Possible West Des Moines Chiropractic Benefits for Hypertension
Hypertension. Blood Pressure. It’s a topic among friends and family members and patient/physician interactions even in yoga classes and via meditation apps. Our uptight world has us all wound up, back pain and neck pain makes us worry, chronic pain anywhere stresses our bodies, nudging blood pressure higher. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa shares recent studies that demonstrate some potential promise of chiropractic and spinal manipulation’s ability to beneficially affect blood pressure.
SPINAL MANIPULATION AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Spinal manipulation’s effect on the nervous system, particularly its sympathetic (“fight or flight” reactionary part) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest” calm part) parts of the autonomic nervous system, is gaining awareness in the clinical setting with normal clients as well as in the sport setting with athletes. A study of using spinal manipulation versus a sham treatment with recreational athletes revealed that spinal manipulation before exercise prompted a shift toward heightened parasympathetic system function resulting in impaired performance. (1) That’s not all bad in the clinical setting! Executive Chiropractic of Iowa knows it’s all about delivering the right type of treatment at the right time to get the best results. Parasympathetic dominance to help reduce pain is good for athletes who may suffer with back pain after their exercise.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, HYPERTENSION, AND MANIPULATION
Manual therapies like West Des Moines spinal manipulation and mobilization at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa are known for their ability to treat, ease, and manage spinal pain related conditions. As a bonus benefit, changes to the cardiovascular system have been documented. With hypertension being the global health concern (and even reason for death) that it is, such changes are potentially quite important. Blood pressure control is complex, counting on the autonomic nervous system for its regulation while genetics and physiology may also play a role. Some patients - 20-30% of them - with blood pressure issues don’t respond to usual medications. Consequently, alternatives are being considered like chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy. An evaluation of the published literature found promising outcomes that inspire more study. (2) A recent study found that spinal manipulation and mobilization effected a statistically significant decrease in systolic blood pressure as well as diastolic blood pressure and heart rate variability though these were statistically non-significant in this setting. (3) More research is certainly called for. Systolic blood pressure reflects the force on the blood vessels when the heart beats (top number) while diastolic reveals the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats (bottom number). Doctors most often pay more attention to the top, systolic number, so spinal manipulation’s effect would be appreciated if more studies continue to confirm such effect. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa offers gentle spinal manipulation treatment via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management. It’s research-documented and effective for reducing back and neck pain.
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may assist the autonomic system.
Make your next West Des Moines chiropractic appointment with Executive Chiropractic of Iowa now. Hypertension may well meet its match - or at least back down a bit - with chiropractic spinal manipulation! Let us figure it out together.
