Chiropractic Blog

Imagine you have a little army inside you that protects you against foreign invaders. Any unwelcome guests that made it past your borders (ie. bacteria, viruses or other toxins) would be identified, isolated and ushered out  by these soldiers to keep your inner environment safe and sound.

This is actually how your immune system works. Its is an organized system of cells and organs that are constantly monitoring the status of your body, diligently working to ensure that your body stays healthy. Now imagine what would happen if those same soldiers that were organized to protect you turned their guns against you. Unfortunately, this kind of thing does happen in the body – its called an autoimmune reaction – and it is not uncommon. There are over 80 different disorders that are classified as autoimmune diseases. Some like asthma, involve only one organ or system. Others like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis involve multiple systems in the body. According to the National Institutes of Health, more people suffer from an autoimmune disease than those who suffer from cancer.  And the cost to treat autoimmune disorders is almost double the cost associated with cancer. Much more attention should be given to this collections of disorders to find a cure.

What treatments are available?

Traditional medicine focuses on a pharmaceutical approach. By knowing what organs and systems are affected by the disease, medical intervention aims at decreasing the damage to these tissues. Unfortunately, many of these approaches involve some type of immunosuppressant drug, which can reduce your body’s ability to fight other forms of illness. This can make you more susceptible to chronic infections and fatigue.

Chiropractic and Autoimmune Diseases

Chiropractic is a natural approach to fight autoimmune diseases. Chiropractors work with their patients to maximize their innate potential to heal themselves and improve physiological function. As the spine surrounds and protects the nervous system, any abnormality of the spine can potentially irritate this collection of sensitive nerve fibers. Irritation within the nervous system can disrupt normal brain-body communication and create dysfunction and disease of any organ or tissue. Chiropractic adjustments are very specific and are designed to restore proper spinal alignment and position. This is why people with autoimmune diseases often report many benefits from chiropractic care. When the nervous system is free from interference and the musculoskeletal system moves freely (two of the most common benefits experienced after the chiropractic adjustment), patients have a greater sense of ease, being able to move more effectively and efficiently. In addition, with brain-body connection free of irritation and interference, the natural function of every organ and system in the body is optimized.

Here are some examples of autoimmune diseases

• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Lupus erythematosus
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis

For more information or to book an appointment call Dr. Jen at 289-926-0026

Learn more about autoimmune diseases here