subject: Important Facts You Need To Know About Asthma And Chiropractic Care [print this page] Asthma is a persistent inflammatory sickness that results into obstruction of the airflow in the lungs distinguished by different extent of chronic symptoms. These symptoms include coughing, wheezing, dyspnea, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. All over the world, about 300 million people experience this ailment.
When you have asthma attacks, two events occur in the lungs: there is inflammation and constriction of the muscles surrounding your airways. The narrowed airways would result to symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness. Increasing evidence shows that untreated asthma would cause a lasting decline in lung function. Therefore, prevention is very important rather than allowing the symptoms to turn into something more serious. Even if there are no apparent symptoms, asthma will still be there. You may discontinue preventive medications when the symptoms stop. You must understand that the underlying problems of asthma require daily treatment. Although there are many medications for asthma, if you are not taking them regularly/properly, chances are that these medications will not be effective for you.
What causes asthma? Well, there is really no known exact cause of asthma. It tends to run in some families. However, no single gene is responsible for asthma. Asthma itself is not hereditary, but there seems to be a hereditary component influencing predisposition to have asthma. One main hypothesis states that contact with different allergens in the surrounding environment combined with inherited risks develop into asthma.
Asthmatic people are aware of some (if not all) triggers for asthma. Some of these are dust, weather conditions such as very cold temperatures, and things that contain pollens. Common cold and flu infections can also trigger asthma. Additionally, intense work and stress may also activate asthma symptoms.
At present, there is no known cure for asthma. Its treatment is focused on the management of the asthma symptoms with medications. Therefore, most asthmatic people manage this condition with persistent drug intake throughout their lives. These medications often yield unwanted side effects such as headaches, indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, and loss of sleep. As a result, more people are searching for other means of managing asthma symptoms, those which are more natural and convenient. Some settle for appropriate dietary changes while others limit themselves from getting exposed to allergens that can trigger their asthma episodes.
Chiropractic, a profession under health care, theorizes that mechanical problems involving our musculoskeletal system, especially the spine, influence our general health status via our nervous system. It focuses on early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of such disorders. The core method utilized in treating disorders involves manual therapy, including manipulation of the spine, joints, and soft tissues. Categorized as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), the therapy includes exercises and fitness counseling.
Chiropractic treatment yielded positive results from several clinical studies and trials. Early intervention is very important. Patients who underwent chiropractic rehabilitation observed that it improved their lives to the point that some of them did not need their inhaler medications anymore.
Spinal misalignments can cause various health ailments because there are vital nerves located there. The nervous system's function becomes restricted when the vertebrae pinch the vital nerves. In Australia, Dr. Ray Hayek made a clinical experiment which involved 420 patients with an average age of 46. He analyzed the study to determine whether manipulation of the spine has an effect on their overall health condition, psychological fitness, and their immune levels. He wanted to know whether the different forms of chiropractic care relieve symptoms and lower cortisol levels in asthmatic patients. To measure its effectiveness, he examined the concentrations of immunoglobulin (IgA) and cortisol, an immunosuppressant. Dr. Hayek observed that those patients who opted to have chiropractic care displayed a positive improvement in asthma symptoms. Furthermore, the patients had a noticeable increase in IgA and decrease of cortisol concentration even after asthma treatment had been stopped. This implies that chiropractic care has chronic favorable effects on the patients' well being. It also suggests chiropractic rehabilitation is expected to lower the frequency and degree of pathogenic airway invasions. Because of this, there would be lowered risk of having asthma attacks.
