| Introduction. Chiropractic spinal adjustments have long been utilized as an alternative approach to many health conditions ranging from back and neck pain to more controversial systemic conditions including asthma, diabetes and peripheral artery disease. Although widely used by the American public, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), in particular chiropractic continues to lack adequate studies demonstrating its efficacy on systemic conditions. This study's aim was to investigate the effect of chiropractic adjustments on the physiological parameters of cerebral blood flow velocity and radial artery blood pressure responses following a single chiropractic intervention.; Methods. Twenty healthy subjects were recruited for the study. Each subject completed a preliminary screening questionnaire, informed consent, health history and examination including cervical, neurological and orthopedic tests with review of plain films radiographs and a Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound (TCD) screening. Subjects meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned into either a group receiving a chiropractic adjustment or a group receiving brief soft tissue massage without an adjustment (control). TCD ultrasound, radial artery blood pressure and heart rates were continually measured for 10-minutes pre intervention and 10-minutes post intervention. Pre intervention baseline measures were compared to 5-minute post interventions between groups.; Results. The results of the study indicated that a transient but significant (P = 0.045) increase in middle cerebral artery blood flow was observed in the minute immediately following the adjustment and returned to baseline by minute 4. No significant changes in either systolic or diastolic pressures were observed between groups.; Conclusion. Cervical adjustments appear to have a demonstrated short-term effect on cerebral vascular blood flow although the mechanism is still unclear. Further studies are required to demonstrate the efficacy of chiropractic care on blood flow and related vascular conditions. |
