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At the age of 14 I experienced my first asthma attack. I remember not being able to breathe. That really scared me. My parents took me to the medical doctor (as some people still do) thinking that was their only choice. That decision had unfortunate long-term consequences.

An allergy exam determined that I was allergic to almost everything. Drugs and inhalers were prescribed. I was told to stay away from the things that I was allergic to. I was also instructed "not to go outside in the spring or fall" and to "avoid very cold weather." The hardest recommendation to follow was when the doctor said "not to participate in any sports."

My goal had been to play professional hockey. Because of the asthma I didn’t ice-skate again for 10 years. Then the doctor told me "don’t get too excited and don’t laugh too hard."

Can you imagine, a 14 year old being told not to laugh?

The puffers would break up the asthma attacks, but they still occurred frequently. At age 18 I had two attacks in a row that were so bad I thought it was the end.

The Chiropractic Cavalry

At age 24 I discovered that chiropractic treatment could help asthma. I immediately started treatment. Within a month and a half I was running three miles a day and doing things I hadn’t done in 10 years.

I was disappointed that I had lost my chance to become a professional athlete but I found a new calling. I decided to become a chiropractor!

So what caused the asthma? No one realized it at the time, but just prior to my first asthma attack I had an accident. The vine I was swinging on broke and I fell down a 25-foot cliff, landing on my back. This misplaced several of my vertebrae. The chiropractor recognized that the fall was related to the onset of my asthma problems. He also discovered that I had several subluxations (misaligned vertebrae that cause interference to the nerves that control various organs) in my spine. Subluxations can also cause pain. The nerve supply to my adrenal gland and bronchial tubes had been interfered with, decreasing their ability to function.

One of the functions of the adrenal gland is to secrete a substance called epinephrine, which helps neutralize the allergens in the environment. When the adrenal gland is not functioning properly you are more susceptible to allergic reactions. The areas of the body in which these reactions occur have a decreased nerve supply due to subluxations. Interference to the nerve supply of the adrenal and other organs can cause rashes, asthma and hay fever. My subluxations were at T8-T9 (located in the lower middle back), which is the nerve supply to the adrenal gland and at T1-T2 (located at the base of the neck)–the nerve supply for the bronchial tubes. The combination of these two subluxations resulted in an inability to handle environmental allergens which were producing my bronchial asthma attacks.

Thirty years ago the only treatments I received to correct the asthma were chiropractic adjustments to the spine. Today the treatment that I administer to my patients for the correction of asthma focuses on adjustments but also includes a thorough nutritional protocol, which has greatly enhanced our success rates.

Asthmatic Blueprint

In 26 years of successfully treating asthmatic patients I have observed a definite clinical pattern:

Roger L. Turner is a practising chiropractor in Barrie and North Bay, ON.

Source: alive #218, December 2000