When people think of heart disease, many usually think of clogged arteries or a sedentary life with little exercise to strengthen the heart muscle. What many people don’t know, though, is that Chiropractic has been showing to help your heart. So, todays article is for those wonder, “can chiropractic help heart disease?”
We live in a World where at least 50% of the population will suffer from heart disease and not because of genes or age but because of our lifestyles. Many people around the World live longer and rarely get heart disease, but it is because of their more proactive lifestyles, which have been instilled in their cultures.
Beyond eating healthfully and exercising regularly, chiropractic can drastically impact our heart health in a positive way.
What Research Has Found
Recent research by medical provider Dr. George Bakris out of the University of Chicago Hypertension Center found that a misaligned spine can lead to high blood pressure. He took 50 patients with high blood pressure and gave half of them a real chiropractic adjustment and the other half a series of fake adjustments.
Those with the real chiropractic adjustments experienced improved blood pressures as systolic (top) numbers lowered by 14 mm. In conclusion, receiving a chiropractic adjustment lowered blood pressure better than 2 medications and has zero side effects.
Heart Disease & Posture
As many of you are aware our office focuses on structural correction to combat the postural patterns to which we subject our bodies everyday. The most common pattern is Anterior Head Syndrome where the head is shifted forward over the ears.
According to Rene Cailliet, the University of California’s Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, “This posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage pulling the entire spine out of alignment and may result in the loss of 30% of vital lung capacity.” As forward head posture decreases lung capacity, it prevents the body from effectively oxygenating cells. This can lead to asthmatic conditions, blood vessel problems, and heart disease.
Therefore it is so essential to see a corrective chiropractor to make sure your head tilts back and the curve in the neck is structurally sound.
More To Come
For those who think chiropractic is solely for improving neck pain, back pain, and headaches, this month is dedicated to teaching chiropractic care’s positive effect on the heart. Stay tuned for great opportunities to learn why getting your spine corrected and maintained exponentially increases your quantity and quality of life, especially for your heart.
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