As spring approaches, nearly 24 million Americans will be affected by seasonal allergies. This chronic illness costs patients nearly 18 billion dollars a year.
A surprise to most but a helpful tool is that chiropractors can help relieve your toughest allergy symptoms.
How Chiropractic Helps Relieve Allergies
Often, chiropractors are known for assisting those who were involved in car accidents, and as they may provide a great deal of relief to those people, the benefits of chiropractic care far exceed treating car accident victims.
At our chiropractic clinic, our Lithia Springs chiropractors provide our patients with symptom relief for a variety of conditions, one of which is allergy relief.
What Are Allergens?
To gain better control over your allergies, the first step in combatting this chronic illness is to understand how these allergens operate. With most allergens, they lurk among all of us on a day to day basis; however, when they enter the body, some people’s bodies react as if the allergen is a foreign substance.
As these allergens enter your body, your body can be fooled into thinking a harmless dust particle is a harmful pathogen. When this happens, the body goes into attack mode and begins producing antibodies called immunoglobin. When immunoglobulin is produced, histamines are released into the body and provide a variety of responses.
Histamines are reactions that your body produces, such as a runny nose, red, swollen eyes, and that feeling of your throat closing. When these reactions begin to occur as a result of allergens, your doctor may prescribe antihistamines to help manage those symptoms.
With histamines, this is why you end up itching, sneezing, and even throwing up when you encounter an allergen that your body hates. Suffering through allergies can be unbearable.
Chiropractic Approach to Allergy Relief
When those allergy symptoms begin to present, your first thought is most likely to head to the doctor and seek treatment for those awful symptoms. However, some options take a more natural approach to combat even allergy sufferers worse symptoms.
The Nervous System is Connected to the Immune System
With the brain being connected to the spine, ensuring that the spine is correctly adjusted can help to prevent interference in the neurological system.
The nervous system is the control panel in the body and is responsible for sending messages to areas of the body. When the pathways are misaligned, this can wreak havoc on the body. As skilled chiropractors perform alignments, the nervous system can open up, allowing the body to function correctly. This includes your immune system.
For clear pathways of communication, and a robust immune system, the spine must be in optimal alignment. It’s possible to even with a robust immune system and proper alignment to experience allergies; however, the body’s response will be less intense, and symptoms will be minimal.
With a weakened immune system and irritation in your nasal passages, allergens can cause trouble for your respiratory system. If the immune system is compromised, an infection is more likely to occur. When the immune system is functioning at its best, it is better able to combat allergic reactions, and symptoms are much less intense.
An open pathway between the brain and the spinal cord will improve neural pathways and immune responses.
Adrenaline and the T9
Although each vertebra may look the same, each part plays a vital role in the connection to the body.
The T9 is an excellent example of a specific way that a back adjustment can help your allergies. The T9 spinal level nerve root feeds the adrenal gland. If the spine becomes misaligned, the adrenal gland may not be receiving the necessary connection to your spine. What does this mean?
When this occurs, a stronger allergic reaction is possible and will disrupt your spinal cord as well as the adrenal gland. The adrenal gland is what produces cortisol, which is is a potent anti-inflammatory hormone.
Cortisol can help to minimize the inflammation that allergens can cause. For cortisol to be produced, the adrenal gland must be functioning correctly. When an adjustment is performed to the spine, the neuropathways open up, allowing for the adrenal gland to produce a sufficient amount of cortisol.
Reduce Stress
When the body becomes stressed, illnesses are more likely to develop. With this stress, comes an increased release of hormones, including histamines. As the histamines begin pumping through the body, it can feel as if you are experiencing an allergic reaction, and your eyes can swell, and the throat can tighten.
Lifestyle and Nutrition Advice
Providing adjustments and manipulations may be one thing, but chiropractors look at the body as a whole and search for ways to improve your overall health. By providing nutritional coaching and guidance, chiropractors work collaboratively with you to improve your overall health.
When allergies try and bring you down, eat healthy foods, exercise, and get a proper amount of rest to combat allergens.
Contact Us Today
Your back does not need to hurt to schedule an appointment. If you are suffering from allergies and are not finding relief, contact our Lithia Springs chiropractic clinic for a holistic approach to allergy relief. Dial (404) 602-0388 to schedule an appointment today!