Epilepsy is a condition that often manifests in the shape of seizures. If you or any of your loved ones have epilepsy, you know the consequences it can have on daily life. The worst part of epilepsy is not knowing when the subsequent seizure might occur, which can stress an individual to great lengths.
Not to mention its impact on physical, mental, and social well-being, making even the most menial tasks a challenge. Fortunately, various treatments can help manage the symptoms of epilepsy – chiropractic care being one of them. Plenty of evidence suggests chiropractic adjustments can help manage and reduce the frequency of seizures. Before we understand how chiropractic care can help patients with epilepsy, let’s understand the condition and its impact on an individual’s health.
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects people of all ages – from newborn babies to seniors – and causes patients to have seizures. A patient must have more than two seizures to be diagnosed optimally. Although epilepsy is prevalent, many people are still unaware of its symptoms and the proper course of treatment.
Due to there being many variables, diagnosing epilepsy can be challenging. It is hard to conclude when a person has a seizure, as several kinds exist. Some people experience confusion, loss of consciousness, difficulty focusing, weakness, and inability to move around normally.
Type of Seizures
Seizures are typically categorized into two types – generalized and focal.
Generalized Seizures
- Absence Seizures: these seizures cause erratic blinking or sudden loss of focus
- Focal Seizures: these seizures can cause muscle spasms, inability to stand up, or loss of consciousness
Focal Seizures
- Complex Seizures: these types of seizures can cause confusion, making it hard for patients to think clearly or interact with others
- Simple Seizures: can cause patients to twitch or experience abnormal sensations, such as unfamiliar taste or smell
How Can Chiropractic Treatments Help?
Chiropractic care is an excellent option for patients not experiencing success with anti-seizure medications. Since chiropractic care focuses on the root of the health condition and does not involve invasive surgeries, patients feel more comfortable going through them. Evidence shows that after getting chiropractic care, patients experienced fewer seizures and showed improved nerve function.
Seizures occur when there is more neural discharge than a patient’s body can handle, raising the need to decrease the likelihood of this discharge. Chiropractic physicians will try to reduce the interference around the Vagus nerve to tone down neural stimuli in the brain. This allows the brain to function normally and restores neural function to a great extent.
While anti-seizure medication works for some patients, chiropractic care benefits all patients to a certain degree. Depending on the nature of the seizures, the extent of benefits may vary, but every patient that receives chiropractic care observes improvements in their epilepsy. This is an important observation, considering any amount of help epileptic patients receive can go a long way to help them in their daily lives.
Find The Right Chiropractor In Your Area
If you or a loved one has epilepsy, we encourage you to consider safer treatment options that have shown positive results in the past. Although there is no cure for epilepsy, treatment options like chiropractic adjustments can help manage the symptoms. If you are seeking treatment for epilepsy, our team of chiropractors at Flex Spine and Sport would be more than happy to help you. Contact us today to book an appointment!