News - Chiropractic
Chiropractic and the whole body response.
Research Article of the Month
Part 1 of 3
September, 2009
Prepared by: Shane J. Lynch, D.C.
Lynch S, Boone RW. Somatovisceral responses to chiropractic adjustments. J Vertebral Subluxation Res 2009 Mar. 17: 1-5.
Somatic tissue consists of muscles, ligaments, fascia, and joint capsules and visceral tissue is responsible for the formation of blood vessels, internal organs and glands. Somatic tissue, therefore, are the soft tissue structures that chiropractors directly stimulate/touch with an adjustment. A somatovisceral response is a reflex, whereby stimulation of the muscles, ligaments, fascia and/or joint capsules influences the activity of the blood vessels, internal organs and/or glands. This is an important concept in chiropractic because the primary objective of this profession is to contribute to overall health by enhancing the function of the nervous system. Because visceral tissue plays an imperative role in health maintenance, it would be expected that chiropractic adjustments could influence the activity of these important tissue to enhance overall health.
Key points:
“Chiropractic philosophers and researchers have asserted that vertebral subluxations may have a detrimental effect on health by interfering with nervous system activity. In this regard, anecdotal and case study accounts of chiropractic adjustments improving various non-somatic related disorders such as diabetes, infertility, enuresis, and asthma, have been reported. Recent controlled studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments can influence intracranial blood flow, and blood pressure. Other studies have shown that spinal adjustments can influence lower extremity blood perfusion, skin temperature, and pupil diameter”.
Blood perfusion, skin temperature and pupil diameter are controlled by sympathetic nerves, which also play an imperative role in regulating the activity of our viscera.
“More invasive studies have looked at how somatic tissue stimulation influences individual nerve fibers and various physiological parameters. These studies involved anesthetized rats that were exposed to noxious (painful) somatic stimuli while various physiological parameters were simultaneously measured such as gastric (stomach) motility, bladder pressure, adrenal secretion, heart rate and blood pressure. In most of these studies individual nerve fibers innervating various viscera were isolated and connected to electrodes to monitor nerve impulse amplitudes in response to such stimuli.”
In all cases noxious (painful) somatic stimulation resulted in changes in the above physiological parameters. Specifically, there was a decrease in gastric motility, increase in bladder contractions, increase in blood pressure and adrenal gland (stress response) secretion. Deductively this is important because back pain is an example of a noxious somatic event and as seen above this type of stimuli can have far reaching physiologic effects.
“There are promising studies demonstrating that spinal adjustments can influence various physiological parameters such as HRV (heart rate variability), blood flow, and blood pressure. The study conducted by Bakris et al is important because it shows a long-lasting drop in blood pressure in asymptomatic patients who received an innocuous (non-painful) spinal adjustment”.
“Although it is not yet definitive to state that a subluxation directly influences visceral physiology, there is a growing body of controlled studies that demonstrate a somatovisceral response following chiropractic spinal adjustments”.
What you can do:
Although research regarding chiropractic and the somatovisceral response is in its infancy, there are studies that do support this important hypothesis. Getting your spine adjusted on a regular basis is not only important for preventing musculoskeletal related injuries, but also to enhance your overall health by taking the somatic-induced stress off of your viscera.
