Bedwetting Resolved with Chiropractic Care

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, Chiropractic, published the results of a case study on August 8, 2022, documenting the resolution of bedwetting in a young boy after starting chiropractic care.

John Hopkins Medical Center describes this problem on their website. "Urinary incontinence (enuresis) is the medical term for bedwetting. Incontinence is accidental or intentional urination in children who are at an age where they should be able to have control of their bladders. Girls usually obtain bladder control before boys do. Incontinence may be diagnosed in girls older than age 5 and in boys who are older than age 6 who are still having urinary control problems."

Nighttime bedwetting is known as nocturnal enuresis. The study explains how common this issue is by stating, "…the prevalence of enuresis was 25% in children who were age four, 23% in children who were age five, 10% in children who were age seven, 4% in children who were age ten, and in adults ages 16-40 it was seen in 2.6% of the population." The condition is twice as likely to occur in boys than in girls.

In this case, a 10-year-old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his parents. The boy was experiencing bedwetting since he was approximately two and a half years old. Over the past seven years, he had not had three dry nights in a row. It was also recorded that the boy had shoulder pain that started after he fell off a skateboard. The boy was not receiving any other types of medical care for these problems.

A chiropractic examination was performed that included measuring the spinal range of motion, palpation of the spine, and spinal x-rays. The results of the examination found that there were no underlying pathologies. However, it was determined that there were multiple areas of vertebral subluxations present.

Subluxations are vertebrae that are out of their proper alignment that are causing interference to the function of the nervous system. Subluxations can alter parts of the nerve system that can alter body functions such as the urinary bladder and the sphincters that control the flow of urine. It is this mechanism that can result in issues of bladder function leading to enuresis.

Based upon these findings, specific chiropractic adjustments were started to address the subluxations. After the first adjustment, it was reported that the boy had three successive dry nights, something that had not occurred in the prior seven years. As care continued, the bedwetting continued to improve from what was initially almost a nightly issue, to only three occurrences on the last three months included in this case study.

In the study conclusion the authors summed up the results of this case by stating, "This case study presents the effects of subluxation-based chiropractic care on the management of a 10-year-old with enuresis." They continued by noting that with the use of specific chiropractic adjustments to correct subluxations, "…the patient received specific intersegmental adjustments, and experienced a reduction in the symptoms of enuresis. After 8 months of chiropractic care, the patient reported only two incidents over a 3-month time period. Prior to the start of care the patient wet the bed almost every night since the age of 2.5 to 10 years old."