“Every organ in the body is connected to the one under your hat.” – B.J. Palmer
It’s HERE, in all it’s glory! Yes, cold and flu “season” has arrived. What can we do to stay healthy and active this winter? Are you curious about chiropractic care and a high-functioning immune system? What’s the link?
Chiropractors and their patients and families have experienced for years the positive impact of vertebral (spinal) adjustments on the immune system. Science is still catching up to answer the question of why this happens and what the results are, clinically. An area of active research, immune regulation is a complex topic involving communications between the autonomic nervous system, the immune system, and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis which regulates stress response. It’s a two-way street of neuro-immune interactions. These systems are regulated by the prefrontal cortex of the brain and are significantly affected by physical, chemical or emotional stresses – also the main causes of subluxations (spinal misalignments). The connection makes sense.
A 2021 review of eighteen different research papers explored the impact of chiropractic vertebral thrusts on neuro-immune markers, showing that adjustments can influence the levels of immune compounds in the body, including neuropeptides, inflammatory and endocrine chemicals. The reasons are most likely due to changes that occur in how the central nervous system – especially the prefrontal cortex – processes incoming information from the body after a chiropractic adjustment. These post-adjustment brain changes include processing and regulating new patterns of spinal movement, monitoring inflammation, and complex alterations in the type and intensity of pain and other incoming signals. Changes also include updated planning in the brain for outgoing communications back to the body. In short, we know a chiropractic adjustment causes changes in your brain, your body, AND your immune system at the same time.
Get your next spinal checkup to keep your nervous and immune systems connected and functioning at their best!
Haavik H, Niazi IK, Kumari N, Amjad I, Duehr J, Holt K. The Potential Mechanisms of High-Velocity, Low-Amplitude, Controlled Vertebral Thrusts on Neuroimmune Function: A Narrative Review. Medicina (Kaunas). 2021 May 27;57(6):536. doi: 10.3390/medicina57060536. PMID: 34071880; PMCID: PMC8226758.
