Chiropractic 101
Every time we make an adjustment we are affecting the health of all viscera in the body. Depending on where we found and corrected the subluxation will play a part, however, we know this happens each time no matter the location of subluxation.
Every adjustment affects the hypothalamus via layer (laminae)7 of the spinal cord. And get this….the spine is the only direct influence on the hypothalamus in the entire body! A bad spine negatively and directly affects all stress hormones in the body. This is torture for the human experience if it becomes chronic!
Although you don’t have to know everything about layer 7 of the spinal cord, just know that altered mechanics (mechanoreceptors) from subluxation travels to layer 7 and synapses. This then goes to the sympathetic chain ganglia and affects a host of things there as well as up the cord into the upper brain centers for the body to process.
When we make an adjustment it is clear that the brain will immediately begin to inhibit (stop) the sympathetic dominant state and start into a parasympathetic state. You may have heard this before but I can guarantee you don’t fully know what this means for human health. It has to do with the hypothalamus and the balance of autonomic activity.
Without getting too technical, I can tell you that stress hormones begin to be reduced which sets off a cascade of positive effects in the body.
We know that the “fight or flight” behavior physiology is inhibited and the body will go from alarm & defense to growth & repair.
This is the scientific groundwork to why the latest and best studies on the influence of a chiropractic adjustment show this:
Normalizing Blood Pressure
Mood and Attention Improvement
Blood Glucose efficiency– decreases insulin resistance
Improvements and/or Reversal of neurodegenerative brain physiology (HUGE!)
Epigenetic Changes – this changes fertility and short & long term offspring physiology
Increase ATP – which is a “game-changer” for many reasons
Telomere shortening – one of GREATEST “anti-aging” strategies in health today!
Heart Disease – #1 contributor to heart disease in men and women is increased sustained sympathetic tone
Immune System – Radically affects the immune system. Better than any marketable strategy medicine has to offer
Brain Changes
One study noted the changes made in brain patterns and activity was more in one session than multiple weeks of standard psychological treatment made to brain!(You should know that brain-based neurophysiologists get their mind blown when they get to see the power of an adjustment on the brain!)
Chiropractic was also shown to improve muscle strength, stability, and fatigue more in one session than 3 weeks of weight training! (Mind-Blowing!!)
Let me throw a few musculoskeletal benefits in here:
Increases mobility and reduces Spinal Degeneration – degeneration shown to set in within 10-14 days with reduced mobility.
5x better at musculoskeletal pain reduction than celebrex and vioxx combined (sad part here is that celebrex and vioxx together gross more $ per year ALONE than the entire chiropractic profession….the world desperately needs what we do!)
The list goes on and on. I could write every day for years and years describing the details of how powerful a chiropractic adjustment is on human health and how detrimental subluxation is to life.
-Dr. Dan Sullivan