These days, doctors are trying to find out if the right adjustment can not only straighten your spine but also help hypertension (which is blood pressure above 140/90).
Many people with high blood pressure would like to find a way to avoid taking medication, but a trip to the chiropractor may seem an unlikely alternative. Or is it? An intriguing study is showing that a special kind of neck adjustment is helping some patients lower their blood pressure without drugs!
What makes your blood pressure boil: stress, too much salt, lack of exercise, bad genes? No one is 100% sure about the cause. But here’s something new to consider: could it be an issue with the top of your spine? “They took x-rays and showed me that my neck was out of alignment,” said Denise Niemann, patient.
Niemann went to a specific chiropractor for pain in her neck. After having a special adjustment, the pain was gone and so was something else.
“My blood pressure dropped tremendously,” she said.
Other patients were reporting the same positive but surprising side effect. Doctor George Bakris, a hypertension expert at the University of Chicago Medical Center, decided to find out if there really was some kind of connection.
“We designed a double blind study to really look and see if in fact this procedure was affecting high blood pressure,” said Bakris.
So, why would straightening the top of the spine affect blood pressure?
Marshall Dickholtz, Sr. and Jr., say they know why. The father and son chiropractors believe this area of the spine called the C-1 vertebra (or atlas) operates as the fuse box to the body. If it’s twisted and out of alignment, arteries and nerves at the base of the brain might get compressed and that could affect blood flow and nerve signals.
“Affects not only your central nervous system but your autonomic system that means it can affect every organ of your body,” said Marshall Dickholtz, Sr., DC, NUCCA chiropractor. The technique is used by a small number of chiropractors certified in national upper cervical chiropractic techniques. Known as NUCCA chiropractors, they use x-rays and very precise measurements to determine if someone is misaligned. If so, the atlas is repositioned with gentle maneuvers.
“When the spine is misaligned, it can affect all types of disease or conditions,” said Marshall Dickholtz, Jr. DC. “Is there a way to guarantee that everyone who gets adjusted that all the blood pressure is going to come down? Absolutely not.”There is still a lot of research to be done, but if you’re experiencing high blood pressure, make sure to get your spine checked!
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