Spring is (almost!) in the air. Soon, the
days will be getting longer, the temperatures will rise and flowers will start
to bud. That’s great news for some, but for others, the new season brings runny
noses, incessant sneezing and itchy eyes. Instead of stopping to smell the
roses, we are grabbing tissues by the handful.
Spring is also the time for hay fever, a
condition that makes our bodies extra sensitive to environmental substances
like pollen. For people who suffer from it, spring can be miserable.
What causes
allergies?
Our immune systems are designed to
acknowledge and remove harmful substances from our bodies. Coughing, sneezing
and inflammation are mechanisms the immune system uses to try to expel these
substances. It’s helpful when you have a cold or the flu, but sometimes, the
immune system starts to fight against something that normally is harmless. This
misinterpretation is the cause of allergic reactions.
No one really knows why some people develop
allergies to certain substances, but we do know there are treatment options
that can help.
Can
chiropractic treat allergies?
Allergies may be connected to the nervous
system, one of the ways our bodies gather information about the world,
including which substances are harmful and require an immune system response. A
study from 2003(1) suggests a correlation between allergies and
dysfunctions in the nervous system and the effects of chiropractic treatment on
this system. The study showed that allergy sufferers reported a reduction in
symptoms after regular treatments for vertebral subluxations. These treatments may
affect the functioning of the nervous system, allowing it to better interpret
information from our environment and reduce the “false alarms” sent to the
immune system that create allergic reactions.
(1)Y Takeda, S Arai. Relationship Between
Vertebral Deformities And Allergic Diseases. The Internet Journal of Orthopedic
Surgery. 2003 Volume 2 Number 1 http://ispub.com/IJOS/2/1/8061