Improving Immune Function
Hello and welcome to my blog!
We have seen an uptick in patients recently who have a variety of reasons for their poor immune health. Some have chromosomal deletions that effect their immune function, some may have an auto-immune disease such as MS or SLE, while others have poor health habits and are habitually sick.
As we approach the next cold and flu season we have been teaching our patients about our favorite ways to improve immune health. We know that maintenance chiropractic care results in healthier patients; they have less severity and frequency of illness, they have less antibiotic and prescription medication use, and they have less hospitalizations and surgical procedures. However, we did not have a proposed biological mechanism for these functional improvements until recently.
We have been seeing improved immune function in our chiropractic patients since the beginning. During that 1918 flu, researchers in Davenport, Iowa (where chiropractic was founded) found that out of the 93,590 patients treated by medical doctors, there were 6,116 deaths — a loss of 1/15 patients. Doctors at Palmer School of Chiropractic adjusted 1,635 cases, with only one death (1/1635 patients succumbed to illness). Outside Davenport, chiropractors in the rest of the state cared for 4,735 cases with only six deaths — (1/866). This was the first large-scale flu event where chiropractors were able to see first hand the power of the adjustment and its effect on the immune function (1).
In 1992, a study run by the National College of Chiropractic took blood tests pre and post an adjustment to look at the effects of the adjustment on immune function. The study showed that white blood cell counts were significantly higher just 15 minutes after a SINGLE chiropractic adjustment. These elevated white blood cells lasted for a few weeks! (2). The treatment protocol that was suggested by this and other similar studies was 14 chiropractic visits a year, basically once a month to have significant improvement in immune health.
In 1994, researchers at Life Chiropractic University took a group of HIV positive patients and adjusted them over a six-month period. They found that patients who were adjusted had a 48% increase in the number of CD4 immune cells while the control group actually experienced a 7.69% decrease in CD4 cell counts over the same period (3).
Most people experience immune dysfunction in the form of psoriasis, eczema, or dermatitis; reactions in the skin showing an underlying immunocompromised state. A study in 2004 revealed that chronic thoracic nerve compression significantly decreased immune function. Researchers found that 88% patients who received regular chiropractic care had resolution of symptoms or significantly cleared skin while 70% had improvement in allergies! (4) Why get years of allergy shots when the adjustment can do the work for you?
Another famous study by Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University, showed the positive effect that chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health.
His initial three-year study was of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more. The chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune function than those who had not received chiropractic care. They also had a 400% greater immune competence than those people with cancer and other serious diseases. The immune system’s function for those under chiropractic care did not appear to diminish with age (5).
Dr. Pero stated: “When applied in a clinical framework, I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group to experience a 200% increase over the normal patients. This is why it is so dramatically important. We have never seen such a positive improvement in a group.”
At our office we understand that the adjustment is a powerful tool, but we have also began adding in lymphatic treatment as another way to care for our patients immune function. As we age, the function of our lymphatic system begins to decline, which may result in the development of chronic diseases (6). Lymphatic massage techniques are a gentle and effective way to improve the function of lymph tissue. The benefits of lymphatic massage include decongesting lymphatic pathways and enhancing immune function, remove bacteria, viruses, cancer cells and dead cells from the body, allows tissue to access more nutrients, reduces edema, reduces pain and induces deep relaxation. This will all be discussed in more detail in a later blog post!
The best time to start caring about your health was yesterday! Every adjustment is an act of self-love where you are not only taking care of your present self, but your future self as well. When we decide to age with a higher quality of care, we are not only easing our own struggles, but we lessen the amount of care we need from family and future caretakers as well.
Feel Well and Do Good,
ADIO
Dr. Super
References
Riley, G.W. Osteopathic Success in the Treatment of Influenza and Pneumonia. American Osteopathic Association – Chicago Session. July 1919. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, August 1919.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200608/immune-boost-is-spinal-zap
Y Takeda, S Arai. Relationship Between Vertebral Deformities And Allergic Diseases. The Internet Journal of Orthopedic Surgery. 2003 Volume 2 Number 1
Pero R. “Medical Researcher Excited By CBSRF Project Results.” The Chiropractic Journal, August 1989; 32.
Selano JL, Hightower BC, Pfleger B, Feeley-Collins K, Grostic JD. “The Effects of Specific Upper Cervical Adjustments on the CD4 Counts of HIV Positive Patients.” The Chiro Research Journal; 3(1); 1994.
Jaheda, S., Lavanya, P., & Nagaraja, J. Ways to Enhance Lymphatic Dynamics and Their Benefits.