Executive Chiropractic of Iowa Offers Treatment with Relaxing Effects
Where do you carry your stress? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Do you want some help relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation offers relaxing effects particularly when applied to the cervical and thoracic spine areas. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa observes stress daily. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa hears our West Des Moines chiropractic patients request more spine treatment once they experience how good it is! Astute chiropractic patients!
MEASURING RESPONSES TO SPINAL MANIPULATION: STRESS
Initially, how do we respond to stress? Sweaty palms. Rapid pulse and heart rate. We can feel these responses. Researchers strive to measure 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 discovered that upper cervical manipulation improved parasympathetic (calming) system and lower cervical manipulation improved sympathetic (fight or flight) activity. Interestingly, neck pain patients’ parasympathetic activity was boosted by both upper and lower cervical manipulation. (1) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa 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 see 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 concluded that spinal manipulation and mobilization may result in 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 greater parasympathetic response was seen when cervical and lumbar spine areas were treated while a greater sympathetic response was noticed 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 had reduced short-term pain and decreased systolic blood pressure. (4) There is something to manipulation beyond pain relief, and Executive Chiropractic of Iowa is happy to present the research as it is made available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
Executive Chiropractic of Iowa uses gentle spinal manipulation applied to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine areas to reduce pain. Spinal manipulation of the thoracic spine effectively influences painful mechanical thoracic spine pain better than placebo treatment. (5) Effects of thoracic manipulation go beyond the thoracic spine. Advantages of manipulation of the thoracic spine extend to the cervical spine for patients with bilateral chronic mechanical neck pain. Thoracic thrust manipulation and non-thrust mobilization deliver similar changes in patients’ pressure pain thresholds and decrease neck pain intensity. (6) These are benefits of West Des Moines chiropractic care Executive Chiropractic of Iowa is well-trained to deliver.
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
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 address parasympathetic and sympathetic and pain responses in the body.
Schedule your next West Des Moines chiropractic appointment today. Your neck and shoulders and upper back will be grateful for the attention as will your reduced pain and heart rate and blood pressure after a gentle West Des Moines spinal manipulation session.
