Asthma and Chiropractic

If you or someone you love lives with asthma, you know how it impacts daily living. Asthmatic patients learn to rely on inhalers and other medications to manage their condition, however, chiropractic care can offer a drug-free way that, in combination with traditional medical therapy, can help alleviate asthma and its symptoms.

What does the spine have to do with breathing?
According to researchers, brain-spine communication is critical for normal immune and respiratory function. When a qualified chiropractor makes spinal adjustments, he or she will open the message pathways that create a healthier respiratory system.

An increasing body of research suggests that spinal manipulations can be an effective treatment for asthma:

• A 2010 review of eight published studies found that some asthma patients receiving chiropractic care reported a higher quality of life.
• A 2002 study noted that asthma patients who received spinal manipulation reported an improvement in symptoms, as well as lower levels of depression and anxiety. Additional testing showed that the patients had lower levels of the stress-inducing hormone cortisol after the treatments.
• Researchers at Northwestern Health Sciences University found that asthma patients who were given three months of chiropractic care reported less-severe symptoms and increased quality of life. The patients who received spinal manipulations also reported fewer uses of their emergency inhalers.

Remember that asthma is a serious condition, and you should always consult your primary-care doctor before discontinuing medications. Also make sure your primary care physician is aware of any complementary care you receive with a chiropractor or other provider.

Chiropractic care has the potential to reduce the number of attacks you suffer. If you live with asthma, consider adding chiropractic care to your treatment program.

References
Bronfort G, Evans RL, Kubic P, Filkin P. Chronic pediatric asthma and chiropractic spinal manipulation: A prospective clinical series and randomized clinical pilot study. Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics. 2002 Oct;25(8):540-1.

Hondras MA, Linde K, Jones AP. Manual therapy for asthma. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2002;(4):CD001002.

Kaminskiyj A, Frazier M, Johnstone K, Gleberzon BJ. Chiropractic care for patients with asthma: A systematic review of the literature. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 2010 Mar;54(1):24-32.