When your nose starts running or you get a tickle in your throat, grab some vitamin C, drink lots of fluids, get rest AND book yourself a chiropractor appointment immediately. What? Yes, chiropractic care has been proven to improve immune function, and this is not a new development. During the 1917-18 influenza epidemic, which killed 500,000 Americans, and an estimated 20 million people world-wide, chiropractors shinned. Most western medical facilities were losing 1 out of 15 patients, while according to one study, 213 chiropractic doctors across the country treated 4,193 cases, 4,104 of which recovered completely!
How does chiropractic care help boost the immune system?
The simple answer is that due to normal, everyday life (as well as accidents, sports, injuries, etc) the spine, which is part of the central nervous system, gets out of alignment. This is called a vertebral subluxation which places pressure on nerves, thus resulting in improper function of the nervous system which is responsible for pretty much ALL bodily functions – be it movement, digestion, respiration, AND immunity. All of which is regulated by neurons sending messages and releasing neurotransmitters that inform the body of our internal and external needs. So for example, if a nerve that typically sends out a message to release more white blood cells to help fight bacteria or infection in the body is unable to do its job, then we will be more likely to fall ill. This is overly simplified, but you get the idea.
Proof is in the pudding
Dramatic events like the influenza outbreak as well as growing credibility for the field has created a flurry of scientific research into chiropractic care and its ability to rebalance the body – especially when it comes to immunity. One of the most important studies showing the positive effect chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health was performed by Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University. Dr. Pero measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases. In his initial three-year study of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more, the chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care, and 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer and other serious diseases. The immune system superiority of those under chiropractic care did not diminish with age. Dr. Pero stated, “When applied in a clinical framework, I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group to experience a 200% increase over the normal patients. This is why it is so dramatically important.”
Another important study was performed at the Sid E. Williams Research Center of Life Chiropractic University. The researchers took a group of HIV positive patients and adjusted them over a six-month period. What they found was that the “patients that were adjusted had an increase of forty-eight percent (48%) in the CD4 cells (an important immune system component).” These measurements were taken at the patients’ independent medical center, where they were under medical supervision for the condition. The control group (the patients that were not adjusted) did not demonstrate this dramatic increase in immune function, but actually experienced a 7.96% decrease in CD4 cell counts over the same period.
These are just two of many scientific explorations that truly prove (in black and white) that taking care of your spine has a myriad of benefits, but can dramatically improve your ability to fight off the bad guys and stay healthy!
Resources:
Pero R. “Medical Researcher Excited By CBSRF Project Results.” The Chiropractic Journal, August 1989; 32.
Selano JL, Hightower BC, Pfleger B, Feeley-Collins K, Grostic JD. “The Effects of Specific Upper Cervical Adjustments on the CD4 Counts of HIV Positive Patients.” The Chiro Research Journal; 3(1); 1994.