Constipation/Bowel Disorders

Upper cervical chiropractic care of an infant with irregular bowel function: a case study. Hunt JM. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. Vol. 5, No 1. 2000.

This is the case of a three month-old, breast-fed female infant who had irregular bowel habits since birth. She moved her bowels from once a week to once every ten days and needed suppositories or she would not move her bowels at all. At a children's hospital it was discovered the child had had a broken left clavicle from a "significant birth trauma."

Chiropractic upper cervical adjustments were performed and after the third adjustment the child moved her bowels for the first time in her life without suppositories before leaving the office. By the fifth visit her bowel movements had increased to one or more daily.

Effects of upper cervical correction on chronic constipation. Eriksen K. Chiropractic Research Journal, 1994; 3:19-22.

A five-year-old female with severe, chronic constipation was able to have only one bowel movement a week, despite medication. She was adjusted with Grostic upper cervical care. One day after her spinal adjustment, a dramatic change in the child's bowel function occurred.

Chiropractic treatment of a 7-month-old with chronic constipation: a case report. Hewitt EG, Chiropractic Technique, August 1993; 5(3): 101-103.

A 7-month-old girl suffering from chronic constipation with a history of painful straining and hard, pellet-like stools (once per day to once every 3 days) was brought in for chiropractic care. After a full spine and cranial adjustment, the patient's bowel function normalized to one or two soft, effortless stools per day. Maintenance of these improvements was confirmed at a 1-year follow-up visit.

Case study: the effect of chiropractic care on an infant with problems of constipation. Marko, S. Chiropractic Pediatrics Vol. 1 No. 3 Dec. 1994.

This is the case study of an infant who began having constipation at age 6 months when solid foods were introduced. In order for her to have a bowel movement she had to be in a warm bath with her legs up and her abdomen massaged. At one point, the baby actually became impacted and emergency care was needed. It was not uncommon for her to go a week to ten days between bowel movements.

After the second chiropractic adjustment the patient had a bowel movement all by herself. Within two weeks she began having regular bowel movements by herself every two or three days. At 23 months, the patient began to walk and she has at least one totally normal bowel movement every day.

Expect a miracle. Kendzior AT, Sarasota, FL. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter Jan/Feb 1998.

A personal story from a chiropractor is reported:

"My son took a serious fall as a baby and immediately stopped having bowel movements. After months, I was told that we might need to do an exploratory surgery to determine if there was a blockage. I had been trying to adjust him, but was not sure what I was feeling.

Dr. Larry Webster examined him, adjusted him and taught me how to locate subluxations in a baby's lumbar spine. It was miraculous, the next day he started having normal bowel movements. This miracle response to an adjustment I now know is very common in kids.

This same child started severely stuttering at the age of two. This was correlated to his fall. Finally, I attended another course with Dr. Webster who shared with me the Webster Cranial Technique. He assured me that it had helped children with stuttered speech, epilepsy, and learning disabilities. He advised me that before my son got better he might appear worse, but within two weeks he would stop stuttering completely. Sure enough, two weeks to the day that I started adjusting him, he stopped stuttering. This was a child who previously repeated a word twenty times and then, frustrated, gave up."

Irritable bowel syndrome and spinal manipulation: a case report. Wagner T, Owen J, Malone E, Mann K. Chiropractic Technique 1996; 7: 139-140.

Irritable bowel syndrome, also known as mucous colitis and nervous bowel affects 15-25% of adults. Symptoms include cramping and/or abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, ulcer-type symptoms, heartburn and/or upper abdominal indigestion.

In this case study of a 25-year-old woman with chronic irritable bowel syndrome her chief complaint was intestinal pain and diarrhea which was worse during stressful periods which occurred one or two times per week for the past five years.

After her first chiropractic adjustment, she reported that she had not experienced any diarrhea for two days. Her other symptoms were quickly alleviated. Two years later she remained symptom free.

Chiropractic adjustment in the management of visceral conditions: a critical appraisal. Jamison JR, McEwen AP, Thomas SJ.J Manipulative Physiol Ther, 1992; 15:171-180.

In this survey of chiropractors in Australia, more than 50% of the chiropractors stated that asthma responds to chiropractic adjustments; more than 25% felt that chiropractic adjustments could benefit patients with dysmenorrhea, indigestion, constipation, migraine and sinusitis.


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