Bone cracking. Spine popping. You can try to conduct chiropractic adjustments on your own, but you won’t reach its health benefits without a trained physical therapist’s help.
If there’s a reason why those relaxing chiropractic videos around the web look like something you could use right now, it’s probably because of your bad back or your stiff neck, and how they go “crack” with a sudden, calculated motion, bringing instant pain relief.
Well, did you know that besides relieving chronic pain, chiropractic care can help restore a weak immune system, soothe anxiety symptoms, and even work as a treatment alternative for Alzheimer’s disease? Keeping informed could give you the knowledge to improve someone’s life, so read on.
The ongoing search for a cure
There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s as of yet. For now, all we know is that it’s a neurodegenerative disease that gradually decreases patients’ ability to remember newly learned information, familiar faces, and in late cases, prevents them from performing activities of daily living.
Current treatments involve FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved medications like donepezil for milder cases and memantine for severe cases. One powerful treatment that doesn’t involve any type of medication or surgery is chiropractic, which has numerous benefits you might not know about.
How can chiropractic help patients with Alzheimer’s?
Chiropractic practices work by soothing the results of everyday stressors, such as your low work desk or the horrible traffic in NYC that makes you want to pull your hair out. By the way, if this sounds like you, consider seeing a chiropractor in New York.
A 2015 case report with a 54-year-old male patient suffering from dementia and loss of motor control showed an improvement in his motor function and prevented his memory loss from quickly progressing. Notice how despite Alzheimer’s and dementia affecting older people around 65 years old, it can also be early-onset.
The main purpose of chiropractic is to realign the spine and eliminate all problems associated with misalignment, including but not limited to stiffness and pain. It properly adjusts the musculoskeletal system, assisting it on its healing and providing overall health to the body and brain function. That’s why there’s strong evidence supporting the connection between cognitive impairment and SCIs (spinal cord injuries).
Our CNS (Central Nervous System) consists of the spinal cord and the brain. Our spinal cord is made up of several nerves that affect our reflexes, the way we walk, and how our body communicates important signals to our brain through electrical currents. If that connection is somehow defective, the brain might not receive the right commands and problems may spring up.
Although extensive research is still needed, we know Alzheimer’s stems from the brain. Now that we have solid evidence that adjusting the spine changes brain function, there’s no reason not to incorporate chiropractic care as a treatment for this illness.
Can chiropractic treat Alzheimer’s on its own?
Treatments that might work for one person might not work just as well for another, and using only one method might not suffice for some patients. Therefore, the right approach would be to incorporate chiropractic in regular regimens of medication and lifestyle changes.
However, if you choose chiropractic as the sole therapy for Alzheimer’s and notice improvements, continue the treatment. It turns out that getting your body professionally adjusted offers more benefits than you could have imagined.
If you need more information, visit The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research for the best resources on how to help a loved one suffering from this debilitating condition.
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