Health Articles

Chiropractic Care May Help With Fertility Issues

Many healthcare options exist for those who are having difficulty starting a family.  Unfortunately, many of the traditional options are invasive, expensive, and risky, and sometimes painful, as anyone who has ever been through the process will confirm.  What if there was another way to help your body help itself, naturally?  All of the organs in the body need to be able to communicate back and forth with the brain in order to function properly (which, in turn, works in tight coordination with the endocrine and immune systems).  If the signals from the brain to the organs, or from the organs to the brain, are not transmitting all the necessary information in a timely manner, will the organs be working properly?  Subluxation causes interference with the messages traveling through the nerves and spinal cord between the brain and the organs it controls.  Could subluxation be preventing your body from operating at its best, and hindering the process of conception? 

For a more detailed exploration of how subluxation could interfere with conception, see Cody William's Pathways (publication of the ICPA) article here. 

Dr. Madeline Behrendt published an excellent retrospective review of fourteen cases of resolution of infertility issues with chiropractic care in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in 2003 (click here for the abstract; the complete paper is available at Path of Life upon request).  In each of these cases, subluxation findings were decreased or eliminated with chiropractic care, and the patient successfully conceived.  

Alcantera recently published a review of three case studies entitled Female Infertility, Subluxation, and Chiropractic Care:  A Case Series and Selective Review of the Literature (click here for the abstract; a copy of the article is available at Path of Life).  These three women all presented with infertility and vertebral subluxation.  Each these women successfully conceived after a period of chiropractic care to resolve their subluxations.   

Sims and Lee published a report on resolution of infertility in a 23-year old female who initially presented with amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) and symptoms of subluxation.  After 3 1/2 months of care, the patient reported having her first normal menstrual period; after 4 1/2 months of care, the patient reported pregnancy which was then confirmed by ultrasound.  Click here for the abstract for this paper.  Lyons reported a similar result of successful pregnancy after chiropractic adjustment in a 27 year old female with a five year history of unsuccessful medical treatment for infertility issues.  Click here to read the abstract.  Both of these papers are available at Path of Life upon request. 

The idea that chiropractic care can help with infertility issues has recently become more mainstream.  Some examples include Fighting Infertility at the Chiropractor:  A CBS Special Report (click here), this article from the American Pregnancy Association (click here), and in this Fox special report (click here).

Would you like to find out whether chiropractic care might help you to start or add to your family?  Call or email us to schedule an appointment at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic where we can check your spine for subluxation that might be interfering with your plans.