The Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research published the results of a case study on October 29, 2018, documenting the resolution of a woman’s hot flashes under chiropractic care. Hot flashes are the most common condition of women who are entering menopause.

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, “Hot flashes are sudden feelings of warmth, which are usually most intense over the face, neck and chest. Your skin might redden, as if you’re blushing. Hot flashes can also cause sweating, and if you lose too much body heat, you might feel chilled afterward. Although other medical conditions can cause them, hot flashes most commonly are due to menopause — the time when menstrual periods become irregular and eventually stop.”

Hot flashes are not a life-threatening condition, but they are an annoyance and can be severe enough to disturb a woman’s daily life. The authors explain, “Hot flashes do not typically cause any health concerns, but may interrupt sleep, and can impact the general health and well-being of some women, but the risks are minimal. The most concerning impact of hot flashes is the discomfort they bring to women and the sudden onset at inconvenient times and places. Hot flashes usually cause a heated or warm sensation throughout the core, chest, face, neck, and head along with sweating and possibly chills directly afterwards and can last anywhere from a half minute up to 10 or sometimes 15 minutes.”

In this case, a 57-year-old woman presented herself for chiropractic care. Her primary reason for seeking chiropractic was several weeks of right-sided sciatic pain, along with low back pain and pain between her shoulders. Ten years earlier, she had been involved in an automobile accident in which her car was rear-ended resulting in temporary neck pain. In addition to her pain symptoms that brought her to the chiropractor, it was reported that she was also suffering with hot flashes.

A chiropractic examination involving palpation, range of motion, posture analysis and x-rays was performed. From the examination, it was determined that subluxation was present and specific forms of chiropractic care were started.

The results of the study only reported on the first six weeks of her care, which is when a re-evaluation was performed. Results beyond the first six weeks were not included in this study. At the time of her re-evaluation, the woman made three specific comments regarding her progress. She reported that her “leg numbness improved”, her “leg muscle spasms improved” and she had “no hot flashes for the last 2 weeks.” At that point, she rated herself at about 50% improvement for the symptoms that brought her to the chiropractor.

The authors of the study summed up the case by stating, “This was a case where the patient had been experiencing approximately 10 hot flashes per day while simultaneously suffering from sciatic pain and low back pain. The hot flashes this patient was experiencing completely resolved after four weeks of care and the sciatic pain improved 50% in six weeks.”