Chiropractic and Blood Pressure

Blood pressure measurements are held to the standard of 120/80 as normal BP.  Please note that 120/80 is an average number taken from all the highs and low measurements of the general populations blood pressure readings.  It is perfectly normal to have readings that do not match up exactly to that number.  The range for normal is 90/60 to 140/90.  So, anywhere inbetween is ok.

Chiropractic care is not a treatment for blood pressure.  The purpose of the chiropractic adjustment is not to lower or raise blood pressue, but to improve overall function in the body by removing spinal neural impulse dysfunction due to subluxated vertebral bones.

According to the National Institute for Health, there have been 38 published research papers on the link between spinal adjustments performed by chiropractors and blood pressure levels.

The most publicised study was conducted by Dr. George Bakris, MD, director of the hypertension center at the University of Chicago Medical Center.  This study (which was reported on National News television programs) found that when the upper cervical vertebra (the atlas) was subluxated (misaligned), in individuals with high blood pressure, the chiropractic spinal adjustment lowered blood pressure significantly.  Equal to the amount of taking two blood pressure medications at one time.  This study was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension.

A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics in 1988 found that blood pressure levels dropped to normal ranges immediately following a chiropractic spinal adjustment in 70% of patients with spinal subluxations.

One researcher has written, "The effect of chiropractic spinal adjustments was to produce a normalizing or balancing effect upon the autonomic nervous system as a result of of changes near the spinal nerve roots."

As I mentioned above, chiropractic is not a treatment for high blood pressure or any other disease, but chiropractic's effect on the overall health of the body via improvements in neural impulse flow cannot be ignored.

The only way to know if you have neural impulse dysfunction from spinal subluxation is to visit your chiropractor for a spinal subluxation examination.  If vertebra are subluxated and placing pressure on spinal nerve roots, you may have a health condition that could benefit from chiropractic care, including high blood pressure.

Health First Chiropractic Clinics with chiropractors Dr. J. Zimmerman and Dr. JC Carr is a chiropractic clinic based in the Smithville section of Galloway, NJ with a satellite clinic in Northfield, NJ. Providing full chiropractic services specializing in pregnancy care, pediatric care of children, sports injuries, concussion management and traditional chiropractic care for neck pain, headaches, lower back pain and sciatica.  If you are looking for a chiropractor that can provide quality, specialized chiropractic care in the Smithville section of Galloway or in the Northfield area, Health First Chiropractic Clinics is for you.

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.