Chiropractic Adjustments and the Immune System

It’s started, many of my patients are coughing, sneezing and more thanks to any number of seasonal illnesses.  If you’d like to avoid it altogether, and frankly who wouldn’t, you’ll need an immune system that’s in top shape.  But how do you shape up your immune system?  A healthy diet is a great way to contribute to this. And while many people are aware of that—regardless of how well they comply-- fewer know how the body’s immune system is impacted by another biological network: the nervous system.  The primary nexus point of your nervous system is found at your spine.  It’s the foundation of the traditional chiropractic care I provide, but what does it have to do with getting sick or being able to fight off illness?

The alignment of your spine can play a big role in the way your body communicates across systems, including your immune system.  If your spine is misaligned, or if subluxations are present, the result can be a lack of immune defense, like when you become susceptible to the flu, or an improper immune response, as is the case with many allergies.  While it’s not very hard to tell if you’re coming down with a bad cold or if hay fever is taking its toll, you can’t always tell if the root cause is a subluxation. While fundamental to health, misalignments and subluxations may not be something you may be able to feel directly.  If you’re masking your symptoms with medicine, you’re only silencing your body’s immune response.  To alleviate your symptoms, you must correct your immune response by realigning your body so it can function at its best.

This is accomplished through tried and true, natural chiropractic adjustments. When the spine is in proper alignment the complex communication that occurs throughout your body’s networks is restored, and when that happens, your body can heal innately and defend against illness.  So before you consider a flu shot or restock your medicine cabinet in preparation for cold, flu and allergy season, try a spinal adjustment as your best line of defense, as well as the most efficient, non-invasive and natural method for enabling your body to do what it should do best: heal and thrive.        

-          Dr. David B. Thomson B.Sc. D.C.