Ah, spring! The season of singing birds, blooming flowers, and, for about two-thirds of people in the U.S., seasonal allergies. For many allergy sufferers, it’s the time of year for pills, sprays, and other medications to treat allergy symptoms, and to endure the side effects of many medications. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a natural, gentle way to support your body in addressing the root cause of these bothersome symptoms? With Chiropractic, there is!
How Allergies Work:
Allergies occur when your immune system encounters an irritant produces a response in an effort to balance your body (usually stressed and inflamed), which can become bothersome and interfere with your everyday life. When the irritant is inhaled, eaten or touched, your body produces specific antibodies called immunoglobulin, which trigger the release of histamines. This causes your blood pressure to drop, nearby blood vessels to dilate, and the spaces between surrounding cells to fill with fluid. This inflammatory response launches a cascade of miserable symptoms, from itching and sneezing to nausea and vomiting. Of course, your body never makes any mistakes and always responds the best way possible with an intelligence. But if your body is already in a state of heightened reaction as most of us are with the demands of our daily modern lives, there is already a baseline of increased inflammation and stress hormones ready for a more tedious reaction.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help:
The nervous system and immune system are closely linked. Researchers have found that stress and allergies provoke similar inflammatory responses—and that stress (physical, nutritional, chemical and mental/emotional/energetic) exacerbates the immune system’s already hyperbolic response to allergens.
Chronic stress also wears out the adrenal glands, which produce the anti-inflammatory hormone cortisol. Without enough cortisol to subdue the allergic response, symptoms can become even more severe.
The close relationship between the nervous system and immune system is good news for people receiving chiropractic care. By improving the communication between the brain and body, chiropractic care can help regulate and coordinate the body’s reaction to allergens. Problems in the spine can disrupt the brain’s lines of communication with the rest of the body. By correcting these problems, a chiropractor can restore the body’s alignment and re-open essential pathways between the brain and spine for better balanced neurology and adaptation.
Many allergy sufferers also have weakened adrenal glands, which means their bodies have a harder time moderating allergic reactions. Since the adrenal glands are fed directly by spinal nerves, a properly aligned spine can help better regulate the amount of cortisol the body produces. This can help mitigate the severity of allergy symptoms.
Like the immune system, the respiratory system depends on an unimpeded flow of information to and from the brain. Chiropractic care keeps the pathways open, fortifying the respiratory system to better withstand allergic attacks.
By improving communication between the immune, nervous and respiratory systems, chiropractic care can help people weather allergy season. Many of the people in our office have reported improvements in, and even total resolution of, their seasonal allergy symptoms with no more need of medications.
If you or a loved one suffer from seasonal allergies or other chronic health issues, Chiropractic care can help restore your natural state of health, function, and vitality- so you can go out and enjoy this beautiful season!
