Chiropractic Care and Your Immune System

Understanding the Immune System

Your body's immune system is responsible for your overall health. It fights off cancers, viruses, toxins, and common illnesses like colds. Your body's response even to something small as a paper cut relies on a properly functioning immune system as well as the central nervous system.

Immune system disorders can hinder your body's ability to properly handle non-threatening foreign substances such as pet dander or pollen. When your body's immune system is not functioning properly, it can overreact and release chemicals, such as histamine, when sensing an allergen.

The Connection Between Chiropractic Care and Immunity

What does chiropractic care have to do with your immune system? When you think about your nervous system, it is important to recognize that it is one of the busiest systems in your body. It regulates your brain, spinal cord, and nerve activities while ensuring that chemical reactions between endocrine and immune tissues work correctly for optimal health. Spinal misalignments can inhibit this vast communications system your body relies on so heavily.

Dr. Hinz at Cool Springs Chiropractic, located in Franklin, TN works on your body from the inside out. Allow your body to achieve better balance and an improved immune response by aligning and fine-tuning your spine. Your immune system uses nerves to relay messages to your brain. When nerves are inhibited, your immune system suffers.

The Role of the Nervous System

Dr. Hinz recognizes the inherent ability of the human body to regulate its internal mechanisms and adjust to the many physical, chemical, and emotional stresses that confront us in everyday life. The body's stress response is designed to accommodate temporary circumstances that require a 'fight or flight' reaction.

An optimally functioning immune system goes to what the core of chiropractic care is all about. While many associate pain with chiropractic care, remember pain only involves 10% of your nervous system. The other 90% is extremely important. That 90% is associated with all the functions of your body: breathing, digesting food, the function of your internal organs, the control of your muscles (voluntary and involuntary), your immune system, and everything else. Everything is controlled through your central nervous system which starts at your brain, runs down through your spine, and from there throughout your entire body.

Chronic Disease and Stress Hormones

Depression, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, obesity, cancer, metabolic disorders—especially Type 2 diabetes—and sex hormone imbalances are endemic within Western society. Chiropractic recognizes these individual medical complaints as normal physiological responses to unhealthy lifestyles. These symptoms are all profoundly influenced by the presence of increased levels of cortisol and associated stress hormones.

Thus, a well-functioning immune system is dependent on these hormone levels being kept in balance. In current society, stress is experienced in many ways. Sedentary lifestyle (physical) and poor nutrition (chemical) and emotional anxiety and strain are all examples that can affect us. Whilst some degree of stress is a normal part of life, excessive stress experienced on a daily basis is undeniably detrimental to overall health. Every effort should be made to reduce stress levels and counteract their negative long-term effects.

The Importance of a Healthy Lifestyle

Technological advancements have significantly reduced the daily physical activity that was a feature of previous generations. This means that certain health initiatives such as regular exercise, stretching, sufficient rest, good nutrition, and ample hydration have become even more important in reducing stress hormone levels as well as their obvious physical and mental benefits.

Another essential aspect of this healthy lifestyle is Chiropractic. It is just as important as eating the right foods and getting enough water. Chiropractic enables people to reach their full potential by allowing their nervous system to function without interference from spinal restrictions called subluxations.

These subluxations have far more reaching effects on the whole body than just causing pain. That's why pain is such a poor indication of health and why it is good to receive regular Chiropractic care, to check and remove spinal subluxations before they become a health issue.

Prevention Through Regular Chiropractic Care

Prevention is always better than a cure. Ever increasing scientific research is supporting the link between chiropractic care and improved overall health and not just pain removal. Emerging results from groundbreaking research being conducted in Sydney has confirmed a significant improvement to immune response following chiropractic treatment.

Misalignments, or subluxations, in the spine will cause poor communication between your brain and your immune system. Subluxations can create pressure on, irritate, or even pinch the nerves in your spine. This restricts the free-flow of information regarding your body to your brain.

Dr. Hinz at Cool Springs Chiropractic restores that broken communication through gentle adjustments that properly align your vertebrae, and allow your body to take better care of itself. With a properly functioning central nervous system, your immune system will be better equipped to defend your body from disease and infection.

How Chiropractic Adjustments Boost Immunity

When you get adjusted, your chiropractor is removing subluxations that are preventing your nervous system from working properly. Your nervous system is in charge of sending and receiving information, including sending information to and from your immune system.

Keeping your nervous system working properly keeps your immune system working properly, meaning your immune system will start working better and you will start recovering from illnesses faster.

Chiropractic care focuses on improving the function of the nervous system, which affects the immune system. The nervous system controls all functions of the body, so maintaining the nervous system is vital to overall health. Hence why in so many cases, the immune system gets a boost thanks to chiropractic care. Chiropractic adjustments can help align the body to function as effectively as possible. Your chiropractor can give your immune system a boost and improve your health!

The Consequences of Low Immunity

Low immunity can cause an array of problems like allergies, asthma, diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. Keeping the immune system healthy is important to prevent disease and fight off any pre-existing conditions.

Anyone striving to be healthy should be seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis. It is the best way to ensure a healthy immune system. You should consult with your chiropractor to see how often your lifestyle requires your body to be adjusted. Contact Cool Springs Chiropractic today to get started!