Possible Ashburn Chiropractic Benefits for Hypertension

Hypertension. Blood Pressure. It’s a topic among friends and family members and patient/physician interactions even in yoga classes and via meditation apps. Our uptight world has us all stressed out, back pain and neck pain creates worry, chronic pain anywhere stresses our bodies, nudging blood pressure higher. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn presents recent studies that demonstrate some potential promise of chiropractic and spinal manipulation’s being able to positively change 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 and in the sport setting with athletes. A study of delivering spinal manipulation versus a sham treatment with recreational athletes reported that spinal manipulation before exercise prompted a shift toward intensified parasympathetic system function giving rise to impaired performance. (1) That is not all bad in the clinical setting! Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn knows it’s all about when to apply what type of care to get the optimal outcomes. Parasympathetic dominance to enhance pain reduction is good for athletes suffering with back pain after their events.  

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, HYPERTENSION, AND MANIPULATION

Manual therapies like Ashburn spinal manipulation and mobilization at Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn are known for their ability to treat, reduce, and handle spinal pain related conditions. As an additional benefit, changes to the cardiovascular system have been noted. With hypertension being the global health concern (and even cause of death) that it is, such changes are possibly quite critical. Blood pressure control is complex, depending on the autonomic nervous system for its regulation while genetics and physiology may also play a role. Quite a few patients - 20-30% of them - with blood pressure issues don’t respond to common medications. Therefore, alternatives are being studied like chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy. A review of the published literature found promising outcomes that encourage more study. (2) A recent study found that spinal manipulation and mobilization made 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 study. (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 most often pay more attention to the top, systolic number, so spinal manipulation’s effect would be appreciated if more studies continue to confirm such effect.   Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn offers gentle spinal manipulation treatment via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.  It’s research-documented and efficacious for reducing back and neck pain.                          

CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn

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.

Make your next Ashburn chiropractic appointment with Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn today. Hypertension may well meet its match - or at least back down a bit - with chiropractic spinal manipulation! Let’s find out together.