Where does your stress go? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Do you want
some assistance in relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation offers relaxing effects particularly when applied
to the cervical and thoracic spine regions. Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc sees
stress daily. Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc hears our Fort Wayne
chiropractic patients ask for more spine treatment once they experience
it! Wise chiropractic patients!
MEASURING RESPONSES TO SPINAL MANIPULATION: STRESS
First, 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 found
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 improved by
both upper and lower cervical manipulation. (1) Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc notes
that the effect of touch alone is powerful.
EFFECTS OF MANIPULATION ON STRESS RESPONSES
The body responds to all types of stimuli.
Researchers do their best 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 result in a
significant decrease of systolic together with 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 noticed
when the thoracic spine was treated. (3) Another study tied
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’s
something to manipulation beyond pain relief, and Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc is thrilled
to present the research as it is made available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc utilizes 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 transcend 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 Fort Wayne chiropractic care Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc is well-trained
to deliver.
CONTACT Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc
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 address parasympathetic
and sympathetic as well as pain responses in the body.
Make your next Fort Wayne
chiropractic appointment soon. Your neck and shoulders and upper
back will be grateful for the attention as will your decreased
pain and heart rate and blood pressure after a gentle Fort Wayne spinal
manipulation session.