Chiropractic Care Can Boost Our Immune System. What’s your opinion about visiting a chiropractor? When individuals consider chiropractic care, they often think about fixing neck or back pain or getting an adjustment. Only a few individuals realize that visiting an alignment specialist has a larger number of advantages than that.
One of those advantages is helping boost the immune system. This is possible because chiropractic care works as a prevention technique, and complements other treatments. Chiropractic treatments can improve our odds of fending off the common cold and influenza. Nowadays, like never before, the strength of our immune system is crucial!
What Exactly Is Our Immune System?
The immune system is a vital part of what keeps us healthy and functioning to our full potential. It helps the body fight infections and other diseases.
Our immune system’s principal function is to protect and fight against infectious organisms, and prevent them from entering our bodies. As long as the immune system is working appropriately, we don’t even notice what it is doing. However, as soon as it stops working properly, we can become ill or sick.
The proteins, tissues, organs, and cells (white platelets) that work together to keep us feeling healthy and strong are what make up our immune system.
The Importance of a Strong Immune System
Our immune system works hard 24/7 to keep us healthy, preventing sickness, disease, infection, and helping us recover from injuries.
When our immune system’s defenses are lowered, it can cause various problems like colds, or influenza. If it becomes overactive, issues like asthma, allergies, or eczema may develop. In the most extreme cases, when our immune system begins to attack us instead of protecting us, conditions such as diabetes, celiacs disease, or other autoimmune disorders may occur. Keeping the immune system in good shape is essential to preventing infections, and fending off any pre-existing conditions.
Our immune system successfully safeguards our bodies most of the time, but sometimes, like in the cases mentioned above, it may have issues and not work properly. There are a few reasons why our immune system may not work the way it should. These may include:
- Autoimmune disorders: the immune system attacking itself, because it sees itself as dangerous
- Cancer
- Immunodeficiency disorder
- Allergic Disorder: the immune system giving an overreacting response to a particular allergen.
How Can Chiropractic Care Improve Our Immune System?
Of course, it is important to maintain a healthy diet with a blend of vegetables, fruits, proteins, and whole grains, but chiropractic care can also help boost immunity! Chiropractic care aids the immune system by improving the movement of the spinal bones that encase and protect the spinal cord, thus enhancing the work of our nervous system.
Chiropractic treatments can improve the overall health and quality of life for patients. While adjustments of the spine help in relieving pain in the back, neck, and shoulders, they can also support our immune system. This is because our immune system is directly connected to our spine, and when it is not aligned, it may throw our entire system off track. The result? A non-responsive immune system. Specialists use a variety of spinal manipulation techniques to help relieve spinal compression, and in turn, boost our immune system.
Many people visit chiropractors consistently for various types of pain because spinal health is imperative to overall health, but immune system support should be added to that list. The best part is: this all comes without the use of medications or surgery.
Studies on Chiropractic Care and Immune Systems
A study done by Dr. Ronald Pero shows the beneficial outcome of chiropractic care on the immune system and general wellbeing.
Dr. Pero observed the immune systems of individuals under chiropractic care and compared them to those in the general population, cancer patients, and people with other serious illnesses. His three-year study included the observation of 107 people who had been under chiropractic care for a significant period of time.
The chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% more efficient immune system than those who had not received any chiropractic care; they had a 400% more efficient immune system than those with cancer or other serious diseases. Furthermore, the immune system quality of those under chiropractic care did not seem to reduce with age.
Another study revealed the following:
In Davenport, Iowa, 50 clinical doctors treated 4,953 patients with 274 deaths, while 150 chiropractors saw 1,635 patients with only one death. Outside of Davenport, medical specialists in the state treated 93,590 patients with 6,116 deaths. That is one death for every 15 patients. Chiropractors treated 4,735 patients, with only 6 patient deaths. That is one death for every 789 patients.
In a similar case, New York health authorities who tracked influenza cases indicated that, under chiropractic care, just 25 patients died as a result of influenza in 10,000 cases; in pneumonia cases, only 100 patients died out of 10,000 cases.
This data revealed that death in patients with influenza was .25% when under chiropractic care. Significantly less than the 5% of deaths among those with influenza who were not treated with chiropractic care.
Chiropractic Care, Our Immune System, and Stress
Another benefit that chiropractic care can offer is reducing stress and anxiety. Both stress and anxiety can have adverse effects on the immune system.
Many illnesses are caused or made worse by stress. When our bodies are continuously stressed, known as chronic stress, hormones are released that can negatively impact our health. This increases the risk of certain medical conditions, such as:
- Muscle tension
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Digestive issues
- Heart disease
- Sleep disorders
- Weight gain
- Problems with memory and focus
Muscle tension can cause nerve irritation, and put uneven pressure on the spine, causing the spinal column to become misaligned. Chiropractic adjustments realign the spine and release muscle tension; when that tension is corrected, our bodies can return to a more balanced state and relax.
Chiropractic adjustments that reduce muscle tension also improve blood circulation, which can assist our brains in turning off ‘panic mode,’ and focus on healing. A chiropractor can also recommend nutritional supplements, like B vitamins, that help our bodies cope with stress. Most chiropractors will even suggest relaxation techniques, and discuss posture, to help complement regular chiropractic treatments, as a form of stress relief.
How Can We Boost Our Immune System Naturally?
Chiropractic is a specialty that focuses on the alignment of our whole body; a body that functions best when every part of it is in the natural order. We shouldn’t accept anything less.
In addition to chiropractic care, minimizing stress, getting the right amount of sleep, and practicing a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise can maximize our immune system’s power to fight the germs we come in contact with. Brain exercises like meditation, reading, or mental puzzles can benefit our overall health as well. Some people suggest drinking lemon water. There are many different things that can contribute to our well-being. In the end, a visit to the chiropractor could be just what the doctor ordered to keep your immune system at peak performance.
Chiropractic care is a great way to keep our bodies healthy and feeling great without the use of medications or medical procedures.
The chiropractors at Integrated Wellness South Jordan in Utah can give your immune system a boost and improve your health! Give us a call at 801-816-0332 to schedule an appointment.