ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Building a healthier brain through chiropractic

Almost every patient that has ever came into my office was hoping I can improve their physical pain. Whether it be in the in their back, neck or extremities. I don’t think I have anyone come in saying, “Doc, can you help make my brain feel better?” But maybe they should!

Thanks to groundbreaking research by Dr. Heidi Haavik, we now have scientific research to explain how chiropractic adjustments can actual change the way the brain works. Chiropractic care actually has beneficial affects on the brain and getting adjustments on regular basis may actually enhance your mental health and the overall function of your brain. Who doesn’t want that side benefit?!

This all came about due to the work of Dr. Heidi Haavik, a chiropractor and a neurophysiologist who has worked in the area of human neurophysiology for more than 15 years. Her research has built the base of scientific evidence for the efficacy of chiropractic care in improving people’s health and wellbeing. She led a ground-breaking study into the influence on the brain after a spinal adjustment.

The 2015 study included participants who reported no pain and had never had any chiropractic treatment before. They were divided into two groups, with one receiving a chiropractic adjustment while their brain activity was being recorded. The other group did not receive a chiropractic adjustment (although it was made to look they did) but did have their brain activity recorded.

The group of participants receiving the adjustment showed stimulation of the prefrontal cortex, indicating that the adjustment had a direct effect on the sensory input to the brain. On the other hand, the brains from the second group showed no changes.

We know from previous studies that a vertebral subluxation interferes with the messages between the brain and spinal cord with the corresponding joints and surrounding muscles. Haavik’s study scientifically shows that chiropractic treatments help improve brain function.

Your brain and nervous system are in the conductors seat when it comes to controlling every function of your body: attention, balance, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, hormone production, and thousands of other functions to name a few. When something needs to be done, it’s the brain sending the signal through the nervous system to make things happen. If the spine is unhealthy, this slows communication and the resulting performance.

So it goes hand and hand, when your brain and nervous system function well, the rest of your body functions well.

We typically think of chiropractic treatments as primarily for pain relief, but the real goal is to have a positive effect on the brain’s neuroplasticity. By removing the stressors through chiropractic adjustments, we remove the interference and improve neuroplasticity.

Want to hear more about Dr. Haavik’s research? Check out this podcast https://chiropracticscience.com/podcast/drheidihaavik/

• • •

Dr. Wayne M. Fichter Jr. is a chiropractor at Natural Spine Solutions. The business is located at 3913 Schreiber Way in Coeur d’Alene. For more information, please contact us at 208-966-4425.