Can Chiropractic Help Mental Health?

Clinical research combines with over 120 years of patient testimonies to prove that Chiropractic positively influences mental health. One of the most well-known Chiropractic clinics that dealt with mentally ill patients was Forest Park Chiropractic Sanitarium in Davenport, Iowa. The facility began accepting mental health cases in 1922 and began producing results far superior to many orthodox institutions.

A primary case of evidence-based results occurred in 1934 when North Dakota Judge A.W. Ponath assigned ten patients from the state hospital in Jamestown, North Dakota to the Forest Park Sanitarium. All ten patients had been diagnosed with hopeless and incurable cases of insanity. Eight of the patients suffered chronic conditions and resided at the North Dakota state hospital for anywhere between five and ten years. The other two cases involved patients suffering for only a short time. All ten cases received hopelessly incurable diagnoses by state-employed medical doctors and psychiatrists.

80 percent of these patients experienced complete recovery after undergoing Chiropractic care at Forest Park. The two acute cases completely resolved within two months and six of the eight chronic cases returned home free of symptoms within one year. Judge Ponath deemed their recovery as miraculous and published a report to educate the public on what had taken place. Judge Ponath compared the overall records between Jamestown and Forest Lake and discovered that between 1922 and 1934 the state mental hospital discharged only 27 percent of their patients as satisfactory discharges. Forest Park Chiropractic Sanitarium produced a satisfactory discharge rate of 65 percent over the same period.

“And if this record, 65 percent, can be obtained on cases where the large percentage are classed as incurable and had already spent much time in insane asylums and other sanitariums, how much more Chiropractic could do if given the opportunity to handle the patients immediately after being brought to an insane asylum, rather than months or years later when their constitution has been run down by deterioration or prolonged mental disability or both?” – Judge A.W. Ponath

Another pioneering example of the relationship between Chiropractic and mental health took place in 1931 in the state of Kentucky. The Kentucky House of Reform presented a case study of 244 adolescent boys who were incarcerated by the State of Kentucky because of criminal or behavioral problems. Documented showed that almost 100 percent displayed marked improvement in conduct after receiving Chiropractic care, and 144 of the 244 patients passed parole evaluations.

Chiropractic adjustments enhance mental health by improving the health and function of the spine. Research from 2007 continued to link a connection between spinal adjustments and mental health. An intimate relationship exists between the spine and the brain and provides an explanation for how Chiropractic adjustments influence mental health. Any alteration in the alignment or movement of spinal vertebra will influence the brain. Chiropractors evaluate and adjust the spine to improve alignment and motion allowing for better brain and nervous system function. Men, women, and children of all ages can experience greater mental health through regular Chiropractic care.

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