It’s getting to be that time of year again. The leaves are starting to change and the temperature has dropped quite a bit. Gone are the days of shorts and T-shirts and the need is here for warmer clothes when the colder days now outnumber the warm days.
It is a nice break from the heat and humidity of the summer. Most of us, three months or so from now, can’t wait until the heat returns. This time of year, with the seasons changing, brings the time known as cold and flu season. If you’ve already noticed, it’s already here.
In fact, research has shown that patients who have received Chiropractic care have an Immune System functioning at 200% compared to people who did not receive Chiropractic Care and 400% compared to people with cancer or other serious diseases.
In short, Chiropractors focus on the function of the Nervous System. The Immune system is controlled by the Nervous System. If the nervous system isn’t functioning at 100%, doesn’t it make sense that all other systems controlled by the Nervous System wouldn’t be functioning at 100% either?
If the Nervous system can’t do one of its jobs, which is the master controller of all the other systems in the body, it is putting those other systems at risk. Thus, it is not working at 100% efficiency. The Nervous system and Immune system work hand in hand with one another in order to appropriately adapt and change with the many bacteria and viruses it encounters.
When you have spinal misalignments it creates stress on the body. Thus, the body can’t fight. The immune response is compromised.
The areas to focus on, especially during cold and flu season, are the Cervical and Thoracic vertebra. Nerves that exit from the spinal cord directly innervate the lungs, amongst other organs in this area. If you’ve ever noticed that during a cold or flu, the muscles in the neck, upper back, and mid-back are especially tight.
By getting these areas adjusted from a Chiropractor, the nerve information is allowed to flow more freely to these organs and influences your body to produce more white blood cells to fight the cold or flu virus. The autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions such as vessel dilation or constriction, glands, and smooth muscles to name a few, are directly wired to the Lymph organs (Thymus, Spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow).
There is growing evidence that the sympathetic division of the autonomic system is responsible for immune function. When subluxations, misalignments of the spine that compress and irritate the nerve pathways to organs and organ systems, are present, it presents great physical stress to the body and organ systems, weakening the Immune response to colds and flu.
When left subluxated or misaligned for a long time, the person’s immune system function can be severely depleted. Imagine a highway that has all five lanes open for travel and one that only has two lanes out of the five open for travel. Which highway is functioning at 100%? Which immune system is functioning as it should be? Surely, not the highway with only two lanes out of five open.
Cold and flu season is also the time of year where if you are not getting enough Vitamin D, you are putting yourself at risk of getting sick. It is important, especially since Maine is at a high latitude, that as we head into the Autumn and Winter seasons, that we get enough Vitamin D.
Vitamin C is also important for optimal health. The number one thing people tend to do when sick is to increase doses of Vitamin C. If you are not eating enough citrus fruit, supplementing with Vitamin C is a good idea to do throughout the year, not just during cold and flu season.
Stress is very important to manage not only this time of year but all year. Get your exercise and eat right. Do things that don’t make you think about the deadline.
Give your mind and brain some rest. If your muscles are overworked you rest them, so why not rest your mind? Although it is often overlooked, sleep is arguably the most important.
If you do not get enough rest, your body will not perform how it is supposed to. When you are sick you sleep a lot more than normal. Your body is resting and fighting the sickness. Get as much sleep as you need as the average person needs 7-9 hours of sleep.
In short, it is important to get adjusted when you are not feeling well. Anytime we go through a change of seasons the weather changes, the body has to adjust to these changes. If we have already compromised our Immune system it’s no wonder more people get sick during the Autumn and Winter times.
It is important to remove these misalignments that put such physical
stress on our Immune systems. A Chiropractor is a specialist when it comes to joint, musculoskeletal, and nervous system issues. That just covers a small portion of what a Chiropractor does.
If you feel like we can help you during this cold and flu season, please make an appointment! Good health to you all during the colder months!
Dr. Benjamin J. Myerowitz, D.C.
Office: 207-989-0000