In 2007 the Journal of Human Hypertension published a study showing definitively that patients undergoing NUCCA Chiropractic had significantly lower blood pressure. How this study came about is a story in itself. In a nutshell, a very experienced NUCCA doctor in Chicago, in partnership with researchers at the University of Chicago, set up a complex double blind, placebo controlled study of patients with high blood pressure (hypertension).
The results of this study were astounding! Even Dr George Bakris a top researcher in the field of hypertension did not believe the findings initially. He stated, “When the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn’t believe it. It was way too good to be true.”
But it was true! The research worked like this. They took 25 patients with early-stage high blood pressure and provided them with the NUCCA Chiropractic adjustment, a similar group of 25 underwent a “sham” or fake adjustment. Because the NUCCA Chiropractic adjustment is gentle and can’t be felt by the patient, the patients were unable to tell which group they were in.
X-rays showed a correction in the alignment of the atlas vertebra, in the patients in the treated group, but not in the sham-treated group.
When compared to the sham-treated group, those that got the real procedure saw and average 14 mm Hg greater drop in systolic blood pressure (the the top number in the blood pressure count), and an average 8 mm Hg drop in the diastolic blood pressure (the bottom blood pressure number).
None of the patients took blood pressure medication during the study.
NUCCA Chiropractic Care
The NUCCA Chiropractic doctor involved in the study is Dr Dickholtz who practices in the Chicago area. Dr Bakris the researcher, began the study after a fellow doctor told him that something strange was happening in his family practice. The doctor had been sending some of his patients to Dr Dickholtz for chiropractic care. Some of these people had high blood pressure. After seeing Dr Dickholtz the NUCCA Chiropractic practitioner, the patients’ blood pressure had normalized, and a few were able to stop their high blood pressure medication! This fueled Dr. Bakris’ interest and he then began to set up the study.
So, how does the correction of the alignment of the neck effect blood pressure? That is a good question… We feel that misalignment in the upper neck interferes with critical nerve message that can cause blood vessels to constrict and therefore, increase blood pressure.
Don’t believe it? Well a few years ago nobody new that eating too much salt in the diet could increase blood pressure! And then there’s that smoking thing…nobody thought that was bad for you! Many doctors actually smoked…some still do!
Learn about new things, and then apply them in your lifestyle. This is how health and wellness works! If not you could be relegated to take drugs for the rest of your life!
Be well, and get a NUCCA Chiropractic adjustment!
To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Sherwood, call 425-243-1607 or just click the button below.
If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.