It is so easy for people to get wiped out by a major cold a few times a year through the cold and flu season. There seems to be about a month-long period in the fall (hello, November!) where everyone at the grocery store, work, or school is constantly sick and groggy. Here’s the thing- it looks like there’s a little-known immune boost used to protect against some of those seasonal illnesses.
The secret weapon? A visit to the chiropractor!
Okay, let’s break it down. The immune system responds every time someone gets wiped out by a cold during the fall. It releases cells which fight off the infection, but it also releases cells who remember that infection. Those cells act like bouncers at the nightclub and the cold virus is on the list of illnesses that they aren’t letting in. So, the immune system’s cells fight off the cold and don’t let it back in. How does this relate to going to the chiropractor?
Chiropractic care can directly affect the immune system! How does that happen? This study looked at different people’s immune systems after they had visited a chiropractor. 20 minutes after they’d gotten a spinal adjustment at the chiropractor’s office, there was a significant boost in immune system molecules that help fight infection. This immune boost was still obvious two hours after the chiropractic adjustment! There’s a link between getting a back adjustment at the chiropractor office and getting a healthy immune boost to fight off infections!
Ok, slow down. Could it just be a coincidence? Maybe the immune boost happens along with a chiropractor visit but it isn’t directly caused by it? That study connected all the dots about how a spinal adjustment can cause an immune protection against colds. The immune system is also connected to the central nervous system and the endocrine system. The immune system has those cold-fighting cells, the central nervous system has the spine, and the endocrine system has hormones that affect energy levels. If someone gets a spinal adjustment at the office, the nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system all respond and react to that change. This is why there are some feel-good hormones released from the endocrine system at the same time! Going to the chiropractor will fix spinal alignment, renew energy levels, and give someone an immune boost to protect against colds or any complications from them, like developing the flu.
Need more evidence of chiropractic cold fighting? This other study followed children who had undergone regular chiropractic treatments growing up. In comparison to regular kids who got sickly and snotty during cold and flu season, these chiropractic care kids had fewer ear and sinus infections, fewer tonsil infections after colds, and fewer seasonal allergies. The immune boost worked here!
Recharge energy levels with a chiropractic care session and do right by the immune system. Get those immune system bouncer cells to kick that cold to the curb! It’s time to visit the chiropractor and get an immune boost before the cold and flu season starts!
