The other day one of our clients came into the clinic after hearing that chiropractic can help boost the immune system, thus helping with colds and flu. She was just starting feel like she was getting sick and wanted to know if an adjustment would help. I confirmed that what she heard was true and discussed with her how chiropractic can help boost the immune system.  

Studies have shown that children and adults who receive chiropractic care have fewer colds, ear infections and flu. In fact, chiropractic care was first linked to improved immunity during the deadly flu epidemic of 1917 and 1918. The interesting part was: Chiropractic patients fared much better than the rest of the population. The data reported was that flu victims under chiropractic care had an estimated .25 percent death rate, than the medical profession at 5-6 percent.  

Newer studies have shown that disease-fighting white blood cell counts were higher just 15 minutes after a chiropractic adjustment. A similar study investigated the immune system response in HIV-positive patients under chiropractic care. After six months of treating spinal misalignments, the group receiving chiropractic treatments showed a 48 percent increase in white blood cell counts. Conversely, the group that did not receive chiropractic manipulation experienced a 7.96 percent decrease in immunity cells. 

So how does this all work? Our immune system is coordinated and controlled by the nervous system, just like every other system in our body. Chiropractic care corrects what we call "subluxations" in your spine which are basically misalignments in the joints, putting pressure on the nerves and thus interfering with the nervous system. The nervous system interference does not allow the body and in this case, the immune system to function normally.  

During an immune response, the brain and the nervous system communicate with each other and if the nervous system is not functioning, then the immune system cannot function at 100 percent. When the immune system does not function at 100 percent, the body become susceptible to bacteria, viruses and illness. With chiropractic care we remove the subluxations and nerve interference, thus boosting your immune system functioning.     
So the next time you want to cancel your chiropractic appointment because you are too sick, remember that chiropractic adjustment might be just what the doctor ordered!