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Chiropractic care improves spine and nerve function

Chiropractic care is well known for improving function of the spine, including reduction in pain, improvement in movement and improvement in posture. However, over the past 20 years New Zealand scientists have been leading the world in understanding how chiropractic care impacts brain and body function.

What they have found is that every adjustment changes how the prefrontal cortex works (the bit of the brain responsible planning complex cognitive behaviour, personality expression, decision making and moderating social behaviour). This takes the benefit of chiropractic care well beyond just the spine.

So what does it mean for you?

Well, for everyone that receives chiropractic care every adjustment has an impact on their brain function, which in turn alters body function and performance:

• for everyone this means a reported 20% improvement in how the brain controls the body
• for women chiropractic care improves pelvic floor function
• for athletes chiropractic care improves muscle strength, power and reaction time, and reduced fatigue
• for older adults chiropractic care has been shown to reduce the risk of falls which are a common concern leading to loss of independence and even death.
• for kids – common childhood presentations that have been reported to have improved under chiropractic care include bed wetting, colic, ear infection, headaches & migraine, neck & back pain, sleep disturbances, and torticollis, to name just a few. Read more about that here.

Chiropractors take the focused approach that improving the health of the spine and nervous system gives our patients the best opportunity to improve their health.

References:

1. Lelic et al. Manipulation of dysfunctional spinal joints affects sensorimotor integration in the pre-frontal cortex: A brain source localization study. Neural Plasticity, Volume 2016

2. Nazi, I. K., Türker, K. S., Flavel, S., Kinget, M., Duehr, J., Haavik, H. Changes in H-reflex and V-waves following spinal manipulation. Experimental brain research, 2015; 233(4), 1165-1173.

3. Haavik H, Kruger J, Murphy B. Pelvic floor functional changes with spinal manipulation in pregnant and non-pregnant women: A pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2016;

4. Holt, KR et al. Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care to Improve Sensorimotor Function Associated With Falls Risk in Older People: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2016;

5. R, Schuster T, Dobson M. A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. J Vertebral Subluxation Res 1997; 1:15–27

6. Marino M, Langrell P. Longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life: a preliminary study. J Vertebral Subluxation Res 1999; 3:1–9

7. McAllister W, Boone WR, Power K, Hart J, Xiong T, Westbrook M. Chiropractic Care and Changes in Physical State and Self-Perceptions in Domains of Health among Public Safety Personnel: A Longitudinal Follow up Study J. Vertebral Subluxation Res. May 15, 2009: 1-11.

8. Boone WR, Oswald P, Holt K, Beck R, Singh K, Ashton A. Physical, physiological, and immune status changes, coupled with self-perceptions of health and quality of life, in subjects receiving chiropractic care: A pilot study. J. Vertebral Subluxation Res. July 5, 2006:1-6

9. Schuster TL, Dobson M, Jauregui M, Blanks RH. Wellness lifestyles II: Modeling the dynamic of wellness, health lifestyle practices, and Network Spinal Analysis. J Alt Compl Med. April 2004;10(2):357-67

10. DS, Bartha DA, Beltran MM, Dominguez DN, Messerli AR, Miller SE, Davis AM, Nelson-Wong E. Rater Reliability and Concurrent Validity of Single and Dual Bubble Inclinometry to Assess Cervical Lateral Flexion. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2015 Oct; 38(8):572-80

11. Triano J, Budgell B, Bagnulo A, et al. Review of methods used by chiropractors to determine the site for applying manipulation. Chiropr Man Ther 2013; 21(36):1-29

12. Walker BF, Buchbinder R. Most commonly used methods of detecting spinal subluxation and the preferred term for its description: a survey of chiropractors in Victoria, Australia. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1997; 20(9):583-9

13. Holt K, Russell D, Cooperstein R, Young M, Sherson M, Haavik H. Inter-examiner reliability of the detection of vertebral subluxations using continuous measures and confidence levels. J Chiropr Educ 2016; 30:59

14. McCoy M, Campbell I, Stone P, Fedorchuk C, Wijayawardana S, Easley K. Intra-examiner and inter-examiner reproducibility of paraspinal thermography. PLoS One. 2011; 6(2):e16535

15. Fuhr A, Menke M. Status of Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique, theory and practice. J Maniplative Physiol Ther 2005;28(2):e1-e20

16. Nadler A, Holder JM, Talsky MA. Torque Release Technique (TRT): A technique model for chiropractic’s second century. Can Chiropr. 1998;3(1).

17. Fletcher D. Tonal Solution for Subluxation Patterns: Torque Release Technique analyzes Cranial-Spinal Meningeal Functional Unit. Can Chiropr. 2004;9(2):20-24.

18. Cooperstein, R. Technique system overview: Thompson Technique. Chiropractic Technique. 1995; Vol. 7, No. 2: 60-63

19. Epstein D. Network Spinal Analysis: A system of health care delivery within the Subluxation-Based Chiropractic Model. J Vertebral Subluxation Res 1996; 1(1):51-59.