Wellness Articles

Exactly how powerful is the experience of receiving a chiropractic adjustment? New evidence suggests that chiropractic care does much more than alleviate back pain—it positively affects body chemistry all the way down to the cellular level. In a nutshell, chiropractic adjustments strengthen the body, making cells and DNA more resistant to disease.

In March 2006, the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research published a landmark study that offered a long-awaited scientific explanation for why chiropractic patients experience positive health benefits. The article stated that chiropractic care could stimulate basic physiological processes that help diminish bodily stress and enhance DNA repair.

In the study, a diverse group of 76 people were divided into three categories. Group one received short-term chiropractic care. Group two received long-term chiropractic care. Group three was the control group that did not receive chiropractic adjustments. Results indicated that long-term chiropractic care of two or more years produced healthier bodies. Age, sex, nutritional supplements and prior health conditions did not hinder or enhance these results. Basically stated, chiropractic adjustment improved the overall health of everyone in groups one and two.

To look at the study results on a deeper, more scientific level, let’s examine the average human body. Everything from your career, to your family dynamic, to your eating and sleeping habits produces physical, chemical and emotional stress in your body. These stresses can obstruct and negatively affect your nervous system, which in turn hinders your body’s ability to produce naturally occurring antioxidants that fight off disease and other illness.

However, chiropractic adjustment works to remove obstructions to the nervous system. This allows internal body processes to begin functioning at normal levels, thus enhancing the body’s ability to produce healthy chemicals that work to protect cells and DNA from becoming mutated by disease.

[Source: Medical News Today, March 2006]

Contributed by: Dr. Aaron on April 30, 2008   ·  Filed under: portland oregon chiropractic  ·  

April 2008

Research shows adjustment’s impact on brain function
According to a study conducted by Dr. Heidi Haavik-Taylor, director of research at New Zealand College of Chiropractic, chiropractic adjustments may alter cortical somatosensory processing and sensorimotor integration, that is, the way the brain and nervous system function.

“The process of a spinal adjustment is like rebooting a computer. The signals that these adjustments send to the brain, via the nervous system, reset muscle behaviour patterns,” said Dr. Haavik-Taylor.

“By stimulating the nervous system we can improve the function of the whole body. This is something that chiropractors and their patients have known for years; and now we have some scientific evidence to prove it.”

According to a press release from the New Zealand Chiropractors Association, Haavik-Taylor has spent the last seven years researching the effects of chiropractic adjustments on the nervous system. In her latest research, carried out in conjunction with fellow New Zealander, Dr. Bernadette Murphy, she was able to measure how brain waves are altered before and after spinal adjustments.

“This is the first time that anyone has used EEGs to prove that there are definite changes to the way the brain processes information after chiropractic care,” she said in the release.

The research report, “Altered Sensorimotor Integration With Cervical Spine Manipulation,” was published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (Volume 31, Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 115-126).

According to the abstract of the report, the objective of the research was to investigate changes in the intrinsic inhibitory and facilitatory interactions within the sensorimotor cortex subsequent to a single session of cervical spine manipulation using single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation protocols.

Twelve subjects with a history of reoccurring neck pain participated in this study. Short interval intracortical inhibition, short interval intracortical facilitation (SICF), motor evoked potentials, and cortical silent periods (CSPs) were recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis and the extensor indices proprios muscles of the dominant limb after single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation of the contralateral motor cortex. The experimental measures were recorded before and after spinal manipulation of dysfunctional cervical joints, and on a different day after passive head movement. To assess spinal excitability, F wave persistence and amplitudes were recorded after median nerve stimulation at the wrist.

After cervical manipulations, there was an increase in SICF, a decrease in short interval intracortical inhibition, and a shortening of the CSP in abductor pollicis brevis. The opposite effect was observed in extensor indices proprios, with a decrease in SICF and a lengthening of the CSP. No motor evoked potentials or F wave response alterations were observed, and no changes were observed after the control condition.

The researchers conclusion was that “spinal manipulation of dysfunctional cervical joints may alter specific central corticomotor facilitatory and inhibitory neural processing and cortical motor control of 2 upper limb muscles in a muscle-specific manner. This suggests that spinal manipulation may alter sensorimotor integration. These findings may help elucidate mechanisms responsible for the effective relief of pain and restoration of functional ability documented after spinal manipulation.”

Haavik-Taylor is the recipient of two grants from the Australian Spinal Research Foundation to further her studies on how chiropractic care affects the function of the nervous system and alters muscle function.

Earlier this year Haavik-Taylor was recognized by her peers and she received the New Zealand College of Chiropractic Alumni Chiropractor of the Year 2007 award in recognition of her research and her passion for the discipline.

“(Dr. Haavik-Taylor’s) work is ground-breaking on an international level by proving that chiropractic adjustments do alter and benefit the nervous system,” said Dr. James Burt, president of the New Zealand Chiropractors Association.

Contributed by: Dr. Aaron on April 13, 2008   ·  Filed under: Information and Research  ·  

It’s all over the news this week; people taking the potentially life-threatening, cholesterol lowering medication, Vytorin, should think twice before continuing its use.

Vytorin is a widely popular anti-cholesterol drug that is prescribed to about 4 million Americans. Yet when a major study, recently published by the New England Journal of Medicine, compared this medication to other drugs in its category, Vytorin’s benefit claims fell flat. It was also shown to cost about five times more than other similar drugs that perform on a similar level.

Wait, the bad news just gets worse.

In 2004 when pharmaceutical companies were pushing for Vytorin’s release to the public, the FDA’s very own pharmacology reviewer found that even the smallest dose of Vytorin caused severe toxicity in laboratory animals and recommended against its approval. Yet somehow this dangerous drug still got FDA approval and has now raked in over 5 million dollars for its manufacturers, Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp.

Since its approval, scores of people taking Vytorin have reported all kinds of serious side effects that have dramatically reduced the quality of their life, often times leading to hospitalization. The side effects of this drug can be so bad that New England Journal of Medicine says is should only be taken as a last resort.

Despite the public’s outcry to know the truth about Vytorin, the two pharmaceutical companies behind the pill are shrugging off the concerns, saying they will continue to make and promote their drug.

It’s clear that pharmaceutical companies are in the business of making money, not health. The good news is that you can drastically enhance your health by taking simple steps, like eating plenty of fresh produce (think vegetables and fruits), and avoiding processed foods and foods high in sugar. You’ll be surprised at what an impact your diet has on internal body processes—like the ability to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease.

Another simple way to improve your health is to schedule regular chiropractic adjustments. By maintaining a healthy spine, you’ll be opening the door to health in other areas of your body, as well.

[Source: Consumer Affairs report Doctors Warned About Vytorin, 3/31/08, and CNN.com/health report “Trial: Popular cholesterol drug fails to improve heart disease”]

Contributed by: Dr. Aaron on April 2, 2008   ·  Filed under: General/Misc.  ·