Possible La Grande 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, nudging blood pressure higher. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC describes new studies that show some potential promise of chiropractic and spinal manipulation’s being able to positively affect blood pressure.
SPINAL MANIPULATION AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Spinal manipulation’s effect on the nervous system, particularly its sympathetic (“fight or flight” reactionary part) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest” calm part) parts of the autonomic nervous system, is garnering attention in the clinical setting with normal clients as well as in the sport setting with athletes. A study of using spinal manipulation versus a sham treatment with recreational athletes revealed that spinal manipulation before exercise sparked a shift toward enhanced parasympathetic system function giving rise to impaired performance. (1) That’s not all bad in the clinical setting! Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC knows it’s all about when to apply what type of care to get the best outcomes. Parasympathetic dominance to enhance pain reduction is good for athletes who experience back pain after their exercise.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, HYPERTENSION, AND MANIPULATION
Manual therapies like La Grande spinal manipulation and mobilization at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC are recognized for their ability to treat, ease, and handle 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 critical. Blood pressure control is complex, counting on the autonomic nervous system for its regulation while genetics and physiology may also influence it. Some patients - 20-30% of them - with blood pressure issues don’t respond to usual medications. Consequently, alternatives are being considered like chiropractic spinal manipulation therapy. An evaluation of the published literature discovered promising results that inspire more study. (2) A recent study found that spinal manipulation and mobilization effected a statistically significant decrease 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 most definitely needed. Systolic blood pressure reflects the force on the blood vessels when the heart beats (top number) while diastolic reflects 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 record such effect. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC offers gentle spinal manipulation treatment via the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management. Its is research-documented and efficacious for reducing back and neck pain.
CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates how the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may assist the autonomic system.
Make your next La Grande chiropractic appointment with Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC today. Hypertension may well meet its match - or at least back down a bit - with chiropractic spinal manipulation! Let us find out together.
