How Chiropractic Care Impacts Your Immune System
If you're reading this in real time then you know it's Winter...in New Hampshire...during this "Omicron" situation of this phase of the ongoing pandemic. It's literally like Spring break for most respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses this time of year in this part of the Country. Though I'm not here to talk about the news, the pandemic, or anything surrounding that, I am here to try to explain how your regular chiropractic care at my office can be one of many good things you're doing for your health to help keep away some of those naughty "germs" I mentioned above.
The first thing you need to KNOW is that your immune system and nervous system are connected anatomically and physiologically.1 The interactions and inner workings of these two systems are EXTENSIVE and very challenging for most to understand. In fact, so intertwined are the immune and nervous systems that our immune system is often referred to as a "circulating nervous system" and together they are also referred to as a "super system." I'm going to do my best by explaining this with a simpler example so stick with me.
The basic mechanism underlying fever is a prime example of the interplay between immunity and the brain. First lets get some vocabulary out of the way so you can follow (skip if you already know this stuff:)
Macrophages - Remember playing "Pac-Man" on your Nintendo back in the 80's? Well a macrophage is a type of immune cell that gobbles up anything that looks suspicious in our body...it's an immune Pac-Man.
Cytokine - Is a "loose categorization" of small proteins that play a role in cell signaling.
Interlukin-1(IL-1) - This is an inflammatory cytokine.
Hypothalamus - a region of the forebrain that coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, controlling body temperature, thirst, hunger, sleep and emotional activity.
Pituitary gland - A small gland attached to your hypothalamus and makes hormones that get dumped directly into the blood stream.
Ok, here we go: Infection, trauma, and stress causes macrophages to produce Interleukin-1, which enters the hypothalamus (part of your brain) through the blood-brain barrier. There it triggers a rise in body temperature. The inflammation triggers the release of cytokines (like Interleukin-1) and other hormones by the hypothalamus. Whatever is released by this part of the brain is dumped into the blood and circulates throughout the body having an impact on our immune system. Your immune system in the case of a fever get a "make more macrophages and other white blood cells" message from your brain to try to fight off what's knocking you down. Pretty cool right?
So what does this have to do with cold and flu season and chiropractic?
The immune system does not work alone. In fact, like every single other function in your body the immune system is controlled by your nervous system (we just did this with the example above.) The nervous system is the master control system of the body. Nothing happens in the body without the nervous system knowing about it and coordinating it.
So what does immunity have to do with structural chiropractic?
Because the nervous system controls and coordinates all functions in the body, obstructing or "disconnecting" (as a result of a structural shift in your spine) can have effects of every function of the body - including how your immune system is able to mount an immune response. Meaning in other terms, how well your immune system can adapt to your ever-changing internal and external environment in order to keep you well.
Adjusting structural shifts is how chiropractic can help people to stay connected and healthy.
1. https://www.pnas.org/content/90/17/7912