Possible Groton Chiropractic Benefits for Hypertension

Hypertension. Blood Pressure. It’s a subject among friends and family members and patient/physician interactions even in yoga classes and via meditation apps. Our tense world has us all wound up, back pain and neck pain makes us worry, chronic pain anywhere stresses our bodies, pushing blood pressure higher. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office shares new studies that show some potential promise of chiropractic and spinal manipulation’s being able 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 gaining notice 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 revealed that spinal manipulation before exercise elicited a shift toward intensified parasympathetic system function giving rise to impaired performance. (1) That is not all bad in the clinical setting! Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office knows it is all about delivering the right type of treatment at the right time to get the best outcomes. Parasympathetic dominance to help reduce pain is good for athletes who experience back pain after their events.  

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, HYPERTENSION, AND MANIPULATION

Manual therapies like Groton spinal manipulation and mobilization at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office are recognized for their ability to treat, reduce, and manage spinal pain related conditions. As a side benefit, changes to the cardiovascular system have been documented. With hypertension being the global health concern (and even cause of death) that it is, such changes are possibly quite important. 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 common medications. Therefore, alternatives are being considered like chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy. An evaluation of the published literature found promising outcomes that inspire more study. (2) A recent study found that spinal manipulation and mobilization effected 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 certainly needed. Systolic blood pressure reflects the force on the blood vessels when the heart beats (top number) while diastolic reveals the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats (bottom number). Doctors commonly focus on the top, systolic number, so spinal manipulation’s effect would be welcome if more studies continue to show such effect.   Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office offers gentle spinal manipulation treatment via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.  Its is research-documented and effective for reducing back and neck pain.                          

CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may assist the autonomic system.

Make your next Groton chiropractic appointment with Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office today. Hypertension may well meet its match - or at least back down a bit - with chiropractic spinal manipulation! Let us figure it out together.