In
the first days of its second century, chiropractic may be a bold,
effective, and inexpensive solution to the alarming problem of
addictions. An estimated 20 % of the U.S. population suffers from some
form of addiction and over 80% of all crime is traceable to addictions
or substance abuse. Even more shocking, according to the National Center
for Substance Abuse and Treatment, addiction is implicated in 69% of
drownings, 68% of manslaughters, 49% of murders, 50% of all traffic
fatalities, and 35% of all suicides. Add to this deaths from drug
overdose and related substance abuse complications, and you have a
health problem of staggering proportions. Chemical dependency can be
fatal.
Several
years ago, at the age of 26, a salesman named John came to see Dr.
Holder. Depressed, displaying psychotic behavior and strung out on
alcohol and cocaine. He’d seen four psychiatrists who had given him
different mood-altering drugs, which only worsened his condition. He had
started addiction programs twice, but finished neither and attended
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings but quit when he found them “boring.”
He’d go off drugs for a few weeks, sometimes several months, then
relapse.
John’s
future was not promising. His parents refused to pay for further
treatment programs, which were costing $16,000 a month. His insurance
company had written him off as hopeless, and any other addictionologist
might have recommended more AA meetings and wished him well.
After
taking John’s case history, Dr. Holder examined him on the treatment
table with a system he developed called Torque Release
Technique. Holder
was able to tell which vertebrae in John’s spinal column were out of
alignment, a condition called “subluxation.” “For chiropractors, a
subluxation means a separation from wholeness,” says Dr. Holder. “It
interferes with your body’s ability to function in a whole way, which
is a form of neurological insult.”
Holder
maintains that any addicted person will have a spine with at least one
or more vertebrae out of alignment. Using an FDA approved hand-held
spinal adjustment instrument he calls the “Integrator”, Holder makes
a few chiropractic adjustments during each visit, painlessly
administering a minimum of force and pressure.
In
addition to correcting John’s misalignments, Dr. Holder started him on
a series of four amino
acids
(precursors or building blocks for the proteins normally found in foods)
taken daily as oral supplements. They included DL-phenylalinine (750 mg.
3 times daily), 5- hydroxytryptophan (75 mg. 3 times daily),
L-glutamine (750 mg.), and L-tyrosine (500 mg. 3 times daily). Dr.
Holder will keep John on this amino acid combination for at least a year
into recovery.
Although
according to Dr. Holder’s theory, chiropractic adjustment will remove
the interference to the natural flow of brain chemicals, it is still
necessary to shore up the body’s supplies of these substances, vital
to addiction recovery.
Specifically,
the amino acids, especially DL-phenylalanine, the “addiction-treatment
king,” will help the brain restore the “brain reward cascade” and
the body-wide sense of well-being it induces. By reducing stress and
lifting depression, they will help John make important changes in his
behavior and attitude, which are crucial to the success of his treatment
program.
In
addition, John is attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings every day and
receiving expert addiction counseling at least once a week, both of
which are provided in Dr. Holder’s Exodus program. He may also receive
the auriculotherapy Dr. Holder has developed as an adjunct to treatment.
“We
integrate all five modalities for the best results,” Holder explains,
“but I emphasize that of all the modalities, the one that offers the
greatest benefit for the dollar invested is chiropractic.”
