It’s no secret that America has a heart disease epidemic. In fact, it has been true for years that heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, and we are currently in the grips of an epidemic that kills millions of people per year. One of the largest factors in heart disease is high blood pressure. However, did you know that chiropractic could play a part in reducing it? Here at Bare Chiropractic, we’d like to show you how.
High Blood Pressure
The force of blood pushing against the walls of the blood vessels is what’s known as blood pressure. To function effectively, your body needs oxygenated blood to move throughout your circulatory system. The systolic and diastolic pressures are used to calculate your overall blood pressure. The systolic pressure is the highest figure and represents the force exerted by the heart when it pumps blood into the arteries, whereas the diastolic pressure is the force created by the heart when it rests between beats. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80, raised blood pressure is 120-129/80, and anything higher than that is considered to be high blood pressure.
High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are both among the top five causes of death in the United States. It’s not just in older adults either—young adults with high blood pressure are also prone to these ailments. While a variety of lifestyle decisions and medical problems might increase a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure—obesity, high stress, lack of sleep, etc.—most doctors are unable to pinpoint the exact cause of blood pressure problems.
Treatment Options
Medication and blood thinners are common treatments for high blood pressure—although they may or may not work. Even if prescriptions lower blood pressure, they can be costly and have the potential to cause unpleasant side effects.
Other methods of management include maintaining a healthy diet, exercising for 30 minutes per day, watching your weight, not smoking, and managing stress.
How Chiropractic Can Help
Current research shows that chiropractic has the potential to help lower blood pressure without the need for blood thinners or other prescription drugs. In fact, one study found that chiropractic was actually more effective than two blood pressure medications combined! A trained chiropractor, such as Dr. Thomas Keogh, will usually focus on the atlas vertebra, which is positioned near the brainstem at the top of the spinal cord. The communication channels that control the functionality of the cardiovascular system—arteries, nerves, everything—pass directly over this bone. A misalignment of the spine can cause arteries to constrict, forcing blood flow at the base of the skull to slam against the walls, resulting in high blood pressure. If you’re in need of a Billings chiropractor, contact us today and we’ll show you just how much regular adjustments can do for you.
Sources
Luo, Dongling, et al. “Association Between High Blood Pressure and Long Term Cardiovascular Events in Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” BMJ 370 (2020).
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C11&as_ylo=2018&q=high+blood+pressure+cause&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DXFS7dyAxnvoJ
Simon, Nicholas. “Blood Pressure Response to Chiropractic Manipulation in Hypertensive Individuals.” The William Paterson University of New Jersey, 2019. https://www.proquest.com/openview/fe6c8ccc03b07acb8cf432392bf42b23/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
