Chiropractic Influence on Health, Oxidative Stress, and DNA Repair
There is a growing body of evidence that wellness care provided by doctors of chiropractic reduces healthcare costs, improves health behaviors, and enhances a patient’s quality of life. Until recently, though, little was known about how chiropractic adjustments affected the chemistry of biological processes on a cellular level. Recently I was asked about my position on vertebral subluxation; removing vertebral subluxations is the essence of what we do as chiropractors.
The importance of the vertebral subluxation complex (VSC) is known and should be a part of your health regime. In a landmark study published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research., chiropractors collaborating with researchers at the University of Lund found that chiropractic care could influence basic physiological processes, affecting oxidative stress and DNA repair. These findings offer a scientific explanation for the positive health benefits reported by patients receiving chiropractic care.
I have always stood by the belief in the vertebral subluxation complex. There are five components of a subluxation. In an article written by Dr. Joe Felesia for the ICA, he said, “I have written and lectured extensively over the past 15 years on the five traditional components of the vertebral subluxation complex in an outline format, drawing from over 500 medical/scientific references and textbooks. I refer the reader to this work and to the efforts of Charles Lantz, PhD, DC, director of the department of research at Life Chiropractic College West, whose research has carried the investigation of the vertebral subluxation complex well beyond the traditional five components.”
For the first time, I will review the five traditional components of the vertebral subluxation complex from an integrative standpoint so that we may explore an actual acute traumatic episode of the vertebral subluxation complex, its subsequent stages of healing (without correction of the pathomechanical event), and its consequent residuals.
Perhaps this view will facilitate clinical motivation in the area of prevention of the “permanent” residuals of uncorrected vertebral subluxation complex through appropriate clinical patient education and early chiropractic screening on a family basis for a lifetime.
The Five Components
Basic to this integrative review of the components of the vertebral subluxation complex is the component nomenclature involved in the model:
• Component #1 — Spinal Kinesiopathology: Spinal pathomechanics, including alignment and motion irregularities.
Component #2 — Neuropathophysiology/Neuropathology: Compressed or facilitated nerve tissue.
• Component #3 — Myopathology: Muscle spasm, muscle weakness/atrophy.
• Component #4 — Histopathology: Inflammation, edema, and swelling of tissue, usually local to the traumatized area.
• Component #5 — Pathophysiology/Pathology: Pathophysiologic and pathoanatomical changes because of the previous four components, usually seen locally as degeneration, fibrous tissue, or erosion locally and peripherally as a loss of global homeostasis.
I stand by my paradigm that chiropractic is a science first, an art second, and a philosophy third. We need to note that there are five components of the subluxation complex, and the chiropractic adjustment treats all five. By treating the subluxation first, we can affect the nerves, muscles, and all the systems and organs in the body. Now we are seeing how the chiropractic adjustment can help improve and establish better immunity and improve the DNA sequence by removing the subluxation. I am honored to teach a National Certification Program that’s sponsored by Life University’s Post Graduate Department for the Sid E. Williams Research Center with one of my best friends, the immortal Dr. Ian Grassam.
Dr. Charles Lantz’s research has carried the investigation of the vertebral subluxation complex well beyond the traditional five components. Researchers measured the levels of primary antioxidants (serum thiol) in patients under chiropractic care and compared them to those in a non-chiropractic control group. Long-term chiropractic care of two or more years was shown to reestablish a normal physiological state independent of age, sex, or nutritional supplements. The test provides a surrogate estimate of DNA repair enzyme activity, which correlates with lifespan and aging.
...’’Nerve impulses give us the ability to experience sensation and make it possible to carry out movement.”...
Friend and colleague (and one of the brilliant researchers in our profession) Dr. Christopher Kent wrote in an article, “Going through life, we experience physical, chemical, and emotional stress. These stresses affect the function of the nervous system. We hypothesized that these disturbances in nerve function could affect oxidative stress and DNA repair on a cellular level.” He also stated, “Oxidative stress, metabolically generating free radicals, is now a broadly accepted theory of how we age and develop disease.”
Kent continued, “Oxidative stress results in DNA damage and inhibits DNA repair. DNA repair is the mechanism that fixes the damage caused by environmental impact.” He added, “Chiropractors apply spinal adjustments to correct disturbances of nerve function. Chiropractic care improves the ability of the body to adapt to stress.” Kent concluded, “Further research is needed to gain additional insights that will ultimately lead to improved clinical outcomes.”
Chiropractic is important to cellular health, and cellular health is everything. According to some estimates, more than 10 million people a year visit chiropractors.
Researchers and scientists recognize the critical link between the nervous system and the immune system. Physiologist Dr. Korr proposed that “spinal lesions” (similar to the vertebral subluxation complex) are associated with exaggerated sympathetic (a division of the nerve system) activity.
Sympathetic activity has been shown to release immune regulatory cells into the blood circulation, which alters immune function. The nervous system has a direct effect on the immune system because of the nerve supply to the important immune system organs.
One of the most important studies showing the positive effect chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health was performed by Ronald Pero, PhD, chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University. Dr. Pero measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases. In his initial three-year study of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more, the chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care and 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer and other serious diseases. The immune system superiority of those under chiropractic care did not diminish with age.
Another important study was performed at the Sid E. Williams Research Center of Life Chiropractic University, where my younger son, Jason Kaplan, DC, received his bachelor’s degree before migrating to Parker University and Chiropractic College. He was lucky to work and receive training from two fine institutions. I am so proud of Jason, who now teaches the National Certification Program with me.
In one recent study, researchers took a group of HIV-positive patients and adjusted them over a six-month period. They found that the “patients who were adjusted had an increase of 48% in the CD4 cells (an important immune system component).” The control group (the patients who were not adjusted) did not demonstrate this dramatic increase in immune function but experienced a 7.96% decrease in CD4 cell counts over the same period.
When we read the results of that study, we were shocked that we hadn’t heard about it earlier. Why didn’t it make headline news, and why wasn’t it on the front page of every newspaper? Those are very impressive results with important implications.
Modem doctors of chiropractic work directly with the nerves because they understand that the nerves control and coordinate the functions, organs, and systems of the entire body. The system is vast and complex, and it has been estimated that there are approximately 20 billion neurons throughout the nervous system and 10 billion neurons in the brain alone. Nerve impulses give us the ability to experience sensation and make it possible to carry out movement. The nervous system transmits all sensations to the brain, making it possible for us to see, smell, taste, touch, and hear. Our nerves maintain the perfect balance of the body.
The nervous system makes it possible for us to swallow and move our bowels. The nervous system controls the liver, lungs, spleen, pancreas, gall bladder, and kidneys. It also controls our ability to adjust to a wide range of temperatures. Perfect natural health is possible only when you have a complete, perfect, normally functioning nervous system.
Conversely, when there is interference with the nerve energy signals, a problem of some type will develop. An estimated 90% of all interference with nerves originates in the spinal area. Vertebrae slip out of position and pinch the nerves, thus diminishing or perhaps cutting off the vital force of the body. A misaligned bone or subluxation will not necessarily cause pain at the time, but it will eventually give rise to symptoms. The symptoms will proliferate unless the bone is put into its proper place so that the nerve can be freed, and that is where chiropractic comes in.
Inflammatory-based disease is influenced by the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Nerve stimulation directly affects the growth and function of inflammatory cells. Researchers found that dysfunction in this pathway results in the development of various inflammatory syndromes, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and behavioral syndromes, including depression. Additionally, this dysfunctional neuro-endo-immune response plays a significant role in immune-compromised conditions, such as chronic infections and cancer.
Chiropractors know “that the power that created the body has the power to heal the body.” The only difference between a live person and a dead body is the energy that flows through a living human being. We call this the life force. As a chiropractic student working on my first cadaver, I was awed by the profound difference between life and death. That corpse had every nerve, organ, and tissue I had. The only difference — and it was a huge one — was the energy flowing in my body.
The true meaning of this was brought home to me on the night of my mother’s death. I went to the hospital and saw my mother lying there. Only three hours earlier, she was so full of life. Although she looked at peace, I could not help thinking of her as she had been, when the life force was animating her.
When the life force is flowing as it should, the human body is perfect — a marvelous system working in complete harmony. The human body harbors an intelligence that is unmatched in power, capacity, and adaptability. A mother instinctively recognizes this; she has a personal understanding of the infinite wisdom of the miracle of life. She understands that without any special training or education. She has a special faith in her own body and the body of her child.
As a physician, one of my tasks is to recognize this perfection. The function of the chiropractor is to help the body maintain its perfect balance because if this balance is off by even a fraction, the body will no longer be at ease. Dis-ease will result in disease.
Chiropractic has always been the people’s doctor. Without the principles of chiropractic, my true purpose in life would not exist because I believe that chiropractic is as important for good health as proper diet, exercise, and rest. If you have a health problem, you probably also have a chiropractic problem. If your weight is a concern, it is possible that some form of nerve interference is making it impossible for your body to properly digest and utilize food.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve taught that a subluxation will lead to a bulge, and a bulge can lead to a herniation. Doctors, we should be familiar with degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease, and both should be treated accordingly. This is what we teach on an ongoing basis at all our seminars and to our Disc Centers of America doctors, now serving over 43 states and endorsed by Norman Shealy, MD, PhD, and neurosurgeon who taught at Harvard University. We all agree that the essence and genesis of all diseases, of all degenerative joint disease, begins with the vertebral subluxation.
It is important at this juncture of my career to remind you that doctors don’t cure you, and supplements don’t cure you. The power that created the body has the power to cure the body.
There has never been a better time for chiropractic than today when people are searching for ways to build their immunity. Chiropractic is considered by many as alternative health care, but I believe the alternative should be drugs or surgery. Chiropractic care and removal of the vertebral subluxation complex should be primary care.
During 34-plus years as business partners, Dr. Eric Kaplan and Dr. Perry Bard have developed Disc Centers of America, Concierge Coaches, and the first national certification program for non-surgical spinal decompression a 12 CEU credit event. Being held for the 10th anniversary on November 5,6. This event has been sold out for two years running. Dr. Jason Kaplan is a Parker University graduate practicing in Wellington, Florida with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Kaplan. Jason also is an Instructor for Disc Centers of America and teaches techniques for the National Certification Program at Life University. To learn more, call 888-990-9660 visit thechiroevent.com or decompressioncertified.org.
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