodily systems (9).
Neural dysfunctions due to spinal subluxations are stressful to the body and cause abnormal changes that lead to a poorly coordinated immune response (10). Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to reduce subluxations and boost the coordinated responses of the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems (11, 12, 13).
Chiropractic Care Improved HbA1C:
The patient was diagnosed with spinal subluxations in the upper cervical region. She began chiropractic care and was seen a total of 24 times over a 2 month period. During this 2 month period, she experienced a decrease in hemoglobin A1C from 7.2% to 6.5%. She also decreased the amount of insulin used from 15 units to 11 units per day.
These results are quite remarkable because the literature states that intensive medical treatment of type 1 diabetes often does not succeed in lowering A1C levels under 7.0% (14). Chiropractic care works by optimizing the neural connections throughout the body.
This enhanced brain body connection works to better coordinate immunity and hormone function throughout the body. This improvement in type I diabetes management is most likely a result of better cellular communication (15).
Sources For this Article Include:
1. Improved A1 C Levels in a Patient with Insulin-Dependent Type I Diabetes Undergoing Chiropractic Care: A Case Report Link Here
2. Maahs DM, West NA, Lawrence JM, Mayer-Davis EJ. Chapter 1: Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes. Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America. 2010;39(3):481-497.
3. Psychological and Social Issues PubMed
4. Peng H, Hagopian W. Environmental factors in the development of Type 1 diabetes. Rev Endocr Metab Disord. 2006 Sep;7(3):149-62. PMID: 17203405
5. Akerblom HK, Knip M. Putative environmental factors in Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Metab Rev. 1998 Mar;14(1):31-67. PMID: 9605629
6. Aljabri KS, Bokhari SA, Khan MJ. Glycemic changes after vitamin D supplementation in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and vitamin D deficiency. Annals of Saudi Medicine. 2010;30(6):454-458.
7. Dong J-Y, Zhang W, Chen JJ, Zhang Z-L, Han S-F, Qin L-Q. Vitamin D Intake and Risk of Type 1 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Nutrients. 2013;5(9):3551-3562.
8. Mimouni F, Miodovnik M, Rosenn B, Khoury J, Siddiqi TA. Birth trauma in insulin-dependent diabetic pregnancies. Am J Perinatol. 1992 May;9(3):205-8. PMID: 1575844
9. Cui SY, Tang CZ. [Progress in the research of neuroendocrine-immunological mechanism of acupuncture in regulating blood pressure and protecting target organs in hypertension]. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2008 Jun;33(3):208-12. PMID: 18807728
10. Owens EF. Chiropractic subluxation assessment: what the research tells us. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 2002;46(4):215-220.
11. Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA, Injeyan HS, Ruegg R. Spinal manipulative therapy reduces inflammatory cytokines but not substance P production in normal subjects. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2006 Jan;29(1):14-21. PMID: 16396725
12. Brennan PC, Kokjohn K, Kaltinger CJ, Lohr GE, Glendening C, Hondras MA, McGregor M, Triano JJ. Enhanced phagocytic cell respiratory burst induced by spinal manipulation: potential role of substance P. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1991 Sep;14(7):399-408. PMID: 1719112
13. Holtzman DA, Petrocco-Napuli KL, Burke JR. Prospective case series on the effects of lumbosacral manipulation on dysmenorrhea. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2008 Mar;31(3):237-46. PMID: 18394502
14. Nordfeldt S, Ludvigsson J. Seasonal variation of HbA1c in intensive treatment of children with type 1 diabetes. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2000 May;13(5):529-35. PMID: 10803871
15. Resolution of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a 67 Year Old Female Patient Following Subluxation-Based Chiropractic Care: A Case Study Link Here
