Treat Your Allergies with Chiropractic

Has anyone ever wondered why EVERY commercial for a new seasonal allergy drug always has a beautiful field of flowers, the wind blows pollen all over, and the actor in the commercial sneezes? Or how about the big fluffy golden retriever that just jumped off the couch sending pet dander everywhere? Why does your nose run and eyes water from just watching these ads on TV? These commercials are not an accident, but rather they are designed this way, because the mind is a powerful thing. The power of suggestion is used to create a sense of need to buy their product.
A study done at Harvard tested the blood of a number of subjects and took the individuals with NO ALLERGEN markers in their blood and put them in a controlled clean room (no chance for exposure to allergens basically). These subjects were exposed to video images of flowers, pollen, pet dander, etc then their blood retested. What they found were that the allergens markers for those particular allergens were now being manufactured by the immune system and were now present in their blood. Without ever being exposed to the threat your body began creating defenses against it!
Allergies are toxins in our environment that should not be in our body, but when they are, our immune system (defense system) is there to prevent them from causing problems. Sometimes our immune system creates mucus to trap the allergies in (snot and tears) or sometimes your immune system battles the allergens directly in the blood stream. When our immune systems are operating properly, we rarely experience symptoms from allergies.
However things like stress, poor diet or nutrition, brain imbalances, etc can decrease the effectiveness of our immune system. An over whelmed immune system tends to over-react to the presence of allergens and the results are seasonal allergy symptoms such as itchy eyes, runny nose, congestion, sinus headache, etc. It’s basically like sending the whole military after a bank robber.
So how exactly can chiropractic help with your seasonal allergy problems? I though chiropractors were only for neck or low back pain? Many chiropractors should address your allergies with adjustments AND nutrition/dietary changes to help remove the problems that are causing your decreased immune system. The chiropractic adjustment is basically the act of re-aligning a mis-aligned bone in order to allow the body, nervous system, immune system, etc. to operate optimally. This is usually performed on a vertebra of the spine since these bones have the most direct contact with the nervous system, however, any bone that forms a join with another

bone can be adjusted including shoulders, knees, ribs, and even the bones of the face! For example, when you are stressed the muscles across the top of your shoulders and up the sides of your neck get very tense.
This tension causes a number of problems for the immune system such as decreasing lymphatic flow (the immune drainage system), altering blood flow, closing the pharyngotympanic (Eustachian) tube in the inner ear, congesting the sinuses of the face, etc. Chiropractic adjustments can reduce this tension and relax these muscles thus allowing the immune system to perform its tasks effectively. There have also been studies that show the chiropractic adjustment boosts the immune system. The bones of the face can even be adjusted to allow the sinus to drain more efficiently.
Brain Balancing is also very effective at fighting seasonal allergy attacks. The human cortex (conscious brain) has two sides, a right and a left, which have different characteristics. The right brain concerns itself more with creativity, imagination, dreams, thinking things through, and has more connection to the sympathetic nervous system, AKA the stress response. The left brain is more associated with action with less thought, motivation, and has more connections to the parasympathetic nervous system, AKA the rest & digest responses. A health body has balance between both sides of the brain. A person that is more right brained will be more prone to stress, have an impaired immune system, and have more digestive issues. A person that is more left brained with be more aggressive, act without thinking, and have difficulty concentrating. Remember the Harvard study and the allergy commercials mentioned above? Essential what they found was that an overactive or overly dominate RIGHT brain was creating allergy symptoms (creative imagination) when no allergens were even present. These right brained individuals already have a decreased immune system because they are constantly in stress mode. In order to help restore a strong immune system one MUST balance the brain. This is where the chiropractor comes in.
A chiropractic adjustment is movement of a joint, and movement sends a nervous system impulse up the spine then across to the opposite cortex of the brain. Thus to balance the brain of an overactive right/decreased left brain individual, the chiropractor can adjust the patient’s body (spine or extremity) on the right side ONLY, sending a nervous signal up the spine and across to the left brain resulting in an increase in left brain stimulation.
This can be done till both sides of the brain are balanced and the patient is removed from the stress mode, allowing his or her immune system to be restored. The chiropractor can also recommend arm and leg exercises to help balance the brain, as well as the use of cold light laser
or vibration therapies to send nervous system impulses up the spine to stimulate the brain. A balanced brain means a healthy body!

Christopher Gratton owns and operates Gratton Chiropractic in Kilgore, Texas. He can be reached by email gratton_chiropractic@yahoo.com or call (903) 218 5353. His offices are located at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 269, Kilgore, Texas 75662. Christopher graduated at the top of his class from Parker College of Chiropractic in 2007. He graduated from Austin College with B.A. in Biology in 2003.

Publisher’s Comment:
Chris is the best chiropractor I have ever met and had the pleasure of being his patient. I have experienced several different chiropractors from around the globe with my golf career and none took the time to educate me about their philosophy and techniques as well as Chris. He is at the forefront of Chiropractic technology and all of us in East Texas should feel privileged to have him in our community. Take the time to schedule an appointment and learn how you can feel better with Chris’ help.