Postural Distortions are More than Physical Problems

Chiropractic care has been known to help millions of people with a variety of musculoskeletal complaints, including neck pain, back pain, and headaches. Amazingly, chiropractic care has been shown to benefit people with mental health conditions as well. The mind and body work together as a team. So, although it seems obvious, a lot of people don’t realize that chiropractic care can help with our mental health.

At Modern Chiropractic Center, we have personally seen our patients beat depression and anxiety just by correcting their postural problems. A list of symptoms of the parasympathetic nervous system that people can experience when their postures are abnormal are:

• Low self esteem
• Depression
• Having a hard time connecting with other people

There are numerous studies that support this as well, in fact Takahashi T. found that “The abnormal trunk deformity groups tended to score lower than the normal group with regard to subjective healthiness and life satisfaction measures, including subjective health condition, every day feeling, satisfaction with human relationship, satisfaction with economic condition, and satisfaction with present life.” (Takahashi T. Osteoporosis Int. 2005:16 273-279)

Another study done in 2018 showed a connection between long-term relief from tension headaches and major depression following chiropractic care. The study determines that chiropractic care alleviates spinal nerve stress that activates our ‘fight or flight’ response. When our nervous system and the sympathetic nerves have pressure on them, it causes our body to respond as if a bear is chasing us. Symptoms of the sympathetic nervous system include:

• Anxiety
• increased blood pressure
• increased heart rate
• quick and shallow breathing

The study also suggests that cervical (neck) adjustments may result in parasympathetic responses, whereas thoracic (upper back) adjustments result in sympathetic responses. Getting chiropractic adjustments have been found clinically (AND in the research), to help turn on/off the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system that causes anxiety and depression. This is an amazing find as millions of people suffer with mental health issues and are looking for a natural solution to help manage or fix it.

Those two studies are just a few out there demonstrating positive changes in those with mental health problems. If you haven’t tried corrective chiropractic care in your search for solutions, give us a call at our Nampa or Boise locations. We would be glad to see if your nervous system is under stress from your spinal position.