Asthma is a scary diagnosis to happen. This is when the bronchioles, which are the small tubes of air that deliver oxygen to your body, constrict. This can happen because of inflammation, an allergic reaction, exercise, and outside smoke/chemicals. Some even say that the rate of asthma is increasing - even in adults - especially in urban areas (1). For this blog, I will discuss how chiropractic can help and how patients improve that have had chronic asthma - especially ever since birth.

First, how is it possible that chiropractic can help with asthma? Chiropractic is founded on the principle that nerves control every function of the body. The spine houses the spinal cord, the highway for the nerves, that travel to/from the brain to/from the organs, tissues, cells, muscles, skin, etc. Through trauma: birth trauma, motor vehicle crash, sports injuries, falls, postural distortions; the spine can shift. These shifts are called subluxations and can be measured by X-rays. When subluxations occur, the spinal cord goes under tension, the nerves alter their function, and the signal is altered - thus changing the message. This can cause inflammation, decreased nerve signal, pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and specifically to asthma, the inability of airways to be open for breathing. This will then cause the bronchioles to constrict, inflame, and cause asthma.

The question is can chiropractic help? Dr. Mike Weiner sees how chiropractic helps all the time in his practice from children that have bronchiolitis, exercise-induced asthma, allergy-induced asthma, and having a hard time breathing. Research supports this as well. Through chiropractic care compared to not receiving chiropractic care, children and teenagers reported a reduction of an inhaler, increased quality of life, and a reduction of asthma severity. These results were maintained without chiropractic care for a year (2).

What does this mean? This means that children with chiropractic care did not rely on their inhalers as much. That's decreased dependency. That's more of a pathway towards freedom of their body and strength. Nothing is worse than feeling weak - especially as a child when you could be judged by others during the most influential time of development.

If you are looking for a different type of treatment for asthma, it could make sense that nothing makes it better without drugs/inhalers. Find out if your spine and nerves could be contributing to your asthma to live optimally for a lifetime.

References:

1Bo Lundback, Helena Backman, Jan Lotvall & Eva Ronmark (2016) Is asthma prevalence still increasing?, Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, 10:1, 39-51, DOI: 10.1586/17476348.2016.1114417

2Bronfort, Gert, et al. "Chronic Pediatric Asthma and Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation: A Prospective Clinical Series and Randomized Clinical Pilot Study." Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, vol. 24, no. 6, 2001, pp. 369-377., doi:10.1067/mmt.2001.116417.