Five Surprising Ways Chiropractic Care Can Improve Your Overall Health
Most people think of chiropractic care as a treatment for back pain, neck pain, and headaches. While it’s true that chiropractors are highly skilled at addressing these common issues, the benefits of chiropractic extend far beyond just relieving pain. Regular chiropractic adjustments can actually lead to dramatic improvements in your overall health, wellness, and quality of life. Here are five surprising ways chiropractic care can boost your well-being that you may not be aware of:
1. Strengthens Your Immune System
Did you know that chiropractic adjustments can give your immune system a major boost? The health of your immune system and nervous system are closely intertwined. In fact, many experts now refer to them as a single entity – the neuroimmune system. Your nervous system acts as the master control system of your body, regulating and coordinating all the functions of your organs, tissues and cells – including your immune response. So how exactly does your spinal health affect your susceptibility to illness and disease?
Your spine is the central conduit for all the nerves that carry crucial messages between your brain and immune system. When misalignments (subluxations) occur in the vertebrae of your spine, it puts pressure on these delicate nerves. The resulting nerve interference disrupts the vital brain-body communication required for a highly functioning immune system. With compromised neuroimmunity, your body’s defenses can’t work at their optimal level to identify pathogens and mount an effective immune response against them. This leaves you more vulnerable to infections, allergies, autoimmune disorders and disease.
The good news is that chiropractic adjustments correct these spinal imbalances, relieving pressure on your nervous system. This restores the critical signaling between your brain and immune system, allowing them to coordinate and work effectively together once again. Many patients report getting sick less often after starting chiropractic care. Regular adjustments have been shown to boost levels of disease-fighting antibodies and white blood cells in the body. If you want to avoid catching every cold, flu and stomach bug that goes around, keeping your neuroimmune system finely tuned with chiropractic should be a key part of your wellness routine.
2. Improves Digestive Function
If you suffer from chronic digestive issues like bloating, gas, constipation, acid reflux or irritable bowel syndrome, chiropractic care could offer significant relief. You may be surprised to learn that the root cause of many digestive problems is often found in the spine. The nerves running through your spinal column control and coordinate the function of your entire digestive system, from the esophagus to the stomach, gallbladder, liver, small intestine and colon.
When vertebral subluxations (misalignments) put pressure on these nerves, it can disrupt the normal function of your digestive organs, leading to symptoms like bloating, nausea, heartburn and irregular bowel movements. Over time, this nerve interference can lead to chronic problems like leaky gut syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) and difficulty absorbing nutrients from your food.
The good news is that specific chiropractic adjustments to the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine can relieve irritation on the nerves supplying your digestive tract. When this nervous system interference is removed, the digestive system can start functioning optimally again, often leading to dramatic improvements in symptoms. While chiropractic is not a treatment for any specific digestive disease or condition, it’s an excellent way to support the proper functioning of your digestive system as a whole. If you’ve tried changing your diet, taking supplements and medications for your chronic digestive problems without success, chiropractic is definitely worth adding to your treatment plan. You may be amazed at the changes that can happen when your spine and nervous system are in proper balance!
3. Reduces Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is one of the biggest threats to your long-term health and wellness. It’s a silent killer that contributes to 7 out of the 10 leading causes of death. Conditions like heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disorders, and some cancers have all been linked to the damaging effects of long-term inflammation in the body. It can also cause pain, stiffness and loss of function in your muscles and joints.
While acute inflammation is a necessary part of your body’s healing response to injury or infection, chronic inflammation is not. Laboratory studies have found that chiropractic adjustments reduce blood levels of inflammatory markers like CRP (C-reactive protein) and interleukin-6. Chiropractic care has also been shown to enhance the activity of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the body. By lowering pro-inflammatory substances and increasing anti-inflammatory ones, chiropractic helps reduce chronic inflammation at a systemic level.
Why does adjusting your spine have this powerful anti-inflammatory effect? It goes back to the direct link between your nervous system and immune system. Inflammatory markers like CRP are regulated through the vagus nerve and the autonomic nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments have been proven to stimulate the vagus nerve, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This induces a relaxing effect and lowers stress hormones like cortisol, which are known to trigger immune responses and increase inflammation. Getting adjusted regularly can keep inflammation under control, reducing your risk of many serious illnesses and chronic diseases. It’s a perfect complement to an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle. If you’re looking for a natural way to prevent inflammatory damage and keep your body healthy, getting your spine checked by a chiropractor is a great place to start.
4. Lowers Blood Pressure
Around one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, putting them at higher risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and other serious health problems. While medication is often necessary to manage hypertension, research shows that chiropractic care can be a highly effective drug-free treatment option. By addressing misalignments in your spine and nervous system, chiropractic adjustments can help regulate blood pressure naturally.
A landmark study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago Hypertension Center found that a specific type of chiropractic adjustment to the upper neck, known as an Atlas adjustment, had the effect of lowering blood pressure in patients with hypertension. The improvement in blood pressure from this single adjustment was equivalent to taking two blood pressure medications at once. This study was so impressive that it was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension, and its authors recommended that Atlas adjustments be part of the initial treatment plan for all patients with high blood pressure.
How exactly does adjusting the spine lower blood pressure? Researchers believe it’s related to the Atlas vertebra’s close proximity to the brainstem, which controls all the muscles of the body. Subluxation (misalignment) of the Atlas vertebra can disrupt signals from the brainstem to the muscles that control the tension in your blood vessels. This can cause the blood vessels to tighten, increasing your blood pressure. Atlas adjustments correct this nerve interference, allowing your body to relax your blood vessels and normalize your blood pressure. Other research studies have also found that adjustments to the thoracic spine can significantly lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. If you have hypertension, getting your spine checked regularly by a chiropractor could be an important part of your treatment plan, potentially even reducing your need for medication. However, you should never stop taking prescribed blood pressure medication without consulting your doctor first.
5. Promotes Better Balance
Chiropractic care can even help prevent dangerous trips and falls as you get older. Every year, millions of older Americans experience a fall. In fact, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries in adults over 65. They often result in head trauma, hip fractures, and other broken bones. Recovery from these injuries can take months or even years, leading to a loss of independence and mobility. Preventing falls is crucial to maintaining a high quality of life as you age.
Research shows that older adults who receive regular chiropractic care have better balance, coordination and stability than those who don’t. One reason for this is that our sense of balance and spatial awareness originates in the receptors of the joints and muscles, especially in the neck (cervical spine). If the vertebrae in your neck and upper back are even slightly misaligned, it can disrupt the input from these receptors, throwing off your balance. This leads to a lack of coordination and increases your risk of falling. Chiropractors are trained to identify and correct these tiny alignment issues and joint restrictions, allowing your body to accurately sense your position in space.
In addition to improving your spatial perception, chiropractic adjustments keep your spine flexible and ensure your joints are moving through their full range of motion. Lack of spinal flexibility and stiff, arthritic joints impair your ability to catch yourself if you start to fall. Chiropractic care keeps your body nimble so you can more easily regain your balance and prevent a serious tumble. Studies have found that chiropractic patients have faster reaction times, greater muscle strength, better joint position sense, and more flexible ligaments than non-chiropractic patients. By helping your body stay balanced, aligned and flexible, regular chiropractic care can significantly reduce your risk of a dangerous fall and prolong your independence as you age. It’s a key component of healthy aging, allowing you to stay active and do the things you love without fear of falling.
Do any of these “hidden” benefits of chiropractic care resonate with you? Just imagine how much your health and quality of life could improve by tapping into the body’s own powerful healing ability. Even if you don’t have pain or obvious symptoms, chiropractic adjustments are one of the best things you can do to stay healthy, fight off disease, and age more gracefully.
At our state-of-the-art chiropractic clinic, our caring and skilled chiropractors are ready to help you achieve optimal health and well-being. Call our office today to schedule your appointment and start unlocking the amazing benefits of chiropractic care. Your body will thank you!