CHIROPRACTIC NEWS
February 20, 2008
Fix spine, lower blood pressure?
About 72 million adults in the United States are living with high blood pressure. That's one in three people. Statistics show only 35 percent of them have it under control. Now, research shows a spinal adjustment may actually help control blood pressure.
A study by University of Chicago doctors shows the treatment lowers blood pressure by 17 points.
THE STUDY: Researchers enrolled 50 people with high blood pressure who also had a misaligned C-1 vertebra in the study. Half of the patients received a detailed, tailor-made atlas adjustment based on how misaligned their C-1 vertebra was. The other half of the patients received a sham adjustment, which was designed to be indistinguishable from the real adjustment. George Bakris, M.D., from the University of Chicago says the C-1 vertebra relies on soft tissue to maintain alignment and is uniquely vulnerable to displacement. A misaligned C-1 vertebra is common and can occur without pain. It often goes undiagnosed and untreated.
THE RESULTS: Results of the study show the patients who received a real adjustment of their atlas vertebra had a significant reduction in blood pressure over those who received the sham treatment. Researchers say the one-time adjustment lowered blood pressure by 17 points, which is equivalent to giving patients two different blood pressure medications at once. The lowered blood pressure was still seen eight weeks after the adjustment. The study was published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension.
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