Nervous System Regulation
Chiropractors are regulated health professionals who are musculoskeletal specialists, practicing a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and preventive care of biomechanical disorders originating from the muscular, skeletal and nervous systems. Chiropractors provide qualified, effective treatment to promote health, alleviate pain, and improve your quality of life.
Chiropractic care helps to relieve pain and restore normal functioning to the joints and supporting muscles and ligaments through manual adjustments. A chiropractic adjustment may be able to reduce the firing of the pain receptor by decreasing input to the spinal cord, thus reducing the sensation of pain. These spinal adjustments also have been known to affect the autonomic nervous system by helping to down-regulate the sympathetic nervous system and promote parasympathetic activity.
The autonomic nervous system is continuously active and is responsible for unconscious regulation of our glands and organs. The sympathetic nervous system takes charge of “fight or flight” activities, such as, increased heart rate, increased sweating, and increased blood pressure. These activities are complementary to those of the parasympathetic nervous system, which activates processes associated with the “rest and relaxation” response.
Your body, in a state of rest, promotes healing, repair of tissues, and growth of new tissues. This resting state is also supportive of the immune system, which is highly sensitive to stress and stress hormones. We are more susceptible to illness when we are stressed, because stress hormones are released as part of the fight or flight response.
Chiropractic care is a safe, effective, and highly researched complementary form of health care. Chiropractors treat a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions using a large range of techniques. By performing a thorough history taking and physical examination, chiropractors aim to find and treat the source of the symptoms rather than focusing on the location of the pain alone.
