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8: Changes in pulmonary function associated with upper cervical specific chiropractic care

Summary: A study was conducted on 55 patients in the private office setting to assess the influence of upper cervical adjustments on pulmonary function. Subjects were monitored before and after chiropractic care by spirometric indices which measured forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV-1). Of the 55 subjects, 33 (60%) presented with lung function outside of the normal range.The 33 subjects outside of the normal range showed the greatest increases in FVC and FEV-1 over the two week course of the study, although subjects within normal range also showed improvement in the spirometric tests.Additionally, significant positive changes were observed in subjects of both sexes representing the age range of 48-80 years, when compared to the younger age range of 18-47 years. The magnitude of these finding resulted in both a statistically significant functional effect, as well as a moderate clinical effect determined by effect size measurements for FVC and small clinical effect for FEV-1. This study indicates that subjects show improved pulmonary function in FVC and FEV-1 after receiving chiropractic care for the correction of upper cervical vertebral subluxation. Abstract: Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research 1997; 1 (3): 1-7