Possible Georgetown Chiropractic Benefits for Hypertension
Blood pressure. Hypertension. It is a subject among friends and family members and patient/physician interactions even in yoga classes and via meditation apps. Our tense world has us all wound up, back pain and neck pain creates worry, chronic pain anywhere stresses our bodies, nudging blood pressure higher. Dr. Butwell presents new studies that show some potential promise of chiropractic and spinal manipulation’s ability to positively change blood pressure.
SPINAL MANIPULATION AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Spinal manipulation’s effect on the nervous system, specifically its sympathetic (“fight or flight” reactionary part) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest” calm part) parts of the autonomic nervous system, is garnering notice in the clinical setting with normal clients and in the sport setting with athletes. A study of delivering spinal manipulation versus a sham treatment with recreational athletes reported that spinal manipulation before exercise elicited a shift toward intensified parasympathetic system function giving rise to diminished performance. (1) That’s not all bad in the clinical setting! Dr. Butwell knows it is all about when to apply what type of care to get the best outcomes. Parasympathetic dominance to help reduce pain is good for athletes who may suffer with back pain after their exercise.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, HYPERTENSION, AND MANIPULATION
Manual therapies like Georgetown spinal manipulation and mobilization at Dr. Butwell are recognized for their ability to treat, reduce, and manage spinal pain related conditions. As a side benefit, changes to the cardiovascular system have been documented. With hypertension being the global health concern (and even reason for death) that it is, such changes are potentially quite critical. Blood pressure control is complex, counting on the autonomic nervous system for its regulation while genetics and physiology may also influence it. Some patients - 20-30% of them - with blood pressure issues don’t respond to common medications. Therefore, alternatives are being considered like chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy. A review of the published literature discovered promising results that inspire more study. (2) A recent study found that spinal manipulation and mobilization effected a statistically significant reduction in systolic blood pressure as well as diastolic blood pressure and heart rate variability though these were statistically non-significant in this setting. (3) More research is most definitely needed. Systolic blood pressure reveals the force on the blood vessels when the heart beats (top number) while diastolic reveals the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats (bottom number). Doctors commonly focus on the top, systolic number, so spinal manipulation’s effect would be appreciated if more studies continue to confirm such effect. Dr. Butwell offers gentle spinal manipulation treatment via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management. Its is research-documented and efficacious for reducing back and neck pain.
CONTACT Dr. Butwell
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains how the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may assist the autonomic system.
Make your next Georgetown chiropractic appointment with Dr. Butwell soon. Hypertension may well meet its match - or at least back down a bit - with chiropractic spinal manipulation! Let’s find out together.
