Objective: To discuss management of secondary symptoms of a patient with cerebellar ataxia.
Clinical Features: A 67-year-old man presented with right-sided neck and shoulder pain and upper back tightness. In 2005, he noticed tingling in his hands, difficulty gripping a pencil, and difficulty with stairs. In late 2010 he went to a neurologist, who suspected cerebellar ataxia. The neurologist then referred him for a second opinion, which confirmed the presence of cerebellar ataxia. His first had occurred in 2005 during that initial occurrence of his condition. In 2020, he began using a walker, and by 2022 he could not perform any ambulatory movement without it.
Intervention and Outcome: His care plan was 1 visit per month for 9 months. He received chiropractic care using ActivatorTM, diversified and Thompson techniques. He had home care recommendations for heat and cervical exercise. He met his short-term goal of reducing his Quadruple Visual Analog Scale (QVAS) score from 47 to 30.
Conclusion: The patient had decreased pain scores, demonstrating that chiropractic care and rehabilitation exercises may help improve secondary symptoms of cerebellar ataxia. This suggests the need for more research and controlled studies in how chiropractic care combined with other rehabilitation options may help patients’ secondary symptoms of cerebellar ataxia.
Author keywords: Chiropractic; Cerebellar Ataxia
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