Alternative Medicine Review 2007 (Mar); 12 (1): 9–24
This article reviews research on the use of diet, nutritional supplements, and hormones in the treatment of epilepsy. Potentially beneficial dietary interventions include identifying and treating blood glucose dysregulation, identifying and avoiding allergenic foods, and avoiding suspected triggering agents such as alcohol, aspartame, and monosodium glutamate. The ketogenic diet may be considered for severe, treatment-resistant cases. The Atkins diet (very low in carbohydrates) is a less restrictive type of ketogenic diet that may be effective in some cases. Nutrients that may reduce seizure frequency include vitamin B6, magnesium, vitamin E, manganese, taurine, dimethylglycine, and omega-3 fatty acids.
How Chiropractic Care Relates to Seizures
Chiropractic care works by locating and correcting subluxations (spinal misalignments), which cause interference to the proper functioning of the nervous system. Subluxations are problem areas of the spine that affect the entire nervous system. In these problem areas the spinal bones are misaligned or have lost their normal range of movement. This can irritate or put pressure on local nerves, which may interfere with the communication between your brain and body. Chiropractic adjustments work to remove the interference to the sensory nerve fibres.
The chiropractor does not treat epilepsy or the seizures directly, but rather corrects the spinal nerve stress (vertebral subluxations). Without spinal nerve stress, the body functions better. It has been suggested that when a vertebral subluxations occurs, there will be a pathophysiological change in the nerve, muscle, ligaments, vascular and connective tissue. This causes aberrant nerve impulses from groups of nerve cells, resulting in a seizure. Chiropractic adjustment reduces the aberrant nerve impulses which lead to a decrease or cessation of the seizure activity.
Research has shown that there is a correlation between the removal of the vertebral subluxations and the reduction and/or cessation of some seizure disorders. Spinal damage has been related to many neurological conditions and physical trauma is noted as one of the causes of epilepsy that is seen in all age groups. It is thought that trauma may produce a lesion in the brain stem or upper spinal cord which may, in turn, cause seizures to originate in the spine and its immediate connections. Therefore, it is suggested that anyone with a neurological disorder, including epilepsy, polio, cerebral palsy, deafness or a learning disorder, see a doctor or chiropractor to ensure that his/her spine is free form vertebral subluxations or spinal nerve stress.
Several single case studies have shown that chiropractic adjustment helps to decrease the frequency of a patient's seizures, as well as decrease the severity and duration of seizures. Chiropractic care has also been found to lead to the disappearance of seizures. Careful investigation into each case may reveal possible avenues that may eventually help the patient reduce or, in some cases, entirely eliminate the need for drug therapy.
http://www.yourspine.com/Chiropractor/Chronic+Conditions/Seizures.aspx