Did you know around 3.4 million Americans have epilepsy, including 3 million adults and 470,000 children? If you or a loved one has epilepsy, you know how challenging it can be for your everyday life. Not knowing when a seizure will strike can cause stress, while the seizures themselves can negatively affect your physical health, mental health, memory, work, and personal life. Let’s take a look at what epilepsy is, what causes seizures, and how chiropractic care can help patients with epilepsy.
What Is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes seizures. To be diagnosed with epilepsy, a person has to have two or more seizures. This disorder can affect people of all ages from babies to older adults. Despite how prevalent this disorder is, there are still several myths that people believe. It’s important to know that epilepsy is not contagious, people cannot control their seizures, and there is currently no cure.
It can be difficult to tell when a person is having a seizure, as there are various types of seizures. Some people look confused and may stare off in space, while other people may fall, shake, or become unaware of what is happening around them.
Types of Seizures
Seizures are placed in two main categories, generalized and focal. Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain, while focal seizures are for one specific part of the brain. Within those main categories, there are several types of seizures as mentioned below.
Generalized Seizures
- Absence seizures – causes rapid blinking or staring into space for several seconds.
- Tonic-clonic seizures – can cause a person to fall, have muscle spasms, become unconscious, and cry out.
Focal Seizures
- Complex focal seizures – can cause a person to be confused or dazed, making it difficult for them to answer questions or listen for a few minutes.
- Secondary generalized seizures – causes the person to have a focal seizure and then a generalized seizure.
- Simple focal seizures – causes the person to twitch or experience sensory changes, such as an odd taste or smell.
What Causes Seizures?
There are numerous causes of seizures, which affects people differently. Some common causes of epilepsy include a brain tumor, central nervous system infection, head injury, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. For young children, they can be at risk for seizures due to Autism, brain malfunctions, congenital conditions, head trauma, and lack of oxygen during birth. For adults, they can be at risk for seizures due to Alzheimer’s, congenital conditions, genetics, head trauma, and stroke.
Current Treatments for Epilepsy
For most people with epilepsy, their doctors use anti-seizure medications to manage their seizures. While this may work for many people, 20 to 30 percent of epileptic patients do not see any change in the frequency or severity of their seizures. These medications also come with unpleasant side effects that cause even more health issues like depression, dizziness, drowsiness, hair loss, headaches, irritability, mood changes, nausea, and weight gain.
Another less common and more risky option is to stimulate the Vagus nerve, which is linked to seizure disorders. A medical device is implanted into the body, which can then electrically stimulate the Vagus nerve to decrease seizures. Indeed, most people with epilepsy would prefer to pass on this risky, invasive treatment that may not work. What other options are there?
How Chiropractic Care Can Help Patients with Epilepsy
During the 19th century, scientists discovered that applying pressure to one of the two carotid arteries (located on both sides of the neck) will stimulate the Vagus nerve and help prevent a seizure from happening. This discovery has led to the Vagus nerve stimulation treatment, as mentioned in this article.
Since this discovery, chiropractors have found that the upper cervical part of the spine affects the Vagus nerve. This knowledge has helped chiropractors perform specific, gentle adjustments to the upper cervical area of the spine. In turn, this helps remove any vertebral subluxations and helps patients better manage their seizures. For many chiropractic patients with epilepsy, they can even experience less seizures, which can significantly improve their quality of life. Indeed, healthy nerve function is achievable with chiropractic care, which addresses the source of the seizures.
To support the benefits of chiropractic for epileptics, consider a study that looked at seventeen pediatric patients with epilepsy. Fourteen children were taking anti-seizure medications, which did not work at all for them. Fifteen of those patients started receiving upper cervical chiropractic care. Specifically, the chiropractor performed precise adjustments to correct any vertebral subluxations. All of the children that received chiropractic care experienced significant improvements to their epilepsy. As a result, they were able to better manage their epilepsy and had less seizures.
If you or a loved one has seizures, we encourage you to consider safer, all-natural alternatives proven to be effective at helping manage epilepsy. While there is no cure for this disorder, there are other options than just harsh medications and invasive treatments. Everyone deserves to live life to their fullest potential. Let our Portage chiropractors at West Michigan Chiropractic help you better manage your epilepsy and start taking control over your health. Contact us today to book your chiropractic appointment.