A crossover study on the immediate effect of chiropractic adjustment on the visual fields in comparison to placebo group in individuals with asymptomatic cervical facet joint dysfunction at the atlanto-occipital joint complex

M. Tech.A study was undertaken at the Chiropractic Clinic at the University of Johannesburg in Doornfontein on the effects of chiropractic spinal therapy and the autonomic nervous system with specific reference to the eye and the effects on the visual fields. The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effects of chiropractic adjustments on the visual fields in comparison to a placebo group in individuals with asymptomatic cervical facet joint dysfunction at the atlanto-occipital joint complex. This was achieved through the examination of peripheral visual field testing using the Humphrey Field II 740 analyser. The sample size and selection of subjects were recruited at the University of Johannesburg clinic in Doornfontein and conducted over a period of four months. These patients were recruited by the use of advertisements placed in the Chiropractic Day Clinic on the Doornfontein Campus and by word of mouth. Any patient volunteering for the study had to meet the inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria required the patients to present with asymptomatic cervical facet joint dysfunction at the atlanto-occipital joint complex. They were also to be between the ages of eighteen and thirty five years of age, have 20/20 vision as determined by the Near Snellen Chart and have no contra-indication to the chiropractic adjustment. For all research patients, the same treatment protocol was adhered to Objective data was obtained by the Humphrey II Field Analyzer, model 740, which determined the patients’ visual fields before and after the chiropractic adjustments and placebo treatment was administered. The objective results of this dissertation demonstrated that there was no statistical significance between the male and female groups. However the results collected vii may suggest that there was a minimal increase in responsiveness following placebo the treatment. In conclusion, it was shown that no statistical difference occurred with regards to the immediate effects of the chiropractic adjustment on the visual fields in comparison to the placebo group in individuals with asymptomatic cervical facet joint dysfunction at the atlanto-occipital joint