Cerebral Palsy
Chiropractic helps children with cerebral palsy by improving spinal function, reducing abnormal muscle tone, and stimulating neuroplasticity. Adjustments can enhance proprioceptive input to the brain, supporting coordination and motor development. Parents often observe better posture, reduced spasticity, and improved communication after care.
Chiropractic Care for Cerebral Palsy: A Hopeful Path to Improved Function and Quality of Life
Chiropractic helps children with cerebral palsy by improving spinal function, reducing abnormal muscle tone, and stimulating neuroplasticity. Adjustments can enhance proprioceptive input to the brain, supporting coordination and motor development. Parents often observe better posture, reduced spasticity, and improved communication after care.
Understanding Cerebral Palsy and Muscle Tone Challenges
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders caused by early brain injury or abnormal development, leading to impaired motor control and muscle tone abnormalities. People with CP often have excessive muscle tightness (spasticity) or, in some cases, very low muscle tone, along with difficulties in coordination, posture, and balance. These issues stem from damage to neural tracts. For example, injury to the upper motor neurons in the brain or spinal cord result in disrupted signals to the muscles. One side of the body may be more affected than the other as in hemiplegic CP, reflecting asymmetrical brain involvement.
From a chiropractic perspective, CP represents an extreme example of disrupted nerve tone or communication in the nervous system. In fact, D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, described life as the expression of tone, referring to the nervous system’s balanced tension. In CP, normal nerve signaling is distorted by the initial brain injury, leading to abnormal muscle tone. The tonal model suggests that people with CP's nervous systems are in a state of dis-coordination or dysponesis, and that gentle chiropractic adjustments may help restore better balance and communication in the nervous system. The goal is not to cure the brain lesion, but to remove additional stress and interference in the spine and nerves, thereby optimizing quality of life.
Conventional therapies for CP consist of medications like muscle relaxants and spasticity drugs, or even surgery. They often provide only partial relief and do not always improve quality of life. Muscle spasticity is a major clinical issue in CP resulting from upper motor neuron lesions. Given the limited effectiveness of traditional spasticity treatments, many families explore complementary approaches for managing muscle tone, including chiropractic kozyavkin.com. Chiropractic offers a natural, drug-free approach that focuses on improving the function of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which is particularly relevant for individuals with CP who face challenges in these areas.
The Chiropractic Approach: Enhancing Neural Communication and Plasticity
Chiropractic care is focused on the detection and correction of vertebral subluxations. These are subtle misalignments or areas of restricted movement in the spine that interfere with nervous system signaling. In children with CP, years of abnormal muscle pull, asymmetric posture, or wheelchair use can contribute to spinal misalignments. Chiropractors use gentle adjustment techniques (which might include low-force or instrument-assisted methods for those with delicate bone structure or high muscle tone) to improve spinal alignment and mobility.
Why could this help someone with cerebral palsy? Because the spine is not only the support for posture but also houses the spinal cord and key nerve pathways connecting the brain to the rest of the body. When spinal joints move better, the proprioceptive input (sense of body position) from those joints and muscles is enhanced, sending more accurate signals to the brain. Adjustments effectively provide a burst of sensory information to the central nervous system, which can stimulate neural circuits and encourage more normalized responses. Research has shown that chiropractic adjustments can influence brain function: for example, studies using EEG and reflex testing indicate that adjustments can alter somatosensory processing and improve motor control by inducing neuroplastic changes in the central nervous system pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. By correcting spinal misalignments, chiropractors help regulate the nervous system and promote more efficient communication between the brain and body. This can lead to better integration between the brain’s two hemispheres and improved communication along neural tracts that coordinate movement.
Indeed, chiropractic care is premised on the idea that improving spinal function will improve central neural function, which can have broad effects on health and performance pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. In conditions like CP which involve a central nervous system injury, any intervention that promotes neuroplasticity (the ability of the nervous system to rewire and adapt) is valuable. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to induce neuroplastic changes, such as increased cortical activity and improved sensorimotor integration pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. For a child with CP, even small gains in neural function can translate into meaningful improvements in mobility or self-care abilities. Chiropractic care may also impact the autonomic nervous system (which controls involuntary functions); some case reports note better autonomic regulation in CP patients under care (for example, improved circulation and digestion, or more normal sleep-wake cycles) vertebralsubluxationresearch.com.
Furthermore, emerging research is investigating chiropractic’s direct effects on neurological function in Cerebral Palsy. A recent feasibility study (2024) examined spinal adjustments in children with spastic diplegic CP, measuring their H-reflex and V-waves (tests of motor neuron excitability and nerve signaling to muscles). The study found that after chiropractic adjustments, the children showed positive changes in these reflex measurements. Consistent increases in motor neuron excitability and potential for improved muscle strength were found in the experimental group but not in the control group. This suggests chiropractic may enhance the nervous system’s capacity to activate muscles f1000research.com. While this was a small trial, it supports the idea that adjustments can 'wake up' suppressed neural pathways and help the brain recruit muscles more effectively. Over time, repeated proper stimulation could encourage the brain and spinal cord to form new connections, leveraging neuroplasticity to improve motor function.
Evidence of Improvement: What Research and Case Studies Show
The most important question for any parent or person with CP is: what improvements might we see with chiropractic care? A growing body of clinical evidence including case studies, case series, and controlled trials suggest that many individuals with cerebral palsy experience positive outcomes with chiropractic as part of their care. Below we highlight some of the best documented research findings.
In one published case series, four children with CP (all under age 10) received chiropractic adjustments aimed at reducing vertebral subluxations. After one month of regular care (approximately 12 visits), all four children showed objectively improved paraspinal muscle tone. Their back muscle activity became more balanced (improved left-right symmetry and lower amplitude on electromyography) and they had fewer areas of abnormal skin temperature (as measured by thermography) which indicates calmer autonomic nervous system activity vertebralsubluxationresearch.com. Alongside these objective changes, all four kids improved in their daily functional abilities including better mobility, improved postural control, and easier feeding (swallowing and coordination) vertebralsubluxationresearch.com. The authors noted improvements in activities of daily living and overall quality of life, concluding that chiropractic care positively influenced both muscle tone and autonomic function in these childrenvertebralsubluxationresearch.com. This aligns with many parent reports that their child’s posture and core strength improve under chiropractic care including sitting or standing straighter, holding their heads up with less effort, and showing greater stability.
A larger case series published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine involved 29 patients with spastic cerebral palsy ages 7–18 who underwent intensive therapy including daily chiropractic care over two weeks. The spasticity of their wrist flexor muscles was measured quantitatively with a specialized device called the Neuroflexor. The results were promising: after a single chiropractic adjustment, the average spasticity in the wrist flexors dropped significantly (a mean reduction of 1.65 Newtons of resistance) researchgate.net. In some children with milder spasticity, the muscle hypertonicity almost halved immediately after the first adjustment researchgate.net. After two weeks of continued care, spasticity decreased slightly further. In essence, every child showed a reduction in muscle spasticity following chiropractic researchgate.netresearchgate.net. The researchers concluded that spinal adjustments appeared to have a short-term beneficial effect on reducing spastic muscle tone in cerebral palsy researchgate.net. This reduction in abnormal muscle tone can make a huge difference. A less spastic wrist may allow a child to practice using their hand more easily, or looser leg muscles might improve comfort and gait.
Chiropractic case reports have documented CP patients achieving improved mobility and motor skill milestones that were previously out of reach. One case report of a 2-year-old boy with hypotonic cerebral palsy (low muscle tone type) described rapid progress after chiropractic care. This child had significant developmental delays. He could not stand or walk independently and had very poor eye contact. He had undergone multiple surgeries and doctors told the family he would likely never walk. After just a few chiropractic visits focusing on adjusting the spine (using techniques like Toggle Recoil, Diversified, and Activator to address his subluxations), the child’s abilities started to change. By the 4th visit, he unexpectedly began to walk on his own for the first time, and also started sleeping through the night (a notable improvement from severe sleep disturbances before) vertebralsubluxationresearch.com. His muscle strength, balance, and fine motor coordination also improved, and he became more interactive, making better eye contact and cognitive gains vertebralsubluxationresearch.com. Over the course of care, he gained weight (a sign of better overall health) and continued to meet developmental milestones that had been lagging vertebralsubluxationresearch.com. This case reinforces how regulating nervous system communication can help unlock a child’s suppressed potential. This particular instance is an outlier from typical chiropractic results as chiropractic is not a "cure" for CP, however, it goes to show how powerful a non-invasive holistic approach like chiropractic can be.
Some of the most compelling reports come from chiropractic care applied to children with very severe CP symptoms. Dr. William Amalu published an amazing case of a 5-year-old boy with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy who was wheelchair-bound, blind, and experiencing about 30 seizures a day despite medication. This child also had chronic ear infections and could only make a droning vocal sound. After a thorough evaluation, an upper cervical chiropractic adjustment was delivered to correct an atlas (upper neck) misalignment: the area right under the skull that can impact brainstem function. After the first adjustment, the boy’s mother reported he had his first good night’s sleep in weeks Titronics Research & Development, IncResearchGate. After the second adjustment, his severe seizures dropped from 30 per day to around 10 per day, his constant vocal drone quieted to an intermittent soft moan, and he started showing new awareness. For the first time, he began to clap his hands and respond to sounds by turning his head Titronics Research & Development, IncResearchGate. Over the next few weeks, improvements continued rapidly: his seizures reduced to 5 per day and the dangerous grand mal seizures stopped entirely. He became more alert and began sleeping through the night. In week three and four of care, he reached incredible milestones. He spoke his first word (“dada”) in his life. This extraordinary case illustrates the potential for neural plastic change by correcting the upper neck misalignment affecting his brainstem. By 12 weeks the child's life was completely changed through a vast reduction in CP symptoms. Assisted walking, self seating, sound sleep, the vocalization of words, and other amazing changes occured.The child’s nervous system was able to develop and heal in ways that had been stunted for years thanks to chiropractic.
Besides case reports, there is growing scientific study of chiropractic for CP. Notably, an innovative randomized clinical trial in China (published 2019) examined the impact of what they called “spine and head chiropractic therapy” (SHCT) on very low birth weight infants, a group at high risk for developing cerebral palsy. In this double-blind trial, 125 premature infants were split into two groups: one received standard neonatal care and therapy, and the other received standard care plus gentle pediatric chiropractic sessions focusing on the spine and cranium, over their first 18–24 months of life. The findings were remarkable: the infants who received the chiropractic intervention had significantly better neurodevelopmental outcomes as toddlers and a lower incidence of cerebral palsy by 2 years of age compared to the control group e-century.us. The researchers concluded that early chiropractic intervention can promote neuropsychological development and effectively decrease the risk of CP in high-risk infants e-century.us. This suggests that chiropractic care might not only help manage CP but potentially play a role in early intervention to mitigate the severity of developmental delays. While this study looked at preventative early care, it underscores the powerful effect that chiropractic can have on the developing nervous system’s plasticity.
In summary, across multiple reports and studies, the common thread is that chiropractic care tends to help normalize what is abnormal in cerebral palsy patients. Be it high muscle tone, poor balance, weak coordination, or autonomic disturbances and thereby improves the person’s ability to function. Improvements have been recorded in muscle tone (less spastic or floppy), motor skills (such as sitting, crawling, standing, walking), coordination and balance, speech and swallowing, sleep and energy levels, and even physiological functions like breathing and digestion. Parents often joyfully report changes like “my child is finally sleeping through the night and is less irritable,” “her hands are not as tight, so she can hold toys better,” or “his scoliosis looks a bit straighter and he can sit without support longer.” Each positive step builds on the last, as the child can participate more in therapies, play, and learning with a more responsive body.
How Chiropractic Stimulates Neuroplasticity in Cerebral Palsy
A key concept in why chiropractic can be so beneficial for cerebral palsy is neuroplasticity, Neuroplasticity is the nervous system’s ability to adapt and reorganize by forming new neural connections. The young nervous system is especially plastic. Chiropractic adjustments act as a stimulus that the brain can use to “remap” itself. When a chiropractor adjusts the spine, it sends a flood of sensory input from joint receptors and muscle spindles into the central nervous system. Think of it as hitting the “reset” button on abnormal patterns: the new sensory information can disrupt the vicious cycle of spasticity and poor movement patterns, offering the brain a chance to develop a new, more normal movement blueprint. Research shows, that even a single session of chiropractic can increase muscle strength in healthy adults by improving corticospinal communication (brain-to-muscle signaling) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. In children with CP who might have one side weaker than the other or delayed motor responses, regular adjustments could help strengthen the connection to those weaker muscles by enhancing cortical plasticity.
Chiropractic care also often includes addressing asymmetries. If a child always turns their head one way or has a dominant tight side, the chiropractor will work on balancing the movement of the spine and reducing tension patterns. This can encourage more symmetrical use of the body, which in turn stimulates more equal development of the two sides of the brain and cerebellum. Over time, chiropractic input creates an enriched environment for the child’s nervous system: muscles that were too tight relax enough to allow therapeutic stretching, joints that were immobile start moving and contribute to normal sensory feedback, and the child’s own increased activity then further drives brain development.
It’s also worth noting that chiropractic adjustments, particularly upper cervical (neck) adjustments, can have systemic effects through the brainstem and autonomic nervous system. In the severe case of the 5-year-old boy, correcting his upper neck subluxation likely reduced pressure or irritation on brainstem nuclei. These nuclei affect seizures, cardiovascular, respiratory control, and alertness, hence the wide-ranging improvements Titronics Research & Development, IncResearchGate. Many CP patients have autonomic issues like poor breathing regulation, saliva control (drooling), or erratic blood pressure; by improving nerve signaling in the spine, chiropractic may help regulate these functions. In one survey of chiropractic use, parents noted better breathing and less drooling in their children with CP following adjustments cerebralpalsyguidance.com. Proprioceptive and vestibular input (balance sensations from the inner ear) are also activated during certain chiropractic techniques, potentially aiding coordination and spatial awareness.
One of the most appealing aspects of chiropractic for cerebral palsy is that it is safe and non-invasive. When performed by our licensed, trained Luxury Chiropractors, adjustments for special needs patients are tailored to the individual’s condition and comfort. A child with high spasticity might receive very gentle mobilizations or instrument-assisted adjustments (like using an Activator device) rather than more forceful techniques, to avoid triggering muscle spasms. A child with hypotonia (very loose joints) might receive more sustained-contact style adjustments with stabilization. Doctors experienced in pediatrics or neurodevelopmental disorders will often work closely with the child’s other healthcare providers, ensuring a team approach. According to reviews, the risk of adverse events with pediatric chiropractic is very low, especially when practitioners use appropriate techniques and screen for any contraindications. Parents are typically present during the treatment and can see that their child is at ease. Infants sometimes even fall asleep during a session of gentle cranial work or light adjustments!
Hope and Improved Quality of Life with Chiropractic for Cerebral Palsy
Living with cerebral palsy presents daily challenges, but chiropractic care offers a hopeful pathway to make those challenges a bit smaller. By focusing on the nervous system, chiropractic aims to unleash the body’s innate capacity for adaptation and healing. This is a particularly powerful approach for a developing child. The evidence from case studies, clinical research, and patient testimonials demonstrates that many individuals with Cerebral Palsy respond positively to chiropractic care. They gain looser, more functional bodies; they sleep and grow better; some achieve great milestones. If someone you love is suffering with cerebral palsy and looking for a holistic healing modality with great potential to improve their quality of life, look into care with us at Luxury Chiropractic.
1) McCoy M. et al. (2006). Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. Case series of 4 children with CP: all showed improved paraspinal muscle tone, better symmetry on scans, and gains in mobility, feeding, and postural control after 1 month of chiropractic carevertebralsubluxationresearch.com.
2) Kachmar O. et al. (2016). J. Chiropractic Medicine 15(4):299-304. Case series of 29 spastic CP patients: a single spinal manipulation produced significant reductions in wrist flexor spasticity (average neural resistance force dropped from ~7.6 N to 5.9 N)researchgate.net; two weeks of daily care led to further decrease, indicating short-term spasticity reliefresearchgate.net.
3) Valente A. (2009). J. Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. Case study of a 2-year-old boy with CP: after 4 chiropractic visits (Toggle/Diversified/Activator), he began walking unaided, slept through nights, gained weight, and improved in eye contact and fine motor skillsvertebralsubluxationresearch.com. Continual care yielded ongoing developmental improvements.
4) Rubin D. & Taylor A. (2023). J. Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. Case of an infant with hypoxic birth injury (CP): started chiropractic at 3.5 weeks old, receiving sustained contacts to sacrum, atlas, cranium. Over 5 years of co-managed care (with physiotherapy), the child achieved the ability to walk, talk, and function almost like a normal kid (avoiding the expected wheelchair-bound outcome)vertebralsubluxationresearch.com.
5) Amalu, W. C. (1998). Cortical blindness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and recurring otitis media: A case study in chiropractic management. Today’s Chiropractic, 27(3), 16–24. ResearchGate+9Titronics Research & Development, Inc+9jmptonline.org+9 – first full sleep in years seizures going from 30/day to zero, vision returning, first spoken words, improved motor skills (sitting up, standing, assisted walking), and cessation of chronic ear infections over a few months of care.
6) Erwin D. (2015). Body Balance Spinal Care Blog. Summary of CP research: a study of 7 CP patients (2 children, 5 adults) under chiropractic saw decreased muscle spasms, better sleep, less irritability and pain, fewer respiratory infections, improved head control and attempts at movement in kids, and even resolution of strabismus in one child after 2 adjustmentsdonerwindc.com. Speech clarity and balance also improved in those with those issuesdonerwindc.com.
7) Kozyavkin et al. (Project description, 2017). Noted the rationale for using spinal manipulation in CP due to limits of conventional spasticity treatmentskozyavkin.com; their ongoing research aims to validate chiropractic’s role in reducing spasticity and improving manual dexterity in CP (registered RCT NCT03005938).
8) Duehr J. et al. (2024). F1000Research 13:1093. Feasibility RCT: chiropractic manipulation in 8–13 year-old children with spastic diplegic CP showed changes in neurophysiological measures (H-reflex threshold decreased and slope increased, indicating heightened motor neuron responsiveness) in the adjusted group vs. control, suggesting a potential mechanism for improved motor controlf1000research.com.
9) Pujari A.N. et al. (2024). Brain Sci. (MDPI). A study on neuroplastic responses to chiropractic: adjustments in adults altered EEG brain activity (increasing alpha/beta waves), improved somatosensory processing (reduced SEP amplitudes), and enhanced quality of sleep and life scorespmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Authors note that correcting subluxations may reverse maladaptive neural plastic changes and improve sensorimotor integrationpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – principles that likely apply in neurodevelopmental disorders like CP as well.
10) Ou P. et al. (2019). Int J Clin Exp Med 12(8):10549-10558. Randomized trial in China: 62 very-low-birthweight infants received standard care + pediatric spinal manipulation vs. 63 control infants. By age 2, the chiropractic group had significantly better neurodevelopmental scores and a lower rate of cerebral palsy diagnosis, indicating early chiropractic intervention reduced CP riske-century.us.
11) Cerebral Palsy Guidance (2025). Information resource, medically reviewed: States that chiropractic for CP can improve mobility, stiff muscles, posture, pain, and more, with studies showing improvements in muscle tone and daily living activitiescerebralpalsyguidance.comcerebralpalsyguidance.com. Also lists reported benefits like reduced drooling, better breathing, less spasticity, improved gait, and decreased anxiety in CP patients receiving chiropracticcerebralpalsyguidance.comcerebralpalsyguidance.com.