Chiropractic Care on Behavior, Neurological Function and Quality of Life in ADHD Children - A Pilot Study

July 27, 2022 updated by: Riphah International University

The Effects of Chiropractic Care on Behavior, Neurological Function and Quality of Life in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

To date the effects of chiropractic care on behavior and neurological function in children diagnosed with ADHD has not been investigated thoroughly and is limited mostly to case studies and retrospective case reviews. Our research group recently completed a pilot study that investigated the effects of a single session of chiropractic care on oculomotor function and reading ability in children with ADHD. The findings of this study suggested that chiropractic care may have a role in improving oculomotor control and reading ability in this population group. This proposed study is the next step in this program of research and is a pilot clinical trial that will investigate whether 4 weeks of chiropractic care influences behavior, neurological function, or quality of life in children with ADHD.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

ADHD is a disorder that may affect an individual's academic performance, social interactions, and interpersonal relationships amongst others. It is characterized by impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and inattention. It was previously thought that children overcome ADHD as they grow up, however, recent studies suggest that 30-60% of affected individuals continue to show significant symptoms of the disorder as adults and have associated difficulties such as lower educational and employment achievement. Conventional therapeutic approaches that are used with individuals with ADHD generally involve pharmaceutical interventions and behavioral therapies such as counseling and behavioral modification. However, little is known about the long term effectiveness of these treatment approaches which are also known to involve significant risks and complications.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated with significant alterations in brain development and function. These include changes in fronto-striatal pathways that can lead to difficulties with "top-down" control. It is also likely that connections in the parietal lobe and cerebellum are involved. These neurological changes are associated with a number of alterations to sensory filtering, sensorimotor gating, and sensorimotor control. This lends itself to a potential role for chiropractors in caring for children with ADHD because chiropractic care has been shown to alter a number of aspects of sensorimotor function.

Chiropractic is based on the theory that spinal adjustments applied to areas of spinal dysfunction, known as vertebral subluxations, can improve the function of the nervous system. Our research group has been testing this theory for the last 15 years. We have hypothesized that the articular dysfunction component of the vertebral subluxation results in altered afferent input to the central nervous system (CNS) that modifies the way in which the CNS processes and integrates all subsequent sensory input. This processing (i.e. sensorimotor integration), is a CNS function that appears most vulnerable to altered inputs. Recent studies have shown that chiropractic care alters sensorimotor filtering, cortical and cerebellar motor processing, and multisensory processing, all of which may be important in the neurodevelopment of ADHD. Given the nature of the neurological changes associated with ADHD and the growing body of evidence that suggests that chiropractic care may influence neurological function, it is possible that chiropractors may play a role in enhancing the neurological function of individuals with ADHD.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

56

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Federal
      • Islamabad, Federal, Pakistan, 44000
        • Riphah International University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • have been previously diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder based on the criteria outlined in the DSM-V.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • have absolute contraindications to chiropractic adjustments
  • have experienced previous significant adverse reactions to chiropractic care or manual therapies.
  • investigators are unable to get consent from parents and caregivers of participating children in the trial

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental group
Chiropractic care
Other: Experimental group
the intervention group will receive 4 weeks of chiropractic care along with usual care(Cognitive-Behavioral, psychosocial Therapy).
Active Comparator: Control group
Usual health care
Other: Control group
Participants in the group will receive usual health (Cognitive-Behavioral, psychosocial Therapy) care or wish to engage in during the course of the study as well as receiving a passive movement control intervention delivered by a chiropractor 3 times per week in the same hospital setting as the group receiving chiropractic care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Vanderbilt Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Diagnostic Rating Scale
Time Frame: baseline,4th week, 8th week

Changes From Baseline, The Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale (VADRS) is a psychological assessment tool for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms and their effects on behavior and academic performance in children. It have two components: symptom assessment and impairment in performance. To meet criteria for ADHD diagnoses, one must have 6 positive responses to either the core 9 inattentive symptoms or core 9 hyperactive symptoms, or both. the respondent to rate the frequency of a child's behaviors on a 0-3 scale as follows: 0: "never"; 1: "occasionally"; 2: "often"; 3: "very often".

to rate the child's performance in school and his or her interactions with others on a 1-5 scale, with 1-2 meaning "above average", 3 meaning "average", and 4-5 meaning "problematic". To meet criteria for ADHD, there must be at least one score for the performance set that is either a 4 or 5, as these scores indicate impairment in performance.
baseline,4th week, 8th week
Swanson, Nolan and Pelham (SNAP) Questionnaire
Time Frame: baseline,4th week, 8th week
Changes from the Baseline The SNAP-IV is based on a 0 to 3 rating scale: Not at All = 0, Just A Little = 1, Quite A Bit = 2, and Very Much = 3. Subscale scores on the SNAP-IV are calculated by summing the scores on the items in the subset and dividing by the number of items in the subset.
baseline,4th week, 8th week
ADHA Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale IV (Home version)
Time Frame: baseline,4th week, 8th week

Changes from the Baseline, The scale consists of 2 subscales: inattention (9 items) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (9 items). For inattention (IA) subscale raw score: Add the odd-numbered items

For hyperactivity-impulsivity (HI) subscale raw score: Add the even-numbered items. To obtain the total raw score: Add the IA and Hi subscale raw scores
baseline,4th week, 8th week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Riphah International University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 2, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 20, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 20, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

February 21, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 1, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 27, 2022

Last Verified

July 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RiphahIU Imran khan Niazi2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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