Breathing Difficulties Improved in Post-COVID Patients With Chiropractic Care

The Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research published the results of a study on February 9, 2023, that showed that people who previously had COVID-19 and were still suffering from difficulty breathing, called dyspnea, improved while under chiropractic care. The authors of this study begin by explaining "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory infection caused by the potentially serious coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, with high transmissibility and global distribution."

The world is well familiar with the global pandemic that we have lived through. There has been more news generated on this health issue than on any other in modern history. Coupled with the vast amount of information, there has been a lot of disinformation and conspiracy associated with this event. Often it has become difficult to discern what is based in science, from what is logical hypothesis, or from what is false conspiracy stories.

Legitimate discussions on COVID-19 should be encouraged but should be based on science. To this end, this case series study offers a view of helping people who have suffered with COVID and have had lingering breathing issues associated with their infection. People who have continued to suffer have been said to have "post-acute covid-19 syndrome" or "long COVID."

In this study, three patients suffering with breathing difficulties (dyspnea) after COVID each received four weeks of chiropractic care. To rule out outside factors, all patients were instructed before the beginning of the study not to change their daily routine or medications during the study. Before each chiropractic visit, each patient was tested to measure their blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate and volume. These were then compared to the same tests after each visit as well as after four weeks. To make the test more consistent, all chiropractic adjustments were given using a chiropractic adjusting instrument.

The results of this study showed that each of the measured tests improved for all three patients. Heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rates all improved due to chiropractic care. Most notably was that the inhalation and exhalation volumes improved showing that breathing had become easier in all the patients after chiropractic care.

In the authors discussion, they summed up the results by saying, "The results of this study with patients in the post-covid phase showed promise. Patients after four weeks of treatment with the manipulation instrumental, eight sessions, reported less dyspnea and consequently less fatigue." They continued, "All vital signs after four weeks improved, as did maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures. The sleep and quality of life tests and questionnaires obtained a very satisfactory score in comparison with the score obtained before chiropractic instrumental manipulation."