Reference was made in the recent Chiropractic adjustments and diving thread to a previous thread
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=38067
where a chiropractor was suggesting that cervical adjustments could relieve equalization problems. Another SB poster noted that his daughter had in fact been able to clear her ears after a series of adjustments. The chiropractor's theory for this was something to do with the effects of adjustments on the nerves, IIRC. It was pointed out in the thread that the eustachian tubes are supplied by cranial nerves, which do not exit in the cervical spine, so adjustments could have no effect on the tubes.
My take on it is different: perhaps the daughter could clear her ears after cervical adjustments due to eustachian tube anatomy and head position during adjustments.
*anatomy nerd alert*
The eustachian tube connecting the middle ear with the nasopharynx is opened by several muscles - tensor veli palatini and levator veli palatini, for example. These muscles attach and blend into the soft palate, which in turn attaches to portions of the base of the skull -eg, palatine bones - and posteriorly to the front of the cervical vertebrae, and laterally to the mandible (jaw). Are you with me so far?
We know that there are several ways to clear the ear, including wiggling the mandible. Wiggling the mandible stretches the soft tissues and muscles surrounding the eustachian tubes, allowing the tube to open.
In a cervical adjustment, the head is initially rotated to the left or right before the adjustment occurs, and a stretch occurs on the muscles and soft tissues of the cervical spine. Perhaps this initial position also pulls on the tissues surrounding the inferior portion of the eustachian tube, such as tensor veli palatini, thus opening the tube by mechanical means alone, rather than through the chiropractor's idea of ennervation playing some part.
Any thoughts?
*anatomy nerd alert off*
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=38067
where a chiropractor was suggesting that cervical adjustments could relieve equalization problems. Another SB poster noted that his daughter had in fact been able to clear her ears after a series of adjustments. The chiropractor's theory for this was something to do with the effects of adjustments on the nerves, IIRC. It was pointed out in the thread that the eustachian tubes are supplied by cranial nerves, which do not exit in the cervical spine, so adjustments could have no effect on the tubes.
My take on it is different: perhaps the daughter could clear her ears after cervical adjustments due to eustachian tube anatomy and head position during adjustments.
*anatomy nerd alert*
The eustachian tube connecting the middle ear with the nasopharynx is opened by several muscles - tensor veli palatini and levator veli palatini, for example. These muscles attach and blend into the soft palate, which in turn attaches to portions of the base of the skull -eg, palatine bones - and posteriorly to the front of the cervical vertebrae, and laterally to the mandible (jaw). Are you with me so far?
We know that there are several ways to clear the ear, including wiggling the mandible. Wiggling the mandible stretches the soft tissues and muscles surrounding the eustachian tubes, allowing the tube to open.
In a cervical adjustment, the head is initially rotated to the left or right before the adjustment occurs, and a stretch occurs on the muscles and soft tissues of the cervical spine. Perhaps this initial position also pulls on the tissues surrounding the inferior portion of the eustachian tube, such as tensor veli palatini, thus opening the tube by mechanical means alone, rather than through the chiropractor's idea of ennervation playing some part.
Any thoughts?
*anatomy nerd alert off*