Recent research reported in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research reveals that chiropractic may play an important role in helping reduce deaths in patents with high blood pressure. The research Association of Hypertension Mortality Rates with Geographic Concentrations of Chiropractors and Medical Doctors in the U.S. showed that the higher the concentration of chiropractors revealed a stronger beneficial correlation with decreased hypertension death rates compared to concentrations of medical doctors – meaning more chiropractors equals less deaths from high blood pressure. The author cautions that since this is an observational study, causal inference is not claimed. Further research with other designs is indicated to verify these findings.

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“Research is revealing that minor structural spinal shifts may be a factor in a number of disorders. These spinal shifts lead to nerve obstructions and can result in a host of health problems because the body’s homeostatic mechanism is thrown off” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study.  Other chiropractic researchers have reported on beneficial results in regards to blood pressure and chiropractic. 

Once diagnosed, traditional medical treatment for increased blood pressure usually involves prescription drugs. 

“Finding the cause of the high blood pressure and addressing that is a much better strategy” according to McCoy.  One such risk is thought to be these spinal shifts termed vertebral subluxations by chiropractors, which result in obstructions to the nerve system. It is this obstruction that may cause a cascade of neurovascular events that lead to abnormal blood pressure regulation. The theory is that once those spinal shifts are corrected the body is better able to balance its physiology and adapt to its environment. 

Several years ago blood pressure researchers George Bakris MD and chiropractor Marshall Dickholtz along with colleagues from the Department of Preventive Medicine at Rush University Hypertension Center in Chicago, conducted a similar study on blood pressure, chiropractic and vertebral subluxation. Their study also found significant improvement in blood pressure following specific adjustments to reduce vertebral subluxation in the upper neck. 

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it” stated Dr. McCoy, “If you damage or compress or otherwise interfere with the neurological structures in the spine this can have far reaching implications on the functioning of the body. Through research reports like this we are finding that correcting the spinal shifts reduces the nerve interference and people experience improvement. In this study it was a lowering of mortality due to high blood pressure which is a significant risk factor in relation to cardiovascular disease and is the leading cause of death in the United States.”  

The author calls for more research exploring the role of vertebral subluxation correction in blood pressure regulation but in the meantime patients suffering from high blood pressure should also be checked for vertebral subluxation and managed accordingly.

Contact Information: 

Matthew McCoy DC, MPH
Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research
https://www.vertebralsubluxationresearch.com/vertebral-subluxation-research-1/
support@vertebralsubluxationresearch.com