Where do you carry
your stress? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Do you want
some help relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation may
well produce relaxing effects particularly when applied
to the cervical and thoracic spine regions. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation observes
stress every day. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation hears our Carrolltown
chiropractic patients ask for more spine treatment once they experience
how good it is! Wise chiropractic patients!
MEASURING RESPONSES TO SPINAL MANIPULATION: STRESS
First, how do we react to
stress? Sweaty palms. Rapid pulse and heart rate. We can feel these responses.
Researchers strive to quantify these responses. Measuring
heart rate variability, blood pressure,
heart rate, and numeric pain scale after treating upper and lower cervical
spine segments of healthy and neck pain patients, researchers found
that upper cervical manipulation boosted
parasympathetic (calming) system and lower cervical manipulation enhanced
sympathetic (fight or flight) activity. Interestingly, neck
pain patients’ parasympathetic activity was improved by
both upper and lower cervical manipulation. (1) Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation notes
that just the effect of touch is powerful.
EFFECTS OF MANIPULATION ON STRESS RESPONSES
The body responds to all sorts of stimuli.
Researchers attempt to document how. One
group did a meta-analysis of multiple studies regarding
the effect of spinal manipulation and mobilization on cardiovascular responses.
Changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure
and heart rate were charted. They determined
that spinal manipulation and mobilization may bring about a
significant decrease of systolic as well as diastolic blood
pressure. (2) An analysis of articles about the effect of spinal manipulation
on heart rate variability stated that a larger
parasympathetic response was seen when cervical and lumbar spine
areas were treated while a greater sympathetic response was seen
when the thoracic spine was treated. (3) Another study linked
pain response to resting blood pressure pre- and post-cervical spine non-thrust
manipulation. Non-chronic neck pain patients who underwent such manipulation experienced
reduced short-term pain and reduced systolic blood
pressure. (4) There’s
something to manipulation beyond pain relief, and Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is pleased
to present the research as it comes available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation uses gentle spinal manipulation
applied to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine areas to reduce
pain. Spinal manipulation of the thoracic spine efficiently influences
painful mechanical thoracic spine pain better than placebo treatment. (5) Effects
of thoracic manipulation transcend the thoracic spine. Advantages
of manipulation of the thoracic spine reach the cervical spine
for patients with bilateral chronic mechanical neck pain. Thoracic thrust manipulation
and non-thrust mobilization produce similar changes in patients’
pressure pain thresholds and reduce neck pain intensity. (6) These
are benefits of Carrolltown chiropractic care Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is well-trained
to deliver.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
explains how chiropractic and The Cox® Technic
System of Spinal Pain Management may well attune parasympathetic
and sympathetic as well as pain responses in the body.
Make your next Carrolltown
chiropractic appointment today. Your neck and shoulders and upper
back will appreciate the attention as will your decreased
pain and heart rate and blood pressure after a gentle Carrolltown spinal
manipulation session.