Where does your stress go? Neck? Upper back? Head? Low back? Would you like some assistance in relaxing? Chiropractic spinal manipulation may well produce relaxing effects particularly when directed to the cervical and thoracic spine regions. New Hampshire Spine and Sport sees stress daily. New Hampshire Spine and Sport hears our Southern New Hampshire chiropractic patients request more spine treatment once they experience how good it is! Astute chiropractic patients!
MEASURING RESPONSES TO SPINAL MANIPULATION: STRESS
First, how do we react to stress? Sweaty palms. Rapid pulse and heart rate. We can feel these responses. Researchers strive to measure these responses. Measuring blood pressure, heart rate variability, 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) New Hampshire Spine and Sport notices that just the effect of touch is influential.
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. Variations in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were charted. They concluded that spinal manipulation and mobilization may bring about 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 noted when cervical and lumbar spine areas were treated while a greater sympathetic response was noticed when the thoracic spine was treated. (3) Another study linked pain response to resting blood pressure pre- and post-cervical spine non-thrust manipulation. Non-chronic neck pain patients who underwent such manipulation had reduced short-term pain and decreased systolic blood pressure. (4) There is something to manipulation beyond pain relief, and New Hampshire Spine and Sport is pleased to share the research as it is made available.
SPINAL MANIPULATION TREATMENT
New Hampshire Spine and Sport uses 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 produce similar changes in patients’ pressure pain thresholds and decrease neck pain intensity. (6) These are benefits of Southern New Hampshire chiropractic care New Hampshire Spine and Sport is well-experienced to provide.
CONTACT New Hampshire Spine and Sport
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains how chiropractic and The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may well address parasympathetic and sympathetic and pain responses in the body.
Make your next Southern New Hampshire chiropractic appointment today. Your neck and shoulders and upper back will appreciate the attention as will your reduced pain and heart rate and blood pressure after a gentle Southern New Hampshire spinal manipulation session.