Cervical Manipulation and Koren Specific Technique Emotions Protocol in the Improvement of Intensive Nocturnal Dry Cough: A Case Report

TL;DR

A 42-year-old woman with a chronic dry cough and neck pain saw significant improvement after chiropractic care and a specific emotional protocol.

Contribution

This case report suggests a non-pharmacological approach combining spinal adjustments and emotional protocols may alleviate chronic cough.

Findings

The patient's chronic cough significantly improved after two treatment sessions.

The cough symptoms did not return during a six-month follow-up.

Shoulder and neck discomfort also improved alongside the cough.

Abstract

This report describes a 42-year-old female patient who presented with an intensive nocturnal dry cough persisting for over six months. Subsequent to the prolonged cough, she developed shoulder and neck discomfort, leading her to seek chiropractic care. The patient received cervical chiropractic adjustments combined with the Koren Specific Technique (KST) emotions protocol. The patient was mainly treated for her musculoskeletal complaint. However, after two treatment sessions, the patient's chronic cough showed significant improvement. Two weeks later, the cough had completely ceased, and her shoulder and neck discomfort had also improved. The cough symptoms did not reappear during the six-month follow-up. The mechanism of cough improvement remains unclear, whether it is due to spinal adjustments, the KST emotions protocol, their combined effects, or merely a placebo response. This report discusses the potential underlying mechanisms of the case improvement, suggesting a non-pharmacological adjunctive therapeutic approach that could be investigated further in future research.

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