Possible Manchester Chiropractic Benefits for Hypertension

Blood pressure. Hypertension. It is a topic among friends and family members and patient/physician interactions even in yoga classes and via meditation apps. Our tense world has us all stressed out, back pain and neck pain creates worry, chronic pain anywhere stresses our bodies, nudging blood pressure higher. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries describes recent studies that demonstrate some potential promise of chiropractic and spinal manipulation’s ability to beneficially affect 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) functions of the autonomic nervous system, is garnering attention in the clinical setting with normal clients as well as in the sport setting with athletes. A study of utilizing spinal manipulation versus a sham treatment with recreational athletes found that spinal manipulation before exercise elicited a shift toward intensified parasympathetic system function giving rise to diminished performance. (1) That is not all bad in the clinical setting! Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries knows it’s all about when to apply what type of care to get the best results. Parasympathetic dominance to enhance pain reduction is good for athletes who may suffer with back pain after their exercise.  

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, HYPERTENSION, AND MANIPULATION

Manual therapies like Manchester spinal manipulation and mobilization at Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries are recognized for their ability to treat, reduce, and manage spinal pain related conditions. As a bonus 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 possibly quite critical. Blood pressure control is complex, counting on the autonomic nervous system for its regulation while genetics and physiology may also play a role. Some patients - 20-30% of them - with blood pressure issues do not respond to usual medications. Consequently, alternatives are being studied like chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy. An evaluation of the published literature discovered promising results that encourage more study. (2) A newer study found that spinal manipulation and mobilization had 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 reflects the force on the blood vessels when the heart beats (top number) while diastolic reflects the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats (bottom number). Doctors most often focus on the top, systolic number, so spinal manipulation’s effect would be appreciated if more studies continue to show such effect.   Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries offers gentle spinal manipulation treatment via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.  It’s research-documented and effective for reducing back and neck pain.                          

CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries

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.

Schedule your next Manchester chiropractic appointment with Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries soon. Hypertension may well meet its match - or at least back down a bit - with chiropractic spinal manipulation! Let us figure it out together.