High blood pressure or hypertension occurs in about 75 million American adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Untreated hypertension can result in heart failure, stroke, and kidney disease. Recently, there has been a new discovery about the connection between spinal alignment and hypertension. Therefore, there is chiropractic treatment for high blood pressure.
What is Hypertension?
Hypertension comes in two types. In essential hypertension, there is no known cause. However, there are known risk factors such as family history, age, genetic heritage, obesity, physical inactivity, stress, and smoking. In secondary hypertension, there is an underlying cause. For most individuals, normal blood pressure is 120/80. At 180/110, the fluctuation in pressure reaches a hypertensive crisis. This is very dangerous for blood pressure.
Conventional Treatment
For mild blood pressure elevation, especially in those who have a family history of heart disease, conservative treatment is usually recommended. For example, this includes weight loss, increased physical activity, better stress management, and proper sleep. In addition, smokers should stop smoking. Limiting alcohol as well. If medications are necessary, there are a variety of different possibilities. You should talk to your doctor to discuss possible side effects.
Spinal Alignment and Blood Pressure
Recent research indicates that there is a connection between spinal alignment and high blood pressure. An adjustment of the atlas – the second cervical vertebra – was shown to drop the blood pressure by as much as 14 points systolic and 8 points diastolic in treated patients. For someone with a blood pressure of 140/90, that could mean a reading of 126/82. Essentially normalizing the blood pressure. Spinal adjustment of the thoracic spine has also been shown to decrease elevated blood pressure. Chiropractic adjustment also helps relieve stress and muscle tension that can contribute to hypertension.
Above all, if you have high blood pressure, it’s important to get treatment. Additionally, a combination of strategies such as weight loss, exercise, and stress management, plus chiropractic treatment may offer you an opportunity to lower medication dosages or even get off medications entirely. Please contact us for an appointment.
