Can you imagine going through the year without colds, the flu or even allergies holding you back?  Breathing free all year round, without aches, pains or a fever would be ideal.  Is it achievable though?

Some studies have linked regular chiropractic care with increased immune function.  You have to be careful about how this is interpreted though.  Chiropractic care in and of itself does NOT increase any of the immune markers in your blood stream.  To put that into lay terms, it will not increase any type of cell that will improve your immunity (some chiropractors will tell you that it does, but this is a secondary effect).  So how does chiropractic care improve your immunity?

Chiropractic care can help to decrease the stresses on your body.  When your body is experiencing tight muscles or misalignments, it isn’t working optimally.  This extra work does the same thing to your body that working overtime does to the rest of you.  It exhausts things, increases stress and decreases function.  When these stressors are removed, the body is able to work more optimally.

On a deeper level, the stresses on your body cause oxidative stress (I’m sure most of you have heard of free radicals).  I’m positive that you have all read, or heard, about anti-oxidants, as they are constantly in the news and are used frequently in marketing.  Anti-oxidants help neutralize the damage that these oxidative free radicals cause.  The less oxidative compounds you have in the body, the more those anti-oxidants are able to perform other functions.  This leads to an improvement in your immunity.  Arguably the same thing could be accomplished through eating huge amounts of anti-oxidants, but that is just not feasible.

So, how do we go about making this work?  Unfortunately you can’t just go into your chiropractor today and see instant results.  These processes take a while to go into effect.  Your best action would be to seek regular treatment.  Once monthly appointments, to maintain your optimal muscle and joint health, can help you make strides in your overall health, including improving the immune markers in your blood stream (basically improving immunity).  An added benefit could/should also be reduced aches and pains, which we could all use.

Unfortunately there are people out there that will mislead you with research.  Understanding this will save you in many ways.  Some chiropractors that I know have instructed people to “come in as soon as you feel your first symptoms”.  While this may help you feel better, decreasing your stress overall, it is unlikely to make a difference on the bout of illness that you are experiencing at that time, as the body needs time for the immune improvements to take place.

So, while chiropractic can help you increase your immunity over time, don’t expect us to perform miracles.  Regular chiropractic care is necessary for these effects, but it could pay for itself very quickly.

Jeffrey L. Cumro, DC
Better Life Chiropractic and Wellness, LLC
                Better Care > Better Health> Better Life
402-210-1472
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