Reactive Arthritis Helped by Chiropractic

The Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research published the results of a case study on May 16, 2023, documenting chiropractic helping a young girl who was suffering with Reactive Arthritis (ReA) and a host of associated pain issues.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), "Reactive arthritis, as the name suggests, occurs in reaction to something—in this case, an infection. The condition is triggered by a bacterial infection in the digestive or urinary tract or the genitals, but arthritis symptoms typically do not set in until after you have recovered from the infection." The NIAMS’s website continues by explaining that "The symptoms often clear up on their own within a few weeks or months, but they may become chronic (long-lasting) in some people."

In this case, a 10-year-old girl was brought to the chiropractor to see if she could get help with her neck and upper back pain. The neck and back pain occurred in episodes and were very restrictive. When she was not in pain, the girl was very active and enjoyed rock climbing two days per week. The girl had been diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis (ReA) at three years old following a high fever due to an upper respiratory infection. After the infection, the girls started suffering with symptoms of chronic arthritis.

Since being diagnosed with ReA, the girls would experience recurring fatigue, neck, back, leg, arm, feet and hand pain, stiffness, and disability every three to four weeks. Occasionally, she would have a severe episode that would cause her to "freeze up" where she would be unable to move. One such severe episode while swimming almost resulted in the girl drowning. When in pain, she would have difficulty walking, putting on her clothes, playing, and would even be forced to crawl up stairs.

A chiropractic examination and x-rays revealed significant vertebral subluxations in the cervical and lumbar spine. With this information, a regime of specific chiropractic care was initiated to correct the subluxations.

The results of the chiropractic care for this girl were life changing. As care progressed, the girl became free of a her ReA symptoms and was able to resume a normal active life. In a follow-up three years later, the study reports that the girl was still free of her ReA pain and was "enjoying her life, able to perform activities of daily living without limitation, free of pain and disability."

The authors of the study explained how correcting subluxation would help a case such as this as well as others with a wide variety of health issues. "Chiropractic vitalistic philosophy was born of the idea that a vertebral subluxation as a deviation of a vertebra from its normal position with respect to the adjacent vertebrae and that this vertebral misalignment can cause neurological interference, preventing the body from functioning optimally. The goal of chiropractic care is to correct vertebral subluxations, thereby removing neurological interference the allow the body to heal and function without impedance."