Chiropractic care and Heart health

Welcome to February, when we celebrate our healthy hearts and what we can do to keep them pumping in a healthier rhythm for the rest of our lives! 

The first step is to recognize the appropriate steps toward heart disease.
One fun-filled, convenient lifestyle may be speeding you up the path to heart disease faster than you think. Do you already have high blood pressure? Are you overweight, do not exercise, and consume a lot of processed, fatty, calorie-laden, fiber-deficient, and nutrient-deficient foods? Add smoking to the list, and you may be a ticking time bomb. For two simple reasons, heart health is a hot topic these days: First, our poor dietary choices put us at high risk for heart disease; and second, wise food choices and other natural proactive measures can protect the heart and keep that muscle pumping stronger than ever.

Chiropractic care is a great step:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women today. Although chiropractic care is most commonly associated with the relief of soft tissue discomfort, the benefits of chiropractic have been shown to extend beyond spinal adjustments. Chiropractic adjustments help prevent heart attacks, lower heart rate, relieve chest pain, and lower blood pressure, which is good news for your heart! They also specialize in the human body as a whole system and are experts in putting all the right pieces together to help you achieve optimal health – from the inside out.

Understanding the heart function:
To understand how chiropractic care can benefit heart health, you must first understand how the heart works. Let us begin by imagining that even if all of the nerves leading to the heart were severed, the heart would continue to beat. This is because it has its own 'pacemaker,' known as the sinoatrial node. In an average adult, the sinoatrial node keeps the heart rate at around 70 beats per minute. Whether you are exercising or sleeping, stressed or relaxed, the rhythm remains constant. Fortunately, there are nerves attached to the heart that allow it to speed up or slow down in response to the body's demands. The sympathetic nerves, which originate in the thoracic spine, cause the heart rate to increase. The parasympathetic nerves originate in the brain and slow the heart rate. This is an oversimplification, but the bottom line is that the nervous system controls the cardiovascular system. The brain receives communication from the body indicating an increase or decrease in demand and relays that demand to the heart via the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous systems. The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are also known as the autonomic nervous system because they function automatically. You don't have to try to make your heart beat faster or slower; the brain regulates it automatically via nervous system communication.

The role of the Chiropractic Treatment:
Chiropractic care can help in this situation. The spine's primary function is to protect the nervous system. When the spine becomes misaligned due to an injury or stress, it can disrupt nervous system communication. This misalignment refers to as a vertebral subluxation.
Chiropractors correct subluxations to restore nervous system communication. The nervous system can communicate freely with the rest of the body, allowing optimal health. Homeostasis refers to the body's astounding ability to maintain health. Homeostasis is the body requires proper communication between the brain and tissue cells. If communication hampers, optimal health is impossible to achieve.  Your diet and exercise may be ineffective without proper nervous system communication. Cardiovascular exercise is supposed to benefit heart health, but if the nervous system lacks proper control over heart function due to vertebral subluxation (communication interference), the exercise can stress the heart beyond what is normally beneficial. As a result, along with proper diet and exercise, regular chiropractic adjustments should be used to maintain heart health. It is always easier to keep something than it is to fix it. A chiropractor can examine the spine for subluxations and correct them to prevent nervous system control problems. Don't wait until you have the high blood pressure to start using chiropractic, diet, and exercise to keep your heart healthy. Rather than relying on medications, it is always preferable to allow the body to use its innate ability to regulate itself. Medications used to treat heart disease can have various unfavorable side effects.

Ready to help!
Because February is National Heart Health Month, now is the time to use all of the tools at your disposal to combat heart disease. Chiropractic care is an excellent addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise regimen. You should have your spine adjusted regularly because nerves not only go to the heart but also help regulate every organ in your body!

Contact us for any kind of chiropractic treatment or care.