A patient in our office requested that I do extensive deep massage therapy around his shoulders and neck specifically followed by an adjustment by our doctor. This therapy treatment went on for once or twice a week for about 6 months. His neck was a complete de-railed Amtrak when I started and did get much better after therapy. A few days ago he let me in on his motives. He was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea following a sleep study set up by his primary care physician.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is defined on Wikipedia as:
"The muscle tone of the body ordinarily relaxes during sleep and at the level of the throat the human airway is composed of collapsible walls of soft tissue which can obstruct breathing during sleep. Severe obstructive sleep apnea requires treatment to prevent low blood oxygen (hypoxemia), sleep deprivation, and other complications. The most serious complication is a severe form of congestive heart failure called cor pulmonale."

This particular person had an apnea count of 48. That means that 48 times every hour his breathing was interrupted until he came out of sleep to take a breath. He immediately would fall back asleep only to soon wake again. After the therapy on his neck and shoulders he took another sleep study and was able to bring his apnea count down to 6. After visiting his primary care doctor who also verified his improvement in apnea he no longer has to wear the oxygen mask while he sleeps and no longer wakes up with a headache. As to his snoring we cannot comment. He credits Chiropractic and massage as the one and only treatment that was successful to treating his apnea.