YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND CHIROPRACTIC
Wow, the beginning of 2020 started with amazing news like Mariah Carey scoring another number 1 hit on the Billboard Charts with "All I Want for Christmas Is You." However, as January closed and February hit, news of the infamous Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been sweeping the news outlets and social media like wildfire. In fact, recently the World Health Organization announced the virus to be a pandemic! As a chiropractor, I thought it would be important to discuss how chiropractic can play a role in all this crisis.
Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to boost the coordinated responses of the nervous system and immune system by enabling optimal nerve signals throughout the body. The nervous system controls all organ function of the body. Spinal misalignment, also known as subluxations, cause compression and irritation of the nerves. The nervous system controls the function of lymphoid organs such as the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and bone marrow that produce the body’s immune response. Logically, this means that spinal misalignment create conditions that lead to reduced immune function and increased susceptibility to a variety of diseases. It is literally black and white, spinal subluxation/ spinal misalignment deceases the body to function optimally.
Now you must be wondering where all the research and evidence is behind chiropractic spinal adjustments boosting ones immunity. A significant amount of evidence based research suggests that chiropractic adjustments may lead to a boost in antibodies that linked to the immune response. Additionally, spinal manipulation may enable the increase of the creation of tiny cells called leukocytes which support the white blood cells in fighting off a threat.
Chiropractic care was first linked to improved immunity during the deadly flu epidemic of 1017 and 1018. The unexpected outcome was; chiropractic patients fare better than the general population. This observation spurred a study of the field. The data reported that flu victims under chiropractic care had an estimated 0.25 percent death rate, a lot less than the normal rate of 5% among flu victims who did not receive chiropractic care.
One study , from the National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Illinois, found that disease-fighting white blood cell counts were higher just 15 minutes after chiropractic manipulation was applied.
A similar study investigated the immune system response in HIV- positive patients under chiropractic care. After six months of treating spinal misalignment, the group receiving the chiropractic treatment showed a 48% increase in white blood cell counts. Conversely, the group that did not receive chiropractic manipulation experienced a 7.96% decrease in immunity cells.
Another study in 1992 measured 107 individual who had received long-term chiropractic care. The chiropractic patients were shown to have a 2200% greater immune competence than the people who had not received chiropractic care, and a 400% greater immune competence than the people with cancer or serious diseases.
For the same reason inflammatory based disease is influenced by both the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Nerve stimulation directly affects the growth and function of inflammatory cells. Researchers found that dysfunction in this pathway results in the development of various inflammatory syndromes such as rheumatoid arthritis and behavioral syndromes such as depression.
Chiropractors analyze the spine for subluxations and give corrective adjustments to reduce the stress on the nervous system. These immunological changes show us why chiropractic does more than decease pain and improve mobility, it is essential to overall wellness and boosting your immune system!
ChiropracTED is here to help you. We will get you on the road to optimal health.
Call (702) 277-1371 to schedule your appointment today!
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