What does inflammation have to do with chiropractic?

Published on August 28, 2023

Beyond the surface – inflammation is wreaking havoc across the body of many, many people.

Asthma, allergies, eczema, gut intolerances, autoimmune conditions, difficult periods and countless other health challenges are all linked with higher levels of inflammation.

An inflamed state simply suggests the body’s immune system is in action. Inflammation itself is not a problem, in fact it is an essential part of the healing response.

When we sprain an ankle, inflammation allows the flow of healing nutrients to the site and the removal of damaged tissue. The increased fluid, or swelling is what provides the passage of these materials and it raises the question why are we so quick to remove this process via ice or compress?

Would it not make more sense to support our body’s in-born healing capabilities?

Where it all begins

Any interference to the way in which the body can best regulate itself, will result in changes and alterations to our usual function, possibly leading to a cascade of dysfunction or disease.

As usual, too much of anything rocks the body’s internal balance and we start to see signs of dysfunction. Prolonged, or chronic inflammation, leaves the body in a constant fighting state and sometimes even attacking itself (autoimmunity). This state is an abnormal alteration of a normal body process.

Again we come back to the inflammation itself should not be a problem, however the lack of proper regulation within the body is what causes the signs and symptoms of disease.

If we were to simply suppress such signs with anti-inflammatory medication yet not alter the driving force behind the process itself, we end up in a significantly worse position. Ongoing inflammation and disease, yet potentially no outward sign of it… yet.

Cue the “random” attacks, or the “sudden” illness. The injury that never goes away, the chronic cough or even the stressed, depressed and exhausted states many people find themselves in. With pills and potions to mask all ailments, we are missing the biggest and most positive influence on our health – keeping our nervous system in check.

The nervous system sets the scene

The nervous system has been shown to influence all other systems of the body. Think of your nerve network as a highway of information constantly traveling around, delivering vital messages and time-sensitive stimulation to its precise destination. Any disturbance to this highway creates a flow on effect of havoc. Yet like all good drivers, we can choose alternate pathways and alter our highways somewhat. This is your body’s internal ability to adapt.

When adaptability exceeds the stressors interfering with our nerve highway, we are able to show resilience in the face of demand. However, the prolonged build up of daily stress and a decreased ability to handle this with time becomes the root cause of dysfunction within our body.

We could choose to suppress it. Push it aside for another day and continually mask the signs of less adaptability, less resilience and less vitality.

OR

We could regularly nurture our nervous system and keep the highway clear throughout our lives. This choice opens the gate for appropriate regulation of normal processes, allows for optimal healing, growth and the ability to respond to stress in an ongoing fashion.The nervous system sets the scene for health, that is a matter of nature.

The ability to adapt and respond with optimal function is a matter of chiropractic.

You may have heard in our podcast episode 74 with Dr David Fletcher – measuring the adaptability within your nervous system, and optimising this system for health. Well, David is back for another episode and we are diving right into inflammation on this one. Be sure to tune in to the Chat on This podcast for episode 94 as it goes live.

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