Chiropractic can clearly help improve a wide range of symptoms, painful conditions and improve function. A growing number of research studies are finding that chiropractic spinal manipulation can help to improve your overall health. Various studies have shown that chiropractic treatment can alter immune function, heart rate, and reduce blood pressure. A Japanese research 2011 study demonstrated that chiropractic adjustments may have an even more far reaching effect, and lower stress levels.
How can Chiropractic help lower stress levels?
Stress is a very important measure of health and wellbeing. Ongoing spinal pain is certain to cause changes to your immune system function. Japanese scientists asked the quest of whether chiropractic spinal manipulation could affect lower stress levels in 12 men and women with neck pain? Understanding the mechanics of how chiropractic may impact upon anxious emotions would be amazing. Patients could report on their mood before and after treatment. But the Japanese scientists wanted to get an even more objective picture of how chiropractic adjustments affected the nervous system. They used PET scans to monitor activity in the brain of their subjects, and saliva samples to track and changes in their hormone levels.
Volunteers received a chiropractic neck adjustment, and then had their brain analysed. The scientists
were interested in the areas of the brain responsible for pain and stress. The volunteers demonstrated reduced cortisol levels. Cortisol is one of the major stress hormones, and this clearly indicated less stress. The volunteers also reported reduced pain scores, an improved quality of life and improved health and wellness.
These findings suggest that specific chiropractic adjustments affect how the body copes with pain. As we learn more about our amazing human body and the function of our nervous system, it’s clear that chiropractic can play a powerful role to lower stress levels and improve true wellness, rather than just symptom relief.
Reference
Ogura, Takeshi and Manabu Tashiro, Mehedi,Shoichi Watanuki, Katsuhiko Shibuya, Keiichiro Yamaguchi, Masatoshi Itoh, Hiroshi Fukuda, Kazuhiko Yanai. Cerebral metabolic changes in men after chiropractic spinal manipulation for neck pain. Alternative Therapies. 2011, November/December; 17 (6): 12-17.
