Chiropractic Focus – Asthma

When there is difficult or laborious breathing and it is not caused by an advanced lung disease such as TB or lung cancer, the most common diagnosis is Asthma, where the bronchial tubes (air pipes) close down and make normal breathing difficult. This is commonly seen in children but it can persist long into adult lives. Why do the air pipes close down?

The family or ENT doctor will usually prescribe an inhaler that sends a steroid mist into the throat to stimulate the opening of the airway. This is the reality of thousands of people everyday. If you live in a polluted environment the incidence is even higher.

Chiropractic works with nature to solve heath problems and we view health and disease in a holistic approach and so the first question that needs to be asked is: Why? “Why does the airway contract and close in the first place?” It is nice that there is an emergency therapy to provide relief but all drugs have side effects, especially steroids.

Wouldn’t it be better to answer the “Why” question and avoid even having the asthma attack in the first place? Thinking holistically and bringing intimate knowledge of the body’s nervous system, coupled with my 30+ years clinical experience, we find that specific misalignments of the spine at the levels of the upper thoracic area is the source of the problem when nerves supplying the bronchial tubes are over stimulated. This process is called Sympathetic Fascilitation where a small irritation to nerves causes an abnormal response.

What does that really mean? It means that chiropractors have noticed that when there are spinal misalignments in the upper thoracic area of the spine, just below the neck, people often have a history of Asthma. Furthermore, when the chiropractor re-aligns that area of the spine they notice that the signs and symptoms associated with asthma go away. Yes, the patient’s asthma problem seems to go away as they undergo spinal correction under chiropractic care. This is a common occurrance in my own practice; and even more dramatically seen with children.

Chiropractors know from clinical experience that when the nervous system is under stress because of spinal misalignments, the body will make inappropriate responses to various stimuli such as from target allergens for example.

Does that mean chiropractors can cure asthma? Certainly not, but since the anatomy of the nervous system tells us that nerves that go to the bronchial area exit the spine at these spinal levels, and the purpose of the chiropractic treatment is to restore normal nerve function where ever there are spinal misalignments, there is one reasonable conclusion to make…

Asthma sufferers should consider the possibility that they might have a spinal problem and see if chiropractic can help them restore normal function, including the normal function of their breathing; and never have to take risky drugs like steroids any more.

Have you had your spine checked yet? Make that important appointment.

Yours in Health,
docMIKE