Where does your stress go? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Do you want
some assistance in relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation offers relaxing effects especially when directed
to the cervical and thoracic spine areas. Chiropractic Solutions observes
stress daily. Chiropractic Solutions hears our San Jose
chiropractic patients request more spine treatment once they feel
it! Wise chiropractic patients!
MEASURING RESPONSES TO SPINAL MANIPULATION: STRESS
Initially, how do we react 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 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) Chiropractic Solutions notices
that the effect of touch alone is powerful.
EFFECTS OF MANIPULATION ON STRESS RESPONSES
The body responds to all types of stimuli.
Researchers strive to document how. One
group performed a meta-analysis of multiple studies about
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 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 reported that a larger
parasympathetic response was noted when cervical and lumbar spine
areas were treated while a larger sympathetic response was noticed
when the thoracic spine was treated. (3) Another study correlated
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 Chiropractic Solutions is happy
to present the research as it is made available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
Chiropractic Solutions uses gentle spinal manipulation
applied to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine areas to decrease
pain. Spinal manipulation of the thoracic spine efficiently 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 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 San Jose chiropractic care Chiropractic Solutions is well-trained
to deliver.
CONTACT Chiropractic Solutions
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.
Make your next San Jose
chiropractic appointment soon. 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 San Jose spinal
manipulation session.