by Judy Soborowicz
Colds, flu, whooping cough, oh my! Opinions abound about what the best method is for avoiding these hassles altogether; most all can agree being sick is no fun. Chiropractic adjustments play a powerful role in boosting your body’s ability to deal effectively with whatever sickness comes your way. Chiropractic brings a proven view of healthcare — namely the confidence that the body is a self-healing organism that can solve most of its problems if given the opportunity to operate without too much ‘help’ or restriction.
According to the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), many parents are bringing their children to chiropractors for colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, and allergies. In our own practice, for over 17 years, we have observed patients who have had significant improvements regarding issues related to immune function. The practice of chiropractic does not in itself claim to be a treatment for any of these conditions; rather, the purpose is to reduce interference to the nerve system making our body stronger and more capable to fight off illness. Scientific evidence suggests this ability to enhance our body’s natural immune defenses is due to the intimate communication between our nerve system and our immune system. Our nerve system directs our powerful and complex immune system, which is both innate and continually developing throughout our life, including aspects that are passed to our children. Immune system cells live throughout our entire body, and keep our warm, wet, nutrient filled body (read perfect host), from becoming home for unwelcome invaders that may cause us to be sick. The communication between small nerve system messengers (neurotransmitters) and immune system messengers (cytokines) focuses specifically on our internal health and combats potential invaders.
When our immune system is communicating properly, we are naturally and highly capable of blocking foreign invaders such as germs, parasites, viruses, fungi, or toxic waste. Because all multicellular organisms require an immune system for survival, we know our immune system is communicating at some level if we are alive. We are covered with potentially life threatening invaders: they are on our hands, the grocery cart, public bathrooms, etc. We are alive because we have established this internal system of survival.
Without exception, each of us carry or are fighting off invaders that CAN make us sick — or worse. With the proper interplay between our nerve system and immune system, a stable efficient balance can be maintained. Utilizing methods of seek, memorize, and destroy, this communication between our nerve system and immune system is effective; it’s the reason we aren’t always sick, though we are continually presented with opportunities. Even better, each time we allow our immune system to fight off invaders on its own, naturally, the communication is optimized and our system is strengthened. We possess and have developed the ability to recognize and destroy not only every microbe that exists on the planet today, but any that may evolve in the future, whether we’ve seen anything like it before or not. This is important to know because each illness that we fight builds our immune system strength for the future. The more we allow our nerve and immune system to resist attacks naturally, the more finely tuned and powerful our immune system becomes. This is why many people experiencing chiropractic care will tell you that they no longer suffer with as many frequent, repeated, and time consuming sicknesses.
Chiropractic adjustments gently address stress in the spine, which provides movement and protection to the nerves that extend from our brain. Disruptions in the communication between our brain and our body occur due to slips, falls, auto accidents, sports injuries, even the birth process itself — all of which weaken the potential of our powerful immune system. The chiropractic approach includes carefully addressing past injuries, range of movement limitations, and disruptions to signals through the nerves exiting the backbone. People who are under regular chiropractic care report many health benefits; specifically, they report fewer and shorter colds, less frequent flu, and a break from allergies. They have discovered that fighting illness naturally is not as challenging as it sounds. Chiropractic helps you realize continued benefits by making the most of the communication between your brain and immune system. Chiropractic adjustments gently remove disruptions to improve the overall strength and efficiency of nerve and immune responses, and are a vital key to experiencing the optimal potential of our robust, powerful immune system.
Judy Soborowicz practices chiropractic and nutrition at Active Health along with her husband John. She enjoys writing, researching, and lecturing on topics concerning chiropractic, healthcare, and experience gained along the way.