40 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2020
STUDY FINDS
SPINAL ADJUSTMENTS EASE ADDICTION?
A simple painless spinal adjustment
by a physician could be the latest
breakthrough in the treatment of
drug and alcohol addiction. The
procedure is being pioneered at a
treatment facility in Bethpage.
Bridge Back to Life, an outpatient
addiction treatment program, has
teamed up with New York Chiropractic
College (NYCC) in upstate
Seneca Falls to offer the latest breakthrough
therapy for substance use
disorder. The first-of-a kind partnership,
the brainchild of Bridge Back
to Life’s medical director Dr. Russell
Surasky, brings doctors from NYCC
to evaluate and treat the center’s
patients undergoing addiction
therapy. Several diagnostic tests are
performed at the base of the brainstem
to determine if a misalignment
exists. If present, the practitioners
are taught to incorporate gentle
painless, corrective spinal adjustments
into the patient’s care plan.
This treatment reduces stress on the
spinal column and limbic system of
the brain.
Surasky says research and clinical
experience indicate the brain’s limbic
system becomes “hijacked” by
drugs such as opiates and alcohol.
“The limbic system is said to be the
most powerful driver of human
behavior and perpetuates patients’
cravings to keep using these drugs,”
Surasky says. “Safe, painless adjustments
to the upper cervical spinal
bones can help normalize the brain’s
limbic system by helping with the
overall circulation of cerebrospinal
fluid of the brain.”
Gary Butchen, president and CEO of
Bridge Back to Life, says nearly all
the center’s patients are receiving
the adjustments in addition to Vivitrol
and other cutting-edge medications,
to help heal from addiction.
An official study of patient outcomes
is underway.
“I truly believe that this agreement
with the college will serve as a national
model for drug rehabilitation
centers throughout the country,”
says Surasky, who is triple board
certified in neurology, addiction
medicine, and preventive medicine.
“Not only can spinal adjustments
reduce the chronic pain issues that
may have led patients into drug
addiction in the first place, but now
we also have evidence that spinal
adjustments actually accelerate the
healing of the brain from addiction.”
Surasky points to a study done in
2001 in the journal Nature: Molecular
Psychiatry, which looked at the
impact of spinal manipulations at
an inpatient addiction treatment
facility in Miami. The study found
that chemically dependent patients
who received specific spinal adjustments
as part of their treatment
reported fewer drug cravings and
mental health symptoms. Moreover,
100 percent of the study patients
who received chiropractic care
completed the inpatient program,
while about half of those not receiving
these treatments dropped out
prior to completion. Yet no further
studies were performed, and the
information languished. Surasky
began treating patients with the
spinal adjustments at his private
practice in Great Neck before
bringing the treatment to Bridge
Back to Life.
Mary W. came to Surasky’s Great
Neck office for help with alcohol
addiction nearly one year ago. She
received monthly Vivitrol shots
and had marked success in curbing
her cravings and drastically
reducing her drinking. But Mary
still had one-day “slips” from time
to time. She also complained of insomnia
and migraine headaches.
She recalled an accident in the past,
where she hit her head.
Dr. Surasky took X-rays of her upper
neck and performed a Tytron
scan. He said the digital images
showed she had misalignments at
the C1 vertebral level, likely putting
pressure on the lower brainstem
area. In addition to Vivitrol shots,
Mary started receiving upper cervical
adjustments and has remained
THE
OPIOID
CRISIS
sober since. Her migraines have
dropped from five per month to one
or none and she is sleeping better.
In a release announcing the initiative,
NYCC Associate Dean of
Chiropractic Clinical Education
and Health Centers Wendy Maneri
says the partnership uses “evidence
based practices to deliver
chiropractic and provide resources
to help people achieve optimal
health.”
“We also pride ourselves on delivering
alternative solutions to drugs
and surgery, which is especially
important within the recovery
community,” Maneri adds.
PRESS HEALTH
“Spinal adjustments actually accelerate the
healing of the brain from addiction,”
says Dr. Russell Surasky.
Performing a Tytron diagnostic scan is the first step in using chiropractic
adjustments to treat those with substance abuse disorder.
BY EDEN LAIKIN AND PATRICK MCINTYRE
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
