Blood pressure can be reduced with Chiropractic care.
Posted Nov 29 2010 8:33am
As a chiropractor I am considered a physician by the state of Connecticut so when I do an examination I check many things one of which is blood pressure. The nervous system controls all the organs in the body so checking a patients blood pressure tells me many things, how healthy the nervous system is, how much stress they have etc.
Systolic blood pressure is typically the first number in a blood pressure reading; for example, 120 when the blood pressure is reported as 120/80. The second or bottom number is called the diastolic pressure. Systolic blood pressure is the maximum arterial pressure during contraction of the left ventricle of the heart, while diastolic is the pressure when the heart is not contracting. Systolic blood pressure is an important factor in predicting mortality risk for heart failure patients.
Now here is where the relationship between blood pressure and Chiropractic gets interesting. A study was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension which showed that a special chiropractic adjustment can significantly lower high blood pressure when compared to a placebo. “This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination”, study leader George Bakris, MD, tells WedMD. “And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side-effects and no problems,” adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.
Eight weeks after undergoing the procedure, 25 patients with early stage high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure than 25 similar patients who underwent a sham chiropractic adjustment. Because patients can’t feel the technique, they were unable to tell which group they were in.
X-rays showed that the procedure realigned the Atlas vertebra, the doughnut like bone at the very top of the spine, with the spine in the treated patients but not in the sham-treated patients. Compared to the sham treated patients, those who got the real procedure saw an average 14mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure number). None of the patients took blood pressure medicine during the eight week study.
When the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn’t believe it. It was way too good to be true” Bakris says. “The statistician said, “I don’t even believe it. But we checked for everything and there is was.”
So here are ways to optimize your blood pressure safely, effectively and without a drug: Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, all simple grains and sugars to lower your insulin levels. Eat whole, complex grains instead. This will help you drop those extra pounds. Losing weight can drop your blood pressure by 5-7 points. Get a better handle on the stress that harms your health by learning relaxation techniques or doing yoga. Stress is the biggest cause of disease and ill health there is. See your chiropractor to evaluate if the above treatment will help you.
As a chiropractor I am considered a physician by the state of Connecticut so when I do an examination I check many things one of which is blood pressure. The nervous system controls all the organs in the body so checking a patients blood pressure tells me many things, how healthy the nervous system is, how much stress they have etc.
Systolic blood pressure is typically the first number in a blood pressure reading; for example, 120 when the blood pressure is reported as 120/80. The second or bottom number is called the diastolic pressure. Systolic blood pressure is the maximum arterial pressure during contraction of the left ventricle of the heart, while diastolic is the pressure when the heart is not contracting. Systolic blood pressure is an important factor in predicting mortality risk for heart failure patients.
Now here is where the relationship between blood pressure and Chiropractic gets interesting. A study was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension which showed that a special chiropractic adjustment can significantly lower high blood pressure when compared to a placebo. “This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination”, study leader George Bakris, MD, tells WedMD. “And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side-effects and no problems,” adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.
Eight weeks after undergoing the procedure, 25 patients with early stage high blood pressure had significantly lower blood pressure than 25 similar patients who underwent a sham chiropractic adjustment. Because patients can’t feel the technique, they were unable to tell which group they were in.
X-rays showed that the procedure realigned the Atlas vertebra, the doughnut like bone at the very top of the spine, with the spine in the treated patients but not in the sham-treated patients. Compared to the sham treated patients, those who got the real procedure saw an average 14mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg greater drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure number). None of the patients took blood pressure medicine during the eight week study.
When the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn’t believe it. It was way too good to be true” Bakris says. “The statistician said, “I don’t even believe it. But we checked for everything and there is was.”
So here are ways to optimize your blood pressure safely, effectively and without a drug: Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, all simple grains and sugars to lower your insulin levels. Eat whole, complex grains instead. This will help you drop those extra pounds. Losing weight can drop your blood pressure by 5-7 points. Get a better handle on the stress that harms your health by learning relaxation techniques or doing yoga. Stress is the biggest cause of disease and ill health there is. See your chiropractor to evaluate if the above treatment will help you.