Speech Disorders


Case Studies:

Resolution of spasmodic dysphonia (focal laryngeal dystonia) via chiropractic manipulative management.   Wood KW.   J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1991 (Jul-Aug); 14 (6): 376-378

  • Author's abstract:   This paper discusses the case of a 46 year old male suffering from spasmodic dysphonia, a chronic disorder involving hyperadduction of the vocal mechanism and resultant vocal arrest. Attention is paid to the innervation of the intrinsic laryngeal musculature and postulated mechanisms of irritation, which may be amenable to chiropractic. At the time, the patient went to the chiropractor he had been suffering from this condition for six months and had consulted with numerous specialists and two teaching hospitals with no improvement in his condition. The chiropractor learned that upper cervical pain and stiff-ness and suboccipital headache appeared along with the vocal problem. After two weeks of upper cervical adjustments (5 visits) patient' the condition cleared up.


Acquired verbal aphasia in a 7-year old female: case report.   Manuelle, JD and Fysh, PN   Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics Vol. 1, No.2 1996.

  • From the abstract:   A case report is presented of a 7-year-old female patient with acquired verbal aphasia. Despite appropriate referral to specialists in pediatrics, audiology and speech and language pathology, the patient's verbal difficulties improved following the commencement of chiropractic care. Follow-up evaluations over a period of 18 months demonstrated that speech improvements had been maintained. The authors comment that the patient received DPT and MMR shots about 6 weeks prior to the onset of symptoms. The relationship between aphasia and vaccination damage has been noted by researchers in other writings.


Oral apraxia: a case study in chiropractic management.   Araghi HJ.   In: Proceedings of the ICA National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics, Dallas; 1994:34-41.

  • Case of a five-year-old female diagnosed with oral apraxia (inability to speak) who responded successfully with chiropractic spinal adjustments. Prior to chiropractic care the child could understand spoken language and could respond with sign language but was unable to speak. Specific upper cervical adjustments were given to the Co-C1 and C1-C2 segments. The patient's speech continued to improve.