Where do you carry
your stress? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Would you like
some help relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation may
well produce relaxing effects particularly when directed
to the cervical and thoracic spine regions. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office sees
stress every day. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office hears our Groton
chiropractic patients ask for more spine treatment once they experience
it! 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 boosted
parasympathetic (calming) system and lower cervical manipulation improved
sympathetic (fight or flight) activity. Curiously, neck
pain patients’ parasympathetic activity was boosted by
both upper and lower cervical manipulation. (1) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office notices
that just the effect of touch is influential.
EFFECTS OF MANIPULATION ON STRESS RESPONSES
The body responds to all types of stimuli.
Researchers attempt to document how. One
group performed a meta-analysis of multiple studies about
the effect of spinal manipulation and mobilization on cardiovascular responses.
Variations 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 reported that a greater
parasympathetic response was seen when cervical and lumbar spine
areas were treated while a larger sympathetic response was seen
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 decreased systolic blood
pressure. (4) There is
something to manipulation beyond pain relief, and Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office is happy
to present the research as it is made available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office uses gentle spinal manipulation
applied to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine areas to reduce
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 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 reduce neck pain intensity. (6) These
are benefits of Groton chiropractic care Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office is well-trained
to provide.
CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
illustrates how chiropractic and The Cox® Technic
System of Spinal Pain Management may well attune parasympathetic
and sympathetic and pain responses in the body.
Make your next Groton
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 Groton spinal
manipulation session.