Suffering from Seasonal Allergies? A Visit to Your Chiropractor Might Be The Answer
Warmer weather should signal a transition from spring into the long days of summer and the arrival of a bumper crop of the tastiest fruits. But for 50 million people in the US, it also means an onslaught of seasonal allergy symptoms. In fact, allergy-related diseases, including asthma, rank fifth in chronic diseases that affect Americans of all ages, and are the third most common disease in children (1). And that number is growing.
Quite a boon for the pharmaceutical industry, with $17.5 billion a year being spent on health costs in the US alone (and that is just for nasal swelling—never mind other allergies, like those to food or latex). But for the rest of us, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. Before you throw in the towel and pop another Claritin, however, consider Chiropractic care as a powerful, drug-free alternative.
How Chiropractic Works
In order to illustrate the link between the spine and the sinuses, it helps to understand what doctors of Chiropractic believe to be the root cause of disease—a term called vertebral subluxation. Subluxation refers to misaligned segments of the spine that compress and irritate the nerves that lead to your organs. Think of your nervous system as a water hose. Anywhere subluxation occurs, it’s exactly like placing a rock on the hose in that spot. The flow of water (nerve communication) slows to a trickle, and the garden (your organs) get less, if any, of the nourishment they need to stay strong and healthy. The nerves along your spine connect to different organs, so wherever the spine is out of alignment, those corresponding organs can’t function at optimal levels.
Regular Chiropractic adjustments can take pressure off the nerves, and relieve your symptoms, but after years of holding the wrong shape, the spine often needs more than just a few modifications in order to maintain the right one. At In8Love, I go beyond spinal adjustments and work with the scar tissue and the soft tissue. By incorporating coaching and customized exercises, I help you retrain your muscles to help keep your spine in proper alignment. And when that nerve communication from the brain to the organs is reconnected—when the rocks are lifted off the hose, so to speak—our body has the tools it needs to heal itself naturally.
What An Allergic Reaction Means
Medical researcher Dave Ninabahan describes allergies as “a constellation of clinical diseases” that cause the immune system to react in an exaggerated way to a normally harmless substance (2). As a result, the body attacks the invader it mistakenly believes to be harmful, causing an array of miserable symptoms, from itching and sneezing to vomiting and anaphylactic shock.
Because seasonal allergy symptoms are concentrated in the sinuses, they are fortunately on the opposite end of the spectrum from anaphylactic shock, but that doesn’t make the constant sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes and sore throat any less of a burden for the millions who suffer from these symptoms.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
When the C2 and C4 vertebrae in the neck or the T1, T2 or T9 vertebrae in the midback are misaligned, they can create an abnormal signal to be sent to the central nervous system. When this erroneous signal occurs along the same pathway required for normal environmental messages, the body may not interpret the information correctly, which can cause an allergic reaction. Sinus troubles, allergies, hay fever and asthma symptoms are just a few of the effects caused by subluxation of these five vertebrae.
Not only can an adjustment restore optimal functioning in the sinuses and respiratory system, Chiropractic care can generally improve your overall immune function. A 1992 study found that Chiropractic adjustments caused the white blood cell count in the body to rise significantly, giving a body greater resistance to toxic invaders and infection (4). And in 1975, Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute measured 107 individuals who had received long-term Chiropractic care and discovered that these patients had a 200% greater immune function than those who had not received treatment.
So whether you are looking for a drug-free alternative to the antihistamines that currently clog your medicine cabinet or you just want to feel better in general, come in for an adjustment today. You’ll be amazed that what you once thought was simply a remedy for neck or back pain, can actually provide you with innumerable benefits and a significant improvement in your overall health and well-being.
(1) http://www.aafa.org/page/allergy-facts.aspx