A 41-year-old man developed a traumatically induced syrinx in his upper cervical spinal cord (C2–C4) after a severe fall nine years earlier. Despite occipitoatlantal decompression surgery in 1995, which offered only temporary relief, he was left with intractable pain.
Instead of another operation, he received conservative chiropractic care using the Clinical Biomechanics of Posture (CBP) protocol: 26 sessions over three weeks focused on structural rehabilitation of the cervical spine.
What they found
- Pain severity decreased by 50%.Subjective complaints improved alongside the pain scores.
- Neck alignment improved on imaging.Cervical lordosis increased from 10° with mid-cervical kyphosis to 30° after treatment.
- The gains held at one year.A one-year follow-up confirmed sustained improvement in both cervical alignment and pain intensity.
Not entirely isolated
While this remains a landmark case, a small number of later case reports point the same direction, including a 2022 multimodal chiropractic approach for persistent syringomyelia after Chiari decompression surgery (DOI 10.12659/AJCR.937826) and a 2024 non-surgical spinal decompression case. These are individual reports, not large-scale trials.
So why hasn’t this area been explored more deeply? That is exactly what our Coalition aims to uncover, by advocating for broader research and population-level analysis that builds on these early signals.
But keep in mind
- Not all chiropractic care is the same.Techniques vary widely, and outcomes and risks can differ. This case used a specific structural rehabilitation protocol (CBP), not general manipulation.
- A syrinx is a spinal cord condition.Anyone considering manual or structural care should involve the neurosurgeon or neurologist who manages their syrinx before starting.
- Case reports show what is possible, not what is typical.One patient’s improvement does not predict yours.
Fifty percent less pain and better neck alignment, held for a year, without another surgery. Worth studying properly.
Read the original case report, and if you are weighing conservative care, bring it to the specialist who manages your syrinx.
Disclaimer
This summary is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It describes what happened in a specific study and does not predict what will happen for you. Never start, stop, or change a treatment based on a summary; bring the full publication to your care team and decide together. I AM HEARD Coalition assumes no liability for any actions taken based on this information.
More from I AM HEARD
Compare this with the surgical options in procedures and surgeries, find clinicians familiar with syringomyelia in our provider directory, and read about movement with these conditions on the blog.
Research is one part of how we help. Our core programs put resources into patients’ hands now: care packages, the grant program, and regenerative therapy access.
