Sleep

Peer Reviewed Journals:

1) Kinematic imbalances due to suboccipital strain in newborns. Biedermann H. J. Manual Medicine 1992, 6:151-156.

• More than 600 babies (to date) have been treated for suboccipital strain. One hundred thirty-five infants who were available for follow-up was reviewed in this case series report. The suboccipital strain’s main symptoms include torticollis, fever of unknown origin, loss of appetite and other symptoms of CNS disorders, swelling of one side of the facial soft tissues, asymmetric development of the skull, hips, crying when the mother tried to change the child’s position, and extreme sensitivity of the neck to palpation. Most patients in the series required one to three adjustments before returning to normal. “Removal of suboccipital strain is the fastest and most effective way to treat the symptoms...one session is sufficient in most cases. Manipulation of the occipito-cervical region leads to the disappearance of problems....”

2) The atlas fixation syndrome in the baby and infant. Gutmann G. Manuelle Medizin 1987 25:5-10, Trans. Peters RE.

• Examination of 1,250 infants five days after birth showed over 25% were suffering from vomiting, irritability and sleeplessness. Examination showed that 75% of these infants had cervical (neck) strain. Treatment frequently resulted in an immediate relief of the symptoms.

3) Functional disorders (fixations) of the spine in children. Lewit K. Manuelle Therapie, J.A. Barth, Leipzig, 1973. Chap.2.7, pp.50-54.

• Functional disorders in children may manifest themselves as sleep disorders, loss of appetite, psychic problems, dysmenorrhea and may not exist as spinal pain. Studies on healthy children revealed pelvic subluxations in 40% of all school children, cervical fixation in 15.8%. After manipulative treatments, the problems rarely recurred.

4) Relations of disturbances of cranio-sacral mechanisms to symptomatology of the newborn. Fryman V. JAOA. 1966;65:1059.

• In a group of 1250 unselected babies examined five days post partum, a group of 211 ‘nervous’ children were found suffering from vomiting, hyperactivity, tremors and sleeplessness. Release of ‘strain’ in the skull resulted in immediate quieting, cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness.

5) Blocked atlantal nerve syndrome in infants and small children. Gutman G. ICA Review, 1990; July:37-42. Originally published in German Manuelle Medizin (1987) 25:5-10.

• From the abstract: Three case reports are reviewed to illustrate a syndrome that has so far received far too little attention, which is caused and perpetuated in babies and infants by blocked nerve impulses at the atlas. Included in the clinical picture are lowered resistance to infections, especially to ear-,nose-, and throat infections, two cases of insomnia, two cases of cranial bone asymmetry, and one case each of torticollis, retarded locomotor development, retarded linguistic development, conjunctivitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis, earache, extreme neck sensitivity, incipient scoliosis, delayed hip development, and seizures.

Case studies:

Case report: The effect of a chiropractic spinal adjustment on toddler sleep pattern and behavior. Rome PL. Chiropractic Journal of Australia, 1996;26:11-14.

• Author’s abstract: The interaction of the cervical spine with the nervous system, and the effectiveness of spinal adjustment in the management of the poor sleeping patterns of a 12- month-old male are discussed. The history of an often irritable, unsettled infant, is also presented with a brief, but relevant, research review. Since birth, this 12 month old boy would wake up 7-8 times a night. Medication (Panadol TM ) had been given without success. Following the first adjustment (C 1/2 and T 8/ 9) the child slept for seven hours. A second case is briefly discussed of a 4-month-old boy with depressed appetite who slept only 30 minutes at a time. After one adjustment, he slept for 11 hours. Four months later he had a fall and his poor sleeping habit returned. After one adjustment the sleeping returned to normal, in addition he had a normal appetite.