Headache
Headache
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Case Study - Plate Specific Headache See below for a discussion of Plate Specific Headaches
Submitted by - John Blye, DC
Patient - male, age 10
MD Diagnosis - Headache, unknown origin
Prognosis - unknown
Duration - 9 months
Previous DC care with condition - yes
Outcome - RESOLVED
Brief
History:
This patient was referred by his primary chiropractor after repeated
spinal adjustments had minimal effect. Neurologist's
evaluation was negative. MRI
results were negative. Headaches
were occurring daily, lasting from 2 to 12 hours and were rated for severity by
the patient as 8 on a 10 scale, typically.
The headache distribution was "cap-like," involving the frontal
plate, the sphenoid plate bilaterally and the parietal plates, with frequent
involvement of the occipital plate. Response
to pain relievers was relatively poor. Findings
and Care:
Cranial subluxations were found involving most of the affected plates.
Very little nerve pressure was detected in the cervical spine, probably
due to concurrent spinal adjustments by the referring DC.
The patient was put on a program of cranial adjustments and directed to
stay under his primary chiropractor's care.
Patient
Response:
Headache response was rapid (one day), but incomplete.
That is, the level of pain reduced to a more tolerable 4-8 / 10 level,
however, headache frequency remained nearly 7 days out of 7.
Headache
severity gradually reduced some more but, after 6 weeks of care, the condition
had plateaued. Additional
discussion with the patient revealed that most (not all) of the severest
headaches occurred about 10 AM during school, and about the same time often on
weekends. Headaches often became
worse when wearing a baseball cap at baseball practice and games.
Further investigation revealed that the child used "Monster
Gel" to keep his hair looking cool every morning, 7 / 7.
The primary ingredient of Monster Gel is the shampoo additive propylene
glycol. Internet
research revealed that propylene glycol, and its cousins ethylene g and butylene
g, are used in antifreezes, shampoos, toothpaste, ice cream and chip dips.
Toxnet also identified propylene glycol as a neurotoxin with a high
degree of dermal absorption. That
is, put it on your skin and it goes into your body. The
patient was instructed to stop using Monster Gel and any products containing
propylene glycol. Within 10 days,
headaches had improved to 2 / 10 severity and 1-2 / 7 frequency, and disappeared
completely over the following two weeks. They
did recur briefly a few months later when the boy used another gel containing
propylene glycol.
Discussion:
Plate specific
headaches are headaches that recur repeatedly over the same cranial plates.
These headaches frequently include both the migraine and the cluster
types of headache. I have found a
high correlation between the plate in pain and the plate that is subluxated –
they are usually the same. Correction
of the cranial subluxation usually produces immediate (5 min.) results.
As a case in point, a doctor at our last workshop announced that her
headaches were gone almost exactly 5 minutes after her cranial subluxations were
adjusted. Obviously,
the patient in this case study was not responding typically.
It was clear that something else was involved, as his cranial pattern
improved in the first two adjustments. Propylene
glycol is one of over 1000 known neurotoxins.
Neurotoxins have both an affinity for nerve tissue and the ability to
damage that tissue enough to produce an inflammatory response.
Health, after all, is the ability of a living thing to re-organize on a
microsecond-by-microsecond basis. Inflammation
is the necessary process by which the human body reorganizes most damaged
tissue. And inflammation of the
brain and surrounding structures is the likely cause of pain in the plate -
specific headache.
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Copyright © 2003 by Cranial Subluxations.com, John Blye, DC, and Lynn Bamberger, DC. All rights reserved. Duplication without express written permission is strictly forbidden. Disclaimer: All material provided in this web site is provided for informational purposes only. Consult your own physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition. Acknowledgements: Photography by Paula Kliewer (Learn more) -- Web Design and Writing by Lynn Bamberger, DC |