Happy Fall!

Happy Fall! Many times over the years, we have heard a patient say that they came to us for neck pain or low back pain and then while under care, they did not get the colds that everyone else was getting. Some would remark that they "forgot" to take their allergy medicine and they forgot because they were NOT having any symptoms for the first time in years! Often practice members share that family members or co workers got the flu and they wondered why they didn't.

Is there some sort of magic in the water in our office? Of course not. So we thought that you might be interested in what the research world has to say about this.

Chiropractic adjustments help regulate the autonomic nervous system. Your nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and nerves) controls everything in your body. It communicates with endocrine and immune tissues to modulate chemical reactions that keep you healthy.

Researchers in New York found that people under chiropractic care for more than five years demonstrated 200% greater immune function than those who had not.

Author Katie Gilbert's great article, "Immune Boost: This is a Spinal Zap covering how immune function is greatly improved with regular chiropractic care" was published in Psychology Today August 24, 2006. It contained the following interesting paragraph on the flu:

"Chiropractic care was first linked to improved immunity during the deadly flu epidemic of 1917 and 1918. The funny thing was: Chiropractic patients fared better than the general population. This observation spurred a study of the field. The data reported that flu victims under chiropractic care had an estimated .25 percent death rate, a lot less than the normal rate of 5 percent among flu victims who did not receive chiropractic care."

Chiropractic adjustments do not treat these conditions directly. An adjustment doesn't "treat" anything, actually. We address the spinal dysfunctions that we find which in turn encourages a cascade of reactions that allow your body to do what it does best. Naturally! Of course, ALL of the lifestyle factors can be added into building a stronger immunity. Sleep, good nutrition, a positive mental attitude and movement are some of the seeds that build a wealth of health.

The following are clinical studies or documented cases which have shown that Chiropractic care naturally boosts the immunity of patients by 200% or more.

a) The study performed by the chief of cancer prevention at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University - Ronald Pero, Ph.D. In his 3 year study Dr. Pero found that the 107 chiropractic patients had a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care, and in fact a 400% greater immune competence than other people who had cancer or other serious disease. Further he found that the immune system superiority of those under chiropractic care did not diminish with age. Dr. Pero commented, "I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group experience a 200% increase over the normal patients. This is why it is so dramatically important." Specifically the study demonstrated that the cells responsible for engulfing and destroying viruses, bacteria, parasites and cancer cells are anywhere from 2 times to 4 times more active in people who get regular chiropractic care. Scientifically the study demonstrated that the "phagocytic respiratory burst of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and monocytes were enhanced in people that had been adjusted by chiropractors." Later it was commented by other parties that the study should have taken into account the diet of the patients.

b) Another study published in Chiropractic Research Journal, 1994; 3(1) showed that Chiropractic adjustments increase immune cell counts 48% in AIDS patients. At the same time for the control group who did not receive any Chiropractic care the immune cell counts actually fell 8%. So the patients receiving the Chiropractic care were very much better off for it.

For all disease the central nervous system plays a major role in healing, chiropractors are the only professionals specifically trained to locate and adjust subluxations thus removing nerve interference. Chiropractors generally tend to have approx 3 times as many class hours (USA numbers are some 320 hrs vs some 112 hrs) on neurology as the medical students' course. In addition the chiropractors and medical doctors who have done Carrick Institutes functional neurology post grad diploma have typically a further 400 hrs class time and upwards of 1000 hrs home study on the latest detailed functional neurology text books, information, techniques and case studies.