Do you know chiropractic is more than just pain relief? It is great many people get natural relief of pain when going to the chiropractor without risks of medications or surgery. BUT… many people are missing out on the true impact of what chiropractic is all about: HEALTH and WELLNESS!
Your entire body functions because of your nervous system. Your brain sends messages down the spinal cord and out through all the nerves to control every muscle, organ and tissue in the body. You can move your joints and muscles because messages pass through your nerves. You can feel sensations because messages go up to your brain. Your heart beats, lungs breathe, stomachs digest all without you having to think as messages go from the brain to these organs and back to the brain.
Chiropractic is about restoring your nervous system so it functions optimally allowing your body to be healthy and active. Chiropractic is REAL Health and Prevention!
Every day you subject your body to stress that causes the spinal bones to move out of place putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. What stress? Think of the accumulation of traumas: from when you learned how to walk how many times did you fall, sitting at desks at schools and carrying heavy books for years, poor postures, playing sports, sleeping in bad positions or even car accidents (just a small 3 MPH bumper hit causes whiplash!) Even poor nutrition, being overweight and chemical toxicity can cause the spine to misalign. The chiropractic adjustments realign the vertebra to remove interference from the nervous system so your body is optimally functioning.
Check out the research that shows chiropractic can help you improve your health naturally!
1 – Chiropractic Improves Immune Function
Studies show that chiropractic patients have a 200% stronger immune response than people who don’t receive chiropractic care, and a 400% stronger immune response than people with cancer or serious diseases. Read the full article: Chiropractic Boosts Immunity
Another study from 2010 found there is a boost in blood serum levels of some important antibodies in patients that get adjusted. These antibodies help fight off infection and disease. A strong immune system improves your health.
2 – Chiropractic Reduces Inflammation
A 2010 study in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine shows short term chiropractic treatment of chronic low back pain sufferers can help reduce inflammation naturally.
3 – Chiropractic Can Help Hypertension
High blood pressure is suffered by approximately 30% of adults. The Journal of Human Hypertension did a 2007 study of patients with hypertension. During the 8 week study, half of the patients received upper cervical adjustments while the other half received fake adjustments. There were marked and sustained reductions in high blood pressure equivalent to the use of 2 drug combination therapy commonly used. 85% of the patients that received the adjustment treatment showed improvement after just one adjustment. Even better this improvement is without the harmful side effects of the medications usually prescribed for high blood pressure.
Good Morning America even did a feature segment on the positive affects of chiropractic on hypertension. This is a subject more people have to be made aware of!
4 – Chiropractic Helps Stress Reduction
A small study in 2011 done by Japanese scientists was to examine the effects of chiropractic on the autonomic nervous system. Your brain shows altered activity when under stress. This affects pain processing and reactions to stress. Cortisol levels also increase when stress, which can cause weight gain, increased allergies, diabetes, joint problems, decreased immune responses and sleep problems.
PET scans and blood tests showed that those patients that got adjusted showed improvement in brain activity in areas associated with pain processing and stress reactions. Corstisol levels also significantly reduced indicating decreased stress. Added bonus was lower pain scores and improved quality of life reported by the chiropractic patients. You improve your health by reducing stress.
5 – Chiropractic Improves Balance
As we get older, we are more likely to have serious injuries from falls due to loss of balance. One of the many roles of your spine and nervous system is balance. Nerves in your body relay information for balance to your brain. If there is pressure on these nerves there can be dizziness and a loss of balance.
A 2009 study showed patients who get adjusted had a reduction in dizziness, balance and neck pain. Another study in 2015 provides evidence that adjusting the neck improves balance which can help prevent falls and injuries.
A small study from 2009 found that people who received chiropractic adjustments had reduced dizziness and improved balance. A 2015 review of the literature suggests that chiropractic care might be an effective, natural way to help prevent falls in elderly patients.
6 – Chiropractic Provides Relief of Colic
From October 2007 to November 2009, 104 infants suffering with colic were split into 3 treatment groups at a chiropractic clinic in the UK. Findings showed chiropractic adjustments provided relief of colic. Reducing crying helps a baby sleep better and improve their health.
7 – Chiropractic Relieves Asthma and Bronchial Conditions
A 2013 preliminary study reported an improvement in moderate COPD following a course of chiropractic treatment for 4 weeks. Another study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reviewed research which shows there is benefits of manual therapy for childhood respiratory disease like asthma. Health relies heavily on lung capacity.
Our Freehold chiropractor, Dr. Russell Brokstein, suffered with a bronchial condition for 10 years. As a competitive soccer player it made it difficult at times to breathe while playing. Medical doctors prescribed one inhaler after another with no relief. Upon entering chiropractic college at the age of 24, Dr. Brokstein started to get adjusted. Since that time he has not had one incident of a bronchial attack. This is not uncommon as your nervous system has control of all functions including your lungs. By removing pressure to the nerves that control lung function, it is possible to get natural relief of asthma-like conditions.
8 – Chiropractic Benefits Wellness Programs
Some chiropractors implement wellness programs to include diet, exercise, nutritional supplementation, and one-on-one coaching. Patients that participate in a chiropractic 18 weeks wellness program show improvements in weight loss, heart rate, blood pressure, strength, body-mass index, and forced vital capacity.
9 – Chiropractic Reduces Missed Work Days and Disability
Back pain is one of the leading causes of missed days at work. This costs not only the companies money, but the
employee too if they are missing work. Research shows that chiropractic patients have fewer disability incidents than those under conventional care. Those who aren’t under chiropractic care are twice as likely to miss work. Access to chiropractic care is important to decrease disability claims and lost productivity.