Chiropractic and Mental Health

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Chiropractic and Mental Health

Research supports that vertebral subluxations may result in altered autonomic nervous system activity. How does this affect mental health and behavior? We will look specifically the vagus nerve “fight or flight” response and “rest and digest” response. The vagus nerve is a major component of the HPA-axis which coordinates neural, behavioral, endocrine, and immune/inflammatory responses. This is why we check heart rate variability in the office to gauge how well your vagus nerve is functioning, therefore how well your HPA-axis is functioning.

There is a theory called the Polyvagal Theory (PVT) that was proposed by Porges in which nervous system regulation affects our emotional expression, communication, and social behavior. Or in other words the neural pathways supporting behavior are involved in maintaining health.

In a study by Williams et al, “There was some evidence that spinal manipulation improved psychological outcomes compared with verbal interventions.” A different study by Holder et al, looked at patients who received instrument assisted adjustments, the test group who received adjustments showed a significant decrease in anxiety compared to the control group.

Chiropractic care a whole is concerned with totality of the human experience. By correcting subluxations, patients are more optimally able to adapt to the world around them and build resilience. When an adjustment is delivered, a patient’s nervous system immediately responds by altering the body’s ability to function at it’s fullest potential again.

Holder JM, Duncan Robert C, Gissen M, Miller M, Blum K (2001) Increasing retention rates among the

chemically dependent in residential treatment: auriculotherapy and (in a separate study)

subluxation-based chiropractic care. Journal of Molecular Psychiatry 6.

Williams NH, Hendry M, Lewis R, Russell I, Westmoreland A, et al. (2007) Psychological response in spinal

manipulation (PRISM): A systematic review or psychological outcomes in randomized controlled

trials. Complementary Therapis in Medicine 15:271-283.

Heart Rate Variability

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Did you know that your nervous system controls your heart rate? It is one of the many smart things that your body does without you having to or put any thought into it. Your nervous system will increase or decrease your heart rate based on the needs of your body, and this is called heart rate variability.

Most people know that having a healthy heart rate is important – you don’t want it too fast, and you don’t want it too slow. It is providing your vital organs with blood and oxygen that you need to survive. However, your heart rate is not at a constant steady 70 beats per minute all day every day; it changes based on whether you are resting or exercising, whether you are happy or angry, nervous or relaxed.

These changes in heart rate can be measured by something called heart rate variability or HRV. HRV is controlled by your nervous system (made up of your brain, spinal cord and all the nerves that go to every tissue and cell in your body), specifically the part of your nervous system that is automatic, that we don’t have to think about, like breathing. A good HRV (a high one) is thought to reflect a healthy heart and a body that can respond and adapt to its environment and needs.

It is important that your brain knows what is going on in and around your body so that it can know when to increase or decrease your heart rate, and it needs to do this quickly. For example, if you suddenly need to run really fast because you’re being chased by a bear, your nervous system will quickly need to increase your heart rate so it can pump enough blood to your muscles so you can run. However, when you are sleeping or relaxed, you don’t want your heart rate to stay beating that fast as this is not good for you, so your brain will sense this and then decrease your heart rate. 

We know now, from a lot of neuroscience research studies, that when your spine is not moving properly, this changes the way your brain can sense what is going on in and around your body and the way it controls your body.1-3 If the joints of your spine are not moving properly (what chiropractors call being subluxated) this may affect how well you can sense what is going on in and around you and how well you can react to your environment. Research has shown that when a chiropractor then gently adjusts these subluxations, it helps the brain to more accurately “see” what is going on in and around the body. So, when you get adjusted by your chiropractor, it might help you to be able to respond and adapt to your environment better and keep you balanced and healthy.

Chiropractic may help

What does the research say about chiropractic care and heart rate variability (HRV)? Researchers have looked at a lot of the studies that have been done on the effects of chiropractic care on HRV and summarised them.4 The results show that chiropractic care does affect HRV, and it seems to increase the healing and calming side of our autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system! 

In one study,5 the researchers got 96 different chiropractors to measure HRV before and after adjustments on 8 different patients and after 4 weeks on 2 of their patients. Altogether, 539 adults had their HRV recorded before and after their adjustments, and 111 adults had their HRV recorded across four weeks of chiropractic care. They found that in both of these groups of adults, there were improvements in their HRV measurements and that in the group that received adjustments over four weeks, these improvements remained constant over that time. 

These studies suggest that even just one adjustment can influence an important part of our nervous system that controls our heart rate, which represents how well our body can respond to our environment and is considered to be a measure of someone’s adaptability and general health. Also, very importantly, in the stressful, fast-paced life we often live these days, chiropractic care appears to increase the “healing and calming” side of our autonomic nervous system. If you are interested in good health, adaptability and want to respond better to stress, why don’t you consider chiropractic care?

Make sure your spine is functioning well so you can operate at your best!

References
  1. Kawli T, He F & Tan M-W. Disease models & mechanisms 2010;3(11-12):721-31.
  2. Buckingham JC, et al. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 1996;54(1):285-98.
  3. Elenkov IJ, et al. Pharmacological reviews 2000;52(4):595-638.
  4. Herkenham M & Kigar SL. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 2017;79(Pt A):49-57.
  5. Kipnis J. Scientific American 2018;319(2):28-35.
  6. Kox M, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2014;111(20):7379-84.
  7. Pearce BD, Biron CA & Miller AH. Advances in Virus Research: Academic Press 2001:469-513.
  8. Sanders VM & Kohm AP. International review of neurobiology 2002;52:17-41.
  9. Uthaikhup S et al. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2012;55(3):667-72.
  10. Haavik H & Murphy B. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012;22(5):768-76.
  11. Treleaven J. Man Ther 2008;13(1):2-11.
  12. Daligadu J, et al.JMPT 2013;36(8):527-37.
  13. Haavik H & Murphy B. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 2012;22(5):768-76.
  14. Haavik H, et al. 2017 doi: 10.1016/j. jmpt.2016.10.002
  15. Taylor HH & Murphy B. JMPT 2008;31(2):115-26.
  16. Colombi A & Testa M. Medicina 2019;55(8):448.
  17. Kovanur-Sampath K, et al. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice 2017;29:120-31.
Acknowledgments
  • Dr. Heidi Haavik – BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD
  • Dr. Kelly Holt – BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
  • Dr. Jenna Duehr – BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc

Handbrake In Your Brain

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Handbrake in Your Brain

Does it feel like you have a handbrake on your muscles and you don’t have your usual strength?

This idea of having a handbrake on your muscles may actually be more real than you think – maybe not a handbrake on your muscles, but a handbrake in your brain which is what controls your muscles and tells them to contract.

Chiropractic care can make you stronger over the last few years studies have shown that when you get adjusted by a chiropractor it can make you stronger. One study reported in a group of students who received chiropractic care, that they were actually able to produce 16% more force in their leg muscles after a chiropractor had gently checked and adjusted any dysfunctional spinal segments, or what chiropractors call vertebral subluxations.1

What does the research show?

Researchers in New Zealand followed up this study in Tae Kwon Do athletes, and again showed that even in a group of elite, highly trained athletes, a single session of chiropractic care can improve their strength.2 But what does this have to do with handbrakes in the brain you may wonder? Well, in a new study by the same team of researchers, they wanted to see if chiropractic care resulted in an increase in the way the brain could drive the muscle in the subject’s arms.4 To do this, they measured the participant’s bicep’s muscle strength, and then measured something that’s called ‘central inhibition’, before and after a single session of chiropractic care, or just moving their heads around as a control intervention. This ‘central inhibition’ measure is a bit like the brain’s handbrake to the muscle. There are two ways the brain can increase the way your muscle contracts. It can either press the gas pedal or it can release the ‘hand brake’ to that muscle. The scientists wanted to know if a particular type of handbrake changed after these subjects got adjusted. The technical term for the method they used to record this was ‘TMS twitch interpolation technique’ and it allows them to explore the way the participants brains are driving their arm muscles… in other words it measured the degree to which their brain was pulling the handbrake to that particular muscle. What they found was that there was a difference in the degree of central inhibition to the bicep’s muscle only after they were adjusted, compared to when they did the control movement of the neck. There was less inhibition, suggesting the brain had released the handbrake to the muscle after they got adjusted. So, this may be one of the reasons why the previous studies showed that chiropractic care could increase strength, because maybe chiropractic care is reducing the central inhibition to your muscles, or in other words, releasing the handbrake to your muscles making it easier for your brain to move your muscles and produce more strength. So, if you feel like you’ve got a handbrake in your muscles or in your brain, maybe you should go see a chiropractor and see if they can help your brain release the handbrake so that your brain can more efficiently control your muscles and perhaps even help you to get that jam jar open.

Disclaimer and References

 This information is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be professional advice of any kind. Haavik Research Ltd encourages you to make your own health care decisions based on your own research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

Niazi IK et al. Exp Brain Res Epub 2015/01/13. 2. Christiansen TL, et al Eur J Appl Physiol 2018;118(4):737-49. 3. Holt K, et al. Scientific Reports 2019;9(1):2673. 4. Kingett M, et al. Brain sciences 2019;9(6)

@Haavik Research 2021

• Dr. Heidi Haavik BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD • Dr. Kelly Holt BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD • Dr. Jenna Duehr BChiro, BHSc(Nursing), MHSc

chiroshub.com

How Long Should I Go?

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Have you ever realized that in order for you to obtain what you want, time may be available yet the choices become the biggest obstacle? Think hard, we all may have the same amount of time. We just make different choices. If you capitalize on your choices then time is on your side.

We all have that friend who is waiting for something new, thinking that the grass is always greener on the on the other side. They are always on the latest diet, the newest wonder food that shrinks fat away instantly, or the newest book on how to manage stress. While this might sound appealing, it often leads to life on a roller coaster.

How long should I go for Chiropractic care? We get asked this quite often. And the answer really comes down to what you want out of it. If you are looking for a holistic approach to health care that does not require you to take lotions, potions, and pills, then sticking it out for the long haul might be your call. If you want the “one and done,” sure we can help, yet think about what is actually happening. A good chunk of people only eat good food only when they are sick.

If you can conceptualize that daily your body is under constant repair to maintain a functioning system, and this processing of information is coordinated via your central nerve system; you might think about sticking it out. Understand that your body is intelligent and thrives on function over feeling. When the spinal column is aligned you are designed to “form”. Form determines your function, and with a spine in proper alignment you move better, last longer, and transmit better nerve flow than with a spine that is subluxated.

We ask that you make the choices to give us the time. Without the time, much can be lost. Your body is the biggest investment that you will ever make in your life, don’t abuse it.

How The Law Of Fear Works

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The stressful SHIFT is and has been occurring for some time since the COVID. We are talking about the emotional cascade of events that comes as extra baggage with everything associated with the COVID. The message is clear and with it comes the fear, with fear comes STRESS. When fear manifests it SHIFTS the trajectory of ones health for an instant or forever, depending on how well you adapt to the stress. We need to implement specific tactics that allow us to sustain our health.

You might not have FEAR during this time. Fantastic. Your body still begins to shift when your waiting in line at the grocery store and next to you is the person with the Hazmat suit. Be honest, it alters your perception and “can” trigger a stress response.

Specific tactics to enhance your bodies adaptability start with the central nerve system (CNS).  Resilience is our top concern.  Allowing the body to enhance its resiliency in times of chaos begin with a functional and coordinated CNS.
The difference between a bodies immune system that is resilient vs an immune system that is depleted is in the limitations of matter.  And what limits matter? The vertebral subluxation (misalignment within the spinal column) disrupts the communication from brain to body altering and shifting every system within the body (immune system as well) to a dysfunctional state!
The vertebral subluxation-itself a limitation of matter-which occludes an opening producing pressure upon nerves reducing the supply of the producer to the product (limits your brain to body connection and versa).
If there were no vertebral subluxation

  • no occlusion of any verterbal foramina
  • no pressure upon nerves
  • no reduction of supply between producer and product
  • no LIMITATION of product to reproduce the producer

To adjust the subluxation is to advance mankind, up his efficiency, increase his ADAPTABILITY, make him more natural and more at peace within himself. – Chiropractic Philosophy Science And Art

Ensuring health from within begins with addressing your spinal column. Create a new law of health by looking towards your health from within first and foremost. 

Are Safety Pins Really Safe?

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Are safety pins really safe? Without spreading to much controversy on this thought process. The obvious and only answer is YES. Safety pins are designed to be safe. Hence the amazing name they are warranted. Just like our body and how it is designed, its safe and works correctly when everything is working the way it should. In a closed circuit. We are not talking about cuts, bruises, contusions, lacerations, broken bones etc, we are talking about the inside of the body and how it controls your life.

Your bodies most intelligent system (the central nerve system) works in the same fashion as a safety pin does. It works to its best ability when its completely connected/closed. The nerve system works best when there is no interference in the connection from the brain to body and body to brain. If there is any disturbance within these pathways then is the nerve system safe… is the body? The safety pin is not considered ‘safe’ if it is not fully closed to complete the connection of ‘safety’.

When a disturbance exists in the spinal column it is called a subluxation. The subluxation is a misalignment within the spinal column placing stress upon a single nerve fiber. As a result it will disrupt the communication between the brain and body and create interference. A subluxation opens the safety pin, and as a direct result is no longer safe.

A great analogy to use with justification to explain the merits of what Chiropractic aims to accomplish. Some would ask why the ‘safety pin’ opens in the first place? In order to use it you have to expose it to the world and the external stressors that comes with using something. Just like your nerve system. In order to live life you must expose yourself to the elements that comes with LIVING. You do not prevent it by living in a bubble isolated from life. So, get your central nerve system checked for any imbalance that can exist. 

Why A Spinal-Check Up Is First, Then The Adjustment

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Why wouldn’t you want to access something first before making a change? Accessing the damage before alterations are made sounds pretty smart to us. In Gonstead Chiropractic we utilize the initial X-rays every spinal check-ups coupled with our tool of choice, the Neurocalometer (Scope). The Scope allows us to see inflammation along the spinal column and then to match it accordingly with your X-rays to see if this is an actual subluxation that needs an adjustment or if this is a compensation that is created via a subluxation that does NOT need adjusted.

Often times when it comes to your body and more specifically the spinal column, we assume that the area of pain is the area of correction. This is more often NOT the case. When a subluxation (misalignment within the spinal column placing undo stress upon a single nerve fiber) exists it disrupts the communication between the brain and body. Meaning? It changes the outcome of every tissue cell that is supposed to be in ideal function for that specific moment. A subluxation disrupts your body’s ability to be properly adapt and changes the course of your health. It doesn’t allow your brain an accurate reality of what is really happening.

Why in Gonstead Chiropractic do we use Neurocalometer before we adjust the spinal column. This is our tool of choice that we use for daily visits to access the spinal column looking for minute differences in temperature from one side of the spine to the next. Neural relationships to skin temperature offer a noninvasive method of quantifying neural function.

No other metric of healthy function has been used for as long as skin temperature. Nearly 2,500 years ago Hippocrates was said to have used a slurry of mud over the skin to identify those areas that dried fastest due to heat levels of the skin. As current research explains, thermal variability in humans is a sign of a healthy system (Adaptability Textbook).  

Out Of Sight…Out Of Mind?

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While the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” works for some aspects of life that you would like to change, when it comes to taking care of your overall health, this phrase does not apply. The reason being, is that your spinal column protects the most important part of your body, the central nerve system (CNS). The CNS was not designed to be seen, unlike our teeth. It is exactly where it is supposed to be; central. Your health begins and ends within your spinal column. We take for granted our health often because we cannot see. Out of sight…out of mind comes into play.

If your spine were on your face, you’d take better care of it, guaranteed. How come? Most people have to see a problem to believe a problem exists. Believe this. You live your life through your CNS, every human experience you have is processed, coordinated, and controlled via your CNS. Take care of it. Taking care of the problem before the problem begins enters in the world of prevention.

Gonstead Chiropractic analysis allows a closer look at the story of your spine. Out of sight does not apply to us. To see is to know and not to see is to guess. X-Ray films, when necessary, allow our doctors to visualize the entire structure of your spine, joint and disc integrity, and ruling out any pathological findings. This allows us to be as specific as possible and eliminate all guessing when it comes to your care.

Don’t take for granted the most important thing you were born with…your health. Own your health, and start with spinal check-ups. Just because you cannot see your health does not make it an entity that cannot be measured. Keeping your body in peak performance is what Gonstead Chiropractors do. We help you prevent health problems and keep you functioning at your best.

Let Your Body Be Your Guide…Listen

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Let your body be your guide to health. We cannot stress the importance of listening to your body and what it tells you. Often times we become saturated in everyday activities that we sometimes neglect the basic necessities of life. Our body attempts to tell us warning signs that something is amiss. Take drinking water for example. You know you are supposed to do it, its good for you, and your body needs it. When we become dehydrated, we did not give our body an adequate supply, and we become aware. The brain signals a response and you NEED to listen.

Often times the body is not as assertive as giving you messages that something is wrong. When your body sends messages that something is amiss it will develop over time. Time is the key. The Principle Of Time – There is no process that does not require time. This is why we apply prevention in our life with regular Chiropractic check-ups to ensure optimal function and eliminate any interference between the brain and body.

Regular Chiropractic check-ups ensure that your body is free of any interference that occurs within the central nerve system. Subluxations (misalignment’s within the spinal column placing undo stress upon a single nerve) exist within the spinal column pain FREE. Thats right! Subluxations are silent in nature. They do not fully manifest into painful situations until years of spinal neglect.

The first awareness that your body will tell your innate brain is through symptoms. Symptoms will be your first recognition that something is amiss within the central nerve system: allergies, lack of energy, chronic sickness, ear infections, etc etc. These are warning signs that your nerve system is not adequately adapting to an interference. A subluxation is a MAJOR interference that uses millions of conductive tissue by its existence in a negative manner. To remove subluxations is to enable your body to be at its peak potential.  

Learning From The Leading Cause Of Death

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Learning From The Leading Cause Of Death

The number one leading cause of death in the U.S. is heart disease.  The western lifestyle and diet left unchecked encourages the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).  In most cases, the first symptom of CVD that is physically very obvious is a heart attack. That is one heck of a first symptom!  When we hear the story about the “57 year old man who ‘never’ had a sick day in his life dies from a heart attack”, we wonder what happened!  In actuality, it takes YEARS to develop CVD before the first noticeable symptom appears.

What Should We Learn From CVD

When one’s health is being neglected, there are other subtle symptoms that occur prior to a heart attack that we normally don’t notice.   Learn to recognize these symptoms before the root cause begins to spiral out of control. Many symptoms are painful, but we think it is a normal part of our lives and try to just get by. A more practical approach would be to gain control of your health, improve on it daily, and not take it for granted.

Health Is Hard-Work

Taking care of your body begins with your spinal health. Regular check-up’s by your chiropractor will ensure that there is a proper connection between the brain and body.  Healthy spine = healthy body. How so? Your central nerve system created the spine to be an external protection . Keeping your spine aligned and happy keeps your central nerve system happy as well.  People assume that you should only see a chiropractor when you have back or neck pain. WRONG! That is equivalent to only eating healthy food when you are sick. Just like a heart attack being the last noticeable symptom of CVD, back or neck pain will sometimes be the last symptoms to appear when your spinal health has been neglected.

Basic Anatomy 101

When a nerve is irritated by a misaligned spine and has unnecessary stress, the nerve does not send proper signals to the cells, organs, and glands that it controls.  That is Basic Anatomy 101 in Chiropractic and Medical Studies. What does this mean? Imagine that the very nerve that made your heart, controls your heart and sends electrical impulses to make it beat is irritated.   In this case, the messages to the heart will be either HYPER or HYPO (aka High Blood Pressure or Low Blood Pressure). Look to the spine in order to get the messages clear. Be preventative and act now. #getchecked