Motor Tics Helped by Chiropractic in Two Published Case Studies

The Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research published the results of two case studies on October 7, 2024, documenting the improvement of two patients with motor tics being helped by chiropractic care. Web-MD describes "tics" by stating, "Tic disorders are conditions involving your nervous system. They cause you to make repetitive, sudden, rapid sounds or movements, and you may struggle to control yourself when they happen."

This study reports that "Individuals with tics are unable to stop these uncontrollable movements or sounds." Tics are more common than most people realize. This study reports that "Tics vary widely in severity and occur in an estimated 20% of children. Many children go undiagnosed because of the mildness of their particular condition."

In the first case, a 7-year-old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his mother. The boy was suffering with motor tics. The boy's mother stated that her son was having twitches in his neck for several weeks. These twitches would occur about five times per minute and would last the entire day while the boy was awake. The boy also had some non-related congenital developmental anomalies which caused him to frequently fall and required him to walk with crutches.

The second case in this published study involved a 27-year-old man who sought chiropractic because he was suffering with motor tics in his neck. His tic was present for the past ten years. They started when he was in high school and spent multiple hours playing saxophone with a strap wrapped around his neck. By the time the man was out of high school, the tic was present every day and occurring about 10 times per minute. His neurologist prescribed medication that made him sleepy which interfered with his profession as a teacher and would cause him to fall asleep in class.

Both subjects of this study received various forms of chiropractic examinations. In both cases, it was determined that subluxations were present in their spines. Each of these two patients then received specific chiropractic adjustments according to the care plan they required.

In the first case, the 7-year-old boy saw results from his chiropractic care almost immediately. On his third visit, his mother reported a significant reduction in the frequency of his tics. By his fourth visit, the boy was no longer having tics. A week later, he did sustain a fall due to his congenital defects, and his tics resumed in a much milder fashion. When he got adjusted again, his tics stopped. From that point forward, the boy only experienced tics after a severe fall, which would stop again after an adjustment.

The 27-year-old man also noticed some immediate results after starting chiropractic care. The study reports that after three weeks of chiropractic care his motor tics were reduced to just a few tics a day. After two months of chiropractic care, the man reported he could go for a month or more and not experience a tic.

Both patient continued care and would only have a slight reoccurrence of their tics if they went for over a month without chiropractic, and some other stress or trauma was present. The authors of the study summed up these cases by saying, "Both patients reported reduction in symptoms following chiropractic care. When compliant with the doctor's recommended care, the patients could remain symptom free except when falls would occur or excessive emotional stress."